#stage4needsmore

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Brain MRI Update

I was concerned about this MRI because it was to determine if I would be having brain surgery in May.  One 3mm lesion is gone.  Others have decreased in size.  The one that was most concerning has grown a little.  My board of doctors met and decided we should do scans again in two months to see if it changes.  The hope is that it’s brain necrosis and not a tumor.  I have an appointment with a neurosurgeon next week.  I think it’s good to be prepared for anything.  I feel better knowing I have a plan if something doesn’t go my way.

I’m happy with these results. I’m excited that summer is on the horizon! Time to make some memories!

I have to share a few memories from the past month!

My precious grandson turned 3!  I’m so blessed to be here to  get to know him!

He saw Spider-Man at the circus and asked him to come to his birthday party. 😍. Spider-Man came and was awesome ( Thanks Chris)!!!!

I kept Little Miss Evie for the first time.  This is a big deal, she’s a Mama’s girl!

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Jax and I usually paint rocks.  Last week we made our own teepee.  He loved it.

Next week Miss Evie will have her first birthday party.  Here’s to more memories, get out and make some!💕💕

All my love to you guys!  Thank you for the love and prayers! 💕

 

 

 

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Another Weekend In The Hospital

Let me start by telling you I told my Javiee last week that I was craving mashed potatoes and meatloaf. I never eat that! You’ll understand why I told you this soon. On with my story. I received a call from my cancer center telling me they were now doing special chemo drugs and they wanted to send me my Xeloda instead of it being shipped from out of state. I agreed, it sounded like a good idea. I started my 4th cycle of Xeloda last Sunday. Monday I started feeling weak and it worsened as the week went on. I figured it was my 4th cycle and it would get harder with each cycle. Thursday I received a call from my cancer center saying I had an appointment Friday. I said no, it’s next Friday. She looked and said your right, I don’t know what happened but your also scheduled for this Friday. I decided to keep the appointment and cancel the next one. My mom picked me up and drove me to the cancer center. I was too exhausted to drive. By the time I made it from the car to the door of the cancer center I was out of breath and couldn’t walk. My mom wheeled me up in a wheel chair. They checked my heart rate and sent me straight to the hospital. My room was waiting for me when I got there and my heart rate was over double what it should have been. I went straight to CT. They were looking for a pulmonary embolism or a clot in my lung. There was nothing. When I got back from CT my hospital food tray was waiting for me. It was meatloaf and mashed potatoes. ( I was right where I was meant to be). They stabilized my heart and told me to stop taking Xeloda. I went to my purse and my Xeloda pills were scattered in my purse and the bottle was closed tightly. Not taking those! I’m home now and feeling like I should be. My heart is stable and I will go back on Xeloda, but from the original pharmacy. There was something going on with the pills from the cancer center. We’ll find out more about that this week.

I give God the glory…..

The unexplained appointment ( I was told if I had waited another week I would have had a heart attack)

The pink Xeloda pills in the bottom of my purse and don’t forget…….

The meatloaf and mash potatoes….yes meatloaf and mash potatoes!

God is Good!

Now for some pictures from the weeks before this mess!

At the Circus…making memories 💕💕

T.J’s now playing tennis……

Good food and beautiful faces….

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You never know what tomorrow holds!  Get out and make some memories!  I love you all!!  💕💕

 

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Wednesday…Mammogram Day..Feb 6, 2013

Tuesday, February 6, 2018 I hit my five year mark. Five years living with metastatic breast cancer. Being diagnosed at Stage 4 means I’d unknowingly been living with cancer for a while. This was just the day I first heard “you have cancer”. I’ve been blessed the last five years with so many memories. Tonight, in reflection, I’m going back to my first ever blog post. I actually started the blog for my sister who lives in North Dakota. It grew into so much more. You all have become a huge part of my life and I’m grateful. 💕💕💕

