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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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Back to Cancerland

The past two years have been fantastic.  Zoladex and Femara have served me well, until now.  I ended up in the emergency room on our beach trip with a massive headache.  I was treated for a migraine.  My headache never went away.  I had blood work done at the cancer center when we returned home.  My tumor marker was on the rise.  Scans showed a tumor in my ovary, two on my hip, on my ribs and on my spine. A brain MRI showed it had also metastasized to my brain.

There are no words that can begin to express how devasting this news is to us!  What a change in only three months!  We have cried, screamed and cried some more.  There is nothing left to do but fight this.  My big girl panties are back on. (Thanks to words of wisdom from a dear friend, Anya)

So, what’s next?  Tomorrow I will see a radiation oncologist.  I will find out exactly what the brain scans show and get ready for radiation.  I will be starting a new chemo (Ibrance and Faslodex) next week.  Three weeks on and one week off.  I will be getting xgeva monthly for my bones.  I will also be having surgery to remove my ovaries.  Wow!  This is not what I had planned for this summer!  I will keep you updated.  I’m grateful to have all your support!  You all make my life brighter!💕💕💕

I have so much to share about our Little Pink Houses Of Hope trip.  Life has been crazy!  I will share pictures from our trip soon!

 

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I think I have recovered from round 4 of chemo!

Well my blood work was good and round 4 of chemo went as scheduled.  My cousins Laura and Betty from Texas came up to be my chemo buddies!  Yay!
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Round 4 was hard, so I didn’t get to spend as much time with them as I wanted, but it was so good to see them!   Note the little red box in my hand.  It was a celebration gift from the nurses in the chemo room.  Celebrating my last scheduled chemo!  It was nice, yes, but bittersweet for me.  I really didn’t feel like celebrating.  The truth is that I’m stage 4, so to celebrate my last chemo seems a little ridiculous to me. I know there will be a time, be it sooner or later, when I will be in that chemo room again.  Lets pray for later!

I had the nuelasta and the xgeva shot both this round.  That made my recovery so much harder!  The nuelasta shot works on my bone marrow to bring my white count back up to where it should be.  It causes me to have horrible bone pain!  The xgeva shot strengthens my bones, so it also causes bone pain.  The two together cause unbearable pain, even with pain meds.  I was so tired this round!  It was an unexplainable tired.  I had to make myself get up to even go to the bathroom!  Add hot flashes to the mix and all I wanted to do was cry!  Today I’m feeling a little more like myself!  I see the light at the end of the tunnel of chemo round 4!  It was a hard one!

My genetic testing results are in.  I do not carry the BRAC 1 or BRAC 2 gene.  That’s good news for my family, but it leaves my cancer unexplainable.  I am also scheduled for new scans on the 10th.  I will get the results the following week.  My future treatment plans will depend on the results from the scan.  Praying for good scans!!  A little good news, my tumor markers were at 69 and after two rounds of chemo they were down to 48.  I’m happy with that because I’ve had two more rounds of chemo since then!  

For now I’m thankful to be feeling better!

I’m thankful for my family and my friends for all the support they’ve given me!

I’m thankful my mama was here to help me thru this week!

I’m thankful I got to see my cousins!

I’m thankful that my Kori got a job! 🙂

I’m thankful to have Kristen here to help out!

I’m thankful for all the hugs my little  T.J. has given me this week!

I’m thankful to be able to spend my Javiee’s birthday with him!  Happy Birthday Javiee! You are truly one in a million!  I am so lucky to have you in my life!  I love you with every ounce of my being!

Below is a song for my Javiee….it reminds me so much of him! !  Happy Birthday My Love!!
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cIIorYfTSTo