Dragonfly Journey to Beat TNBC

Almost 2 years ago I had my first chemo. We had a diagnosis of Stage 2 (which ended up being Stage 3) Triple Negative Breast Cancer, we had no insurance but we had faith and trust in a God who is in control of all things. I thank God and I thank many on here for prayers and the means to say we have officially paid the last known bill related to treating my cancer. (Seems there is always an unknown bill that pops up.). We are blessed beyond measure.

Thankful to still be here to teach my daughter to sew. Making a pillow for a good cause.

Officially released by my radiation oncologist! Last week the plastic surgeon said my body has been healing great and I will no longer need the second surgery and released me for just yearly check ups. Just one more ultrasound and my main oncologist appointments left. Yay!

Ultrasound in another three months. 🤷🏻‍♀️ They still think it is fat necrosis but there is still a few things they are not liking about it. Today they were able to get clearer measurements that we will compare in three months. They want to see it smaller at the three months so need my prayer warriors to be praying this lump away.

Ultrasound today just as a precaution on a lump we found three months ago. Lump is still there but I am confident it will not be cancer. Today is just a followup to confirm it is just scar tissue or a hardened fat deposit.

Port removed today! Woohoo!

Welcome to after cancer life. Got to love getting random collection letters for bills you have no clue existed. 😳. I have to be thankful the hospital and care team have been completely awesome and worked to get me assistance so no complaints on the cost, what we owe is a fraction of the total. Frustrating part is when you thought you had everything on payment plans or being submitting to right places for assistance and it mysteriously goes to collections. Wondering how many years we will find mysterious bills popping up. God is good, He even handles this. Good news for today we heard they are finally considering removing my port! Yay!

New treatment is allowing me to eat with less issues, big praise, but heart palpitations are back and which are exhausting. Can’t wait for this to heal up. Trusting God has this too, He is the Great Healer. Life is still so good, God is so good.

Have not updated in a while. Getting more energy and a bit healthier each day. Today we are one step closer to solving my stomach issues from chemo, some tests came back and we are trying a new treatment. Still will have two procedures in December to fix some skin thinning and to make sure I have no long term damage to my digestive system. But I can’t complain, I can say every day I get with my family is a blessed day! Today, I choose to be joyful and look forward to new adventures.

Ultrasound done. They are not 100% sure why I have had these three masses develop but they are pretty confident they are not cancer. But to be on the safe side they want to rescan in three months. God has given me and hubby an amazing peace so we are not worried.

So today I went for a consultation after finding a new mass. Hubby and I are confident it is not cancer but decided it was best to have it checked. I was sent to my plastic surgeon as he was the best qualified to determine if it was from surgery. He is not 100% sure what it is but agreed with us, he believed it was an extreme unlikelihood it would be cancer. He listed several possibilities but said I would need to have an ultrasound next Tuesday. In the event I need a biopsy he will schedule a minor surgery at his office since I cannot have a needle biopsy where the mass is located. God is so so good as during the check the surgeon noticed another concern which requires outpatient surgery that will be done November or December.

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/my-prayer-for-the-furnace

My Prayer for the Furnace: How I Ask God to Heal Our sovereign God can heal us, we believe that he will heal us, and even if he doesn’t heal us now, we will praise his name.

Was hopeful I was done with infusions but my blood counts have a mind of their own. I can’t complain though, this is the first time needing an iron infusion. Kind of creepy watching almost black fluids pumping through the line. Super thankful God has me at this center, the staff is amazing and caring. 🥰

Last immunotherapy finished! Still anemic. Still fighting to stay hydrated. But all in all still good reports. Port is staying in for a while longer due to my anemia and other blood counts being low. In three months we will reevaluate.

Here we go! On our way to my last immunotherapy infusion. Day of mixed emotions. Will miss the wonderful nurses and staff in the infusion center, nervous about the illness the infusion will bring and joy this is the last treatment. This is not my last trip to the cancer center as they will monitor my blood to make sure I am recovering and the cancer remains gone. God is so good!

Immunotherapy infusion day. One more to go after today (at the end of the month). Dehydrated, blood pressure low and a few blood counts off but still a go for the infusion. God is so so good.

New terms I have learned since the journey began…

Infusion: Medications you mostly don’t want that go into your port.

