July 5, 2013 by Tammy Carmona

TGIF??? No…For me it’s more like Taxol…Round 8!

Friday again, chemo day. TGIF doesn’t pertain to me anymore! It’s more like TGIM! By Monday I’m usually over the bone pain and leg cramps that seem to get worse with each round of Taxol. No, Friday is not what it used to be!

On the bright side I can say after this round I have 4 more to go! Does that mean after 4 more rounds I am done with chemo? Your guess is as good as mine. This cancer inside of me seems to be the deciding factor. For now my tumor markers are down and that gives me hope that my Fridays in the chemo chair will soon come to an end.

I had a lady come up to me this week at Natural Grocers. I wonder how she knew I had cancer, could it have been my bald head or my lack of boobs?? She told me to stay strong. She battled cancer two years ago and there would come a day when I would wake up and not think of cancer. I thanked her for her kind words. After all, she was only trying to be an inspiration to me. Little did she know, I’m stage 4 and not a day will go by when the thought of cancer is not lingering in the air. I had an emotional breakdown once we made it to the car. How nice would it be to actually entertain the thought of not having to think of cancer!? Unfortunately, that is not a luxury you have when your stage 4.

On a happy note…I had pizza this week! My Javiee is the best! You all know my diet is very strict! Javiee found the perfect pizza recipe. Of course he didn’t use white flour, it had 2 grams of sugar in it! He used wheat flour and made his sauce from scratch. It was yummy!! I am a lucky woman to have such a great man to help me through this! I am blessed!

Here’s a picture of my pizza!

June 21, 2013 by Tammy Carmona

Smile…Life is Good!

Smile…Life is Good!. Click this link for a video I made for my family. They are the best!

I have round six of Taxol today. Six more to go after this one! So far the side effect that I’m dealing with the most is leg cramps. My knees and ankles hurt so bad! Right now I’m taking pain meds in the morning and I’m able to enjoy my days with T.J. I hope it stays this way for the rest of the treatments. I can handle this! It’s good to be able to take a pill and forget about all this cancer business for the week. Then Friday comes, chemo day, and I am once again reminded of how sick they say I am. Good thing is I don’t feel sick, so we are enjoying the summer! We even went rafting down the Colorado River this week. Good times!

June 10, 2013 by Tammy Carmona

27…. My new favorite number!!!

I have spent the last four Fridays in the chemo chair getting my weekly dose of Taxol. I finished reading The Giver, highly recommended by my little T.J. I finally caught Mrs. Mary in The Candy Crush Saga and I beat my daughter Kristen’s high score in Dots. Eight more Fridays to go!

Taxol has been much easier on me than the AC. I come home from treatment dizzy and tired. I sleep the night away and wake up feeling good. I don’t know how long this will last, but I’m enjoying it!

Good news!!! My tumor marker is 27! Can I tell you how happy I was to hear that number?! Happy…Happy…Happy!

May 19, 2013 by Tammy Carmona

Chemo begins again…

I enjoyed my two week break from chemo! It was nice to feel like my old self for a little while! Javiee and I went with T.J. on his class field trip to Ouray. Good times, oh how I treasure them!! I was a little nervous about going to the hot springs. It was my first time out in a swim suit with no boobs and no hair! A friend of mine, Trish, told me to just own it. What good advice! (Thanks Trish!). Own it. That’s all I can do. Cancer has taken enough of me. I can’t let it keep me from doing things with my little one because I’m worried about what other people will think! How liberating! I think it’s the first time I put on a swim suit without worrying about that little pooch in my tummy! Why do we care about those things anyway?? It’s the moments and the memories that matter. Cancer has a way of opening your eyes to everything. If there’s one thing you can take from what I’m going through, take that. Enjoy every moment and make memories with your family that will outlast you!

That’s me and T.J. at the mine in Ouray.

That’s me with my Javiee. I’m still so swollen from chemo, but he loves this picture.

Ouray, Colorado

On another note, I started chemo again Friday. I had my first of 12 rounds of Taxol. I will be doing Taxol every Friday throughout the summer. I looked at the calendar yesterday. I will finish chemo one week before T.J. goes back to school. I hope the side effects are minimal so I can enjoy the summer with him! The first round went really good! I was really dizzy after it. I came home and slept the rest of the day. I woke up Saturday feeling good and I still feel good today! I’ve heard Taxol is a lot easier to deal with than the AC was. So far that seems to be the case! Praying all 12 rounds are like this!

May 11, 2013 by Tammy Carmona

The results are in…

I went in for my PET scan yesterday. It shows no new growth and improvement! Yay! That was what I needed to hear! The past 3 months have been so hard on me! It’s good to know that all I’ve been through has helped. Talk about life changing! That’s what cancer is!

I was hoping for a break from chemo. How nice would it be to feel normal this summer! No chemo brain, no nausea, no extreme fatigue, no bald head, could I be so lucky?? No..my new treatment plan is in full force. 12 rounds of chemo, one every Friday for 12 weeks! On the bright side it’s not AC, it will be Taxol this time. I hear the side effects are a lot easier to handle than the side effects of AC. Praying this is true! Seeing the improvements on my PET scan helps to motivate me for the next 12 treatments. I can do this! As far as feeling normal goes, I guess its just time to find my ” new normal”!