Tammy Carmona

Today’s Wednesday. I love Wednesday, it’s my favorite day of the week. My Javiee is off on Wednesday, so it’s always a special day for us. We go out to breakfast on Wednesday, then we go shopping and get what we need for the week ahead. I know it sounds pretty simple, but it’s our time and we enjoy every second of it. Today’s a little different. Breakfast and then a mammogram (I found a lump in my left breast). I’m thankful my Javiee is with me for my appointment. I wasn’t really worried, I thought it would be nothing. The lady doing my mammogram was so nice, but when she saw the image and said wait right here a minute while the doctor looks at this, he may want to do an ultrasound , I knew there was a problem. Ten minutes later another lady is doing an ultrasound…

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An Update

I’ve  had so much going on lately!  I feel like I just can’t keep up.  I didn’t even mail Christmas cards this year!

I finish my second cycle of Xeloda tomorrow.  I can’t really complain with the side effects, I’ve dealt with worse.  I’m exhausted and my feet and legs hurt.  It’s like walking on pins and needles.  I’m handling it and praying it works.  After my first cycle of Xeloda (14 days) my tumor markers jumped from 263 to 968.  They’ve never been so high.  I have new blood work next Friday and I’m hoping to see a drop.

I had a tumor removed from my neck two days after Christmas.  My doctor was concerned that it was lymphoma.  It turned out to be breast cancer.  That was good news.  Now I have two new tumors in my neck and one on my jawbone.  The one on my jaw bone has caused numb chin syndrome.  It’s just like it sounds.  My chin and botttom lip are numb.

Last week I woke up vomiting.  It turned to blood and I ended up staying in the hospital for a few days.  They sent me home saying it was diabetes.  The truth was the vomiting is what made my blood glucose rise.  They sent me home and then called and said I wasn’t supposed to be released because my oncologist had ordered scans.  I told them to just schedule me for the scans and I would come in for them. I’m home now and resting.  I have three different scans scheduled for next Monday.  I will get the results of the brain scan on Wednesday and the throat and body MRI results will be Friday.  Until then it’s another wait and see.

I want to thank you all for the love and prayers sent my way.  You all make my life a little brighter!  💕💕

Get out and make some memories!

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Time for an update and a Happy Dance!!

This has been a month full of scans for me.  PET Scan, hip x-rays and a brain MRI.  All of my results were stable with nothing new.

Time for a Happy Dance!!

Stable doesn’t mean cancer free. It doesn’t mean I feel great, or even good. It just means the cancer that has taken up residence in my body hasn’t grown. I have good days and I have bad. I live with a lot of pain. Still, I don’t let that stop me. If I want to do something, I do it. I may pay for it the next day, but it’s always worth it!

I feel so blessed.  I remember hearing I probably had a year to live over four years ago.  Believe me when I say I don’t take a minute for granted.  The past four years have been filled with new adventures, memories, milestones, family, friends and tons of love.  I’m a Glamma x2!! My Javiee is legal!!  I watched T.J. leave for his first day of high school last month!! (I cried!)  These are the things that keep me going.

Here’s something that touched my heart this week……

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This made me think of a very special person in my life.   When your down, feed the good, share a smile, spread some love, get up….get out…and make some memories!!

I love you guys!💕💕

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What Living With Advanced Breast Cancer Looks Like…A Healthline Article

I was in Mexico when this Healthline article came out.  I was one of the women featured and I wanted to share it with you.  I especially loved what Mary Gooze had to say.  It mirrored what I said.  💕

Here’s  the link…..

http://www.healthline.com/health/breast-cancer/understanding-and-managing/this-is-what-looks-like

Thank you Healthline for continuing to represent the metastatic community.  I have lost so many friends to this disease.  We need to talk about it.  We need funding for research.  We want to live!💕💕💕

 

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MEXICO

I’m so happy to tell you our trip to Mexico was a success!  No hospitals, no doctors, only good times and precious memories.

This is Naucalpan,  where my Javiee grew up and where we stayed while in Mexico.  I imagine it looks scary to some of you.  So many people talk about how dangerous Mexico is.  I never felt that and we visited so many places during our stay.