Chemo fog: I place your brain goes while on chemo and may possibly return from depending if it did not get lost while on vacation.

Chemo squirreling: Finding creative places to store things so your family will never find them.

Meal Train: Huge blessings from people who love and care for you.

Family: Not defined by genetics. People who love you and walk to the end of the world to see you get better.

Church: Not a building. Not a religion. A family.

Neutropenic: When your white blood cells drop and you have to stay home away from germs.

Love: This word changes with age, season and adventure. I find it gets redefined often, at my marriage, the birth of my kids, the selflessness of my hubby through this journey, my church family, my friends.

Faith: Trusting God. When you feel you can’t do it alone and even harder to remember to praise Him in the good times when you think you are doing it yourself but it is all Him.

When you are trying to get back to holistic healing yet still having chemicals dumped in your body every three weeks. My poor frustrated doctor could only say your body is so angry. Cracks me up that “angry” is an official medical term now used by so many of my doctors. God is so good even through this part of our journey.

Thank you for the prayers! The side effects from yesterday’s infusion are minimal. I am taking a medication prescribed yesterday which is helping too. But honestly believe the prayers work the best! My dr is happy but will have to wait for my next blood work before she will decide if we finish the Keytruda infusions. Next blood work will be in three weeks. Keep the prayers coming. Thank you again.

Almost was not allowed immunotherapy today since I had a rough batch of side effects and lost 9 pounds with the last dose. But after some discussion the doctor and I felt we would do today’s infusion. If this time goes as rough we may cancel the last two treatments. Prayers appreciated that my body accepts the Keytruda as each treatment helps to prevent a reoccurrence.

Been a while since I have updated. We had been getting back to normal slowly. We have been able to attend church the past couple of weeks, I am driving regularly, while I still have some weakness I definitely see improvement. Today, I am getting my immunotherapy at the infusion center and only have three more after today, yay! Was supposed to only be two more but they added one more today. But great news most of my blood counts are in the normal range, woohoo!

The second of three bells have been rung! Radiation is done!

Super blessed today. Enjoyed working with my hubby to build a stand for me to be able to watch the kids in pool. One of the meds they have me on is causing my liver to be unhappy again causing us to take a lot of breaks today but still a great day. I also am very glad for my port being under my skin, I was able to swim with the family today which is good exercise to get me back in shape. Just so thankful.

First trip to hospital where I had no treatment, no scans, no doctor visit. Tonight they had a Celebration of Life event for cancer patients, survivors and their families. It was a great event. I was a little confused which way to register but quickly was told I am a survivor even though I am finishing my preventative treatments.

Another funny victory. Thanks to humidity I have officially had my first bad hair day! Lol. As my son would say “Momma is having a spiky-do day.” Haha! Praising Him for all victories and blessings.

Halfway done with radiation!! Woohoo! Three more weeks to go. Enjoyed helping with VBS this past week but definitely needing to get my energy back, took all weekend to semi-recovery. My husband still had a great Father’s Day weekend.

Met these steps at the beginning of my journey. A week ago I would not have attempted these but today I needed to try. Not only did I make it down and back up but I was able to walk to the pond and back. Seems like a simple task but to me it was a major victory. (I did stop once due to a huge rat crossing the path ahead of me 😳) Thankful for God’s healing and compassion in my journey. (Could have done without the rat encounter though).

First week of radiation complete. Five more weeks to go.

Lesson for today. No matter how strange your symptoms are or whether you think your feeling bad from something else, always talk to your doctors. I have been having severe joint pain which I thought was a chemo side effect but turns out it was severe side effect of the most recent medication they put me on right before radiation. Less than 1% of people have this reaction but it could have lead to a much worse situation. 😳 Thankful my doctor listened and researched my pain. New med ordered, old med gone. I was on the fence on whether to mention it to the doctor. Praising God for everything working out today.

Phase 3 of my cancer treatment starts tomorrow. 28 days of low dose radiation. My kids are slightly disappointed I will not glow in the dark but we are all excited to be getting one more treatment completed. I am recovering well, biggest hurdle is my own impatience with myself. Just have to remember it is God’s timing not my own. (Technically, Phase 4 started last week with my immunotherapy but it is the last phase since it will continue through to October).