One Day at a Time

It's been a busy week for us. Feeling good during my 2nd week post-chemo is wonderful. I feel as close to normal as ever and I want to conquer everything: bills, house work, fun with Joshua/family/friends, lots of healthy food, exercise, help mom continue to unpack, network with other survivors, attend BC appointments, and work on my wellness. It's a big list for such a (relatively) short time. Sometimes I'm overwhelmed by it all.

A big thank you for all of your cards,  uplifting emails,  surprise gifts, and  offers to help. It's just amazing to see support from near and far...and to feel that you mean it when you're offering. Joshua and I continue to navigate through the weird process of figuring out what we need - our space, fellowship with family/friends, meals, work around the house, etc. Just this week we had help from a couple of people to move our furniture and take a door off its hinges before and after new carpet was installed. It's so wonderful to know we have clean, safe carpet to walk and lay on. (We had an issue with one of our cats and that needed to be resolved ASAP as it was a hazard to my health.)

So now onto some bits of news to share:
(Disclaimer: yes, I know my bullets are long. But I don't care. Deal with it, self!)

• This week's ultrasound did not live up to expectations. The positive: my largest tumor is not growing - nor are the lymph nodes with cancer. Visually, my breast is different - it looks normal! We can all feel a big difference in my breast. The negative: the tumor has only changed shape and still measures the same as the original size.
• Next Friday or the following Monday, I will have a second MRI. Different from an ultrasound, the MRI will tell us about the metabolic activity of the tumors in my breast and lymph nodes. We expect to see lowered metabolic activity. My oncologist is sure of it, given the dramatic positive visual and palpable difference in my breast. I hope to see something drastic, people! And it'll be 'fun' to hear the loud magnets again. Did I ever post a picture of the MRI machine? If not, I will this time 'round.
• Met with a plastic surgeon last week. If you want to know more, check out the blog post Joshua wrote by clicking here.
• Today marks my first of four treatments of Taxol. I'll be getting this treatment every other Tuesday - four times total. Each treatment lasts 5 hours. It's a long stay, but I occasionally walk with my IV pole (to an exam room for an office visit and to take lots of pee breaks). They give me Benadryl via my port before administering the Taxol and that had quite a sleepy effect on me today. I took a few naps and woke up to seeing different people getting their treatments around me. Really missed out on some action! Dang. It helped pass the time, though. So far, I'm feeling well - I'd even say 200% better than my last treatment. We'll see what tomorrow brings, but today I'm happy about my first Taxol treatment.

I cannot say thanks enough to everyone for their support. Your love is shown in so many various ways! It is noticed. We do appreciate it. Please know that we read every comment on this blog, every email in our inbox, and every card in our mailbox. We do not have the time to respond to all of them, but we are thankful for you lifting us up with your strength in our times of weakness - and we do have those times.

For example, yesterday evening was a tough evening for Joshua and I: digesting the ultrasound results, talking together...getting into deep conversation. It's good to do this - to check in with each other and to dive into the reality of the situation. And once you've done enough and felt those feelings, it's good to "take a deep breath, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again." (Lyrics by Dorothy Fields from the 1936 film Swing Time, for you movie buffs.)

The journey continues.