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This trip was so special to us.  It had been twelve years since my Javiee had seen his family and I had never met them.  I’ll share some family pictures.

 

 

 

Family is a priority in Mexico.  Everyone gathers together in the morning for coffee and bread.  There is no sitting in front of the computer or TV all day.  It’s  family time, work and then more family time.  I think we should all disconnect and focus more on quality family time.

Food is a big deal.  If you visit or have someone visit you, you eat.  They expect you to eat.  That’s exactly what I did.  More pictures…..

 

 

 

I loved the street markets!  A definite must if your visiting Mexico.  The difference in the size of the produce is crazy.  It’s all so tiny compared to the produce you get at your local grocery store.  It will make you think about what’s in the food your buying here!  More pictures…

 

 

Here are a few pictures from one of my favorite days.  I climbed the sun and the moon pyramids!  I told my Javiee I deserved a Wonder Woman shirt after accomplishing that!

 

 

Here’s a few more of my favorites… I took so many pictures!  If you want to see more you can find them on my Facebook page.

 

 

Why the picture of me coming out of the bathroom??  Because you have to pay to use the bathroom.  Then you tip a lady inside the bathroom for toilet paper. 😂 Keep pesos handy if your visiting Mexico!  That was lesson number one for me!

I loved Mexico. I loved meeting my Javiees family.  It was all about love and family.  Life in the United States is so fast paced.  Slow down and make time for yourself and your family.  Share a cup of coffee and a doughnut with someone special today.  Life is short!  Get out and make some memories! I love you guys!💕💕💕

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Brain MRI Results

I have to tell you I was anxious while waiting for these results.  I spent last summer doing brain radiation and I was really excited to get out and make some memories this summer! I’m so happy to say my MRI came back stable!  There’s nothing new!  Thank you all for your love, good vibes and prayers!  I feel so blessed to have you all in my life!💕

So what’s next for me?  Mexico!  I was going no matter what my results were.  I’m just happy they were good and I can go worry free!  My Javiee has worked day and night to make this trip possible.  I’m so ready to spend some quality time with him and meet his family!  It’s been a long time coming!

Get out and make some memories! 💕💕💕 I love you guys!

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Scan Results

There are a few impressive words on my scans this month.  My favorite is STABLE!  It says I have widespread bony metastases that show NO PROGRESSION since 02/06/17.  I’ll take it!

So where are my mets?

In my T3, T5, T6, T7, T11 and T12 vertebra.  There are multiple mets in my lumbar spine.  L3 is the worst and it hasn’t grown in the past three months.  There are multiple mets in my sacrum, iliac, pubic rami and my right femur.

Are they painful?

Yes.  Some more than others.  There is one on my spine that causes shooting pain if I move a particular way.  It’s close to a nerve.  I take hydrocodone and get on with life.

I also had brain mets and I have a brain MRI scheduled the first of June.  My last brain scan was clear.  I’m praying for the same result!

Remember the tumor in my lung?  Well, there is stable scarring in the left upper lobe.  No evidence of lung metastasis! Wow!

The pea sized knot in my neck seems to be my immune systems way of dealing with allergies. Good News! Gotta love it!

It’s always good to hear stable and nothing new!   What’s a girl to do?  I’m off to Mexico soon with my Javiee.  He’s working two jobs to pay for our trip (imagine not seeing your family for 11 years!).  Our tickets have been purchased and we’re going no matter what my brain MRI shows.  Time to make some memories!!    I love you guys!💕💕💕

 

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Thank You Healthline!

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Today I was notified that my blog was chosen as one of Healthline’s Best Metastatic Breast Cancer Blogs of 2017.  Thank you to Healthline for recognizing my blog and The Metastatic Breast Cancer Community.

Find other metastatic breast cancer blogs here:  http://www.healthline.com/health/breast-cancer/metastatic-breast-cancer-blogs