7/31/2012

I am feeling much better and happy to be home. I am taking short walks, watching the Olympics, and resting alot. Tony's parents dropped the kids off last night and it is so good to have them around. It's tough not to be able to hold Violet, but I am just trying to remind myself it is only temporary. Leo is hilarious and very interested in my tubes and drains. He has a lot of questions, like, "can I smell them?" :) He is also very sweet and trying to be as gentle as a three year old boy can be. Tony has been awesome, he is definitely super dad and super husband. Thankfully, we have also had family members here to help out.

We got the pathology report today. The cancer is a stage 3A, I pretty much knew it was going to be a stage 3, so I am happy that it is the lowest form. The tumer was 4.5 cm, which is smaller than the MRI indicated, which is good. 12 lymph nodes were removed and 4 were positive and 8 were negative. At this point, my treatment plan will remain the same, chemo followed by radiation. We will be meeting with Dr. Mamolito, my surgeon, on Thursday. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will be able to get the drains removed, that would be really great, because honestly they are kinda gross ;) . Next week I will meet with Dr. Thomas, my oncologist, and discuss the treatment plan more specifically.

Now, I am going to continue to focus on recovering and healing from the surgery. The human bodêtre pretty amazing, every day that goes by I can feel myself getting stronger and getting better. Thank you so much for all the support, prayers, and positve thoughts. Thank you so much for all the cards and messages. Thank you so much for all of the food, help, gifts, etc. We are so incredibly grateful to be surrounded by so much kindness and love.

7/28/2012

Saturday morning was a little rough for Colleen. On Friday in the hospital, before she was released, Colleen had an allergic reaction to the pain medication administered to her.  The reaction consisted of extreme itching and a rash from her drain tubes on the sides of her body. She switched medications and was given something to alleviate the itching before she was released.     We think coming off all the medications caused her some bad nausea Saturday morning.  This was coupled with the process of dealing with a pretty horrible experience when getting her iv before surgery as well as issues with the anesthesiologist.  Both of the situations led to significant anxiety.
Once we got that under control, the rest of the day was good. She took some little walks, showered, and she is dealing with the surgery really well. We spent some time resting and relaxing with her family.  Her mom, her aunt Erin, and her sister have been a tremendous help in Colleen's recovery.

By Sunday Colleen was doing really well.  Not surprisingly she is a little tired. We have made the short journey back to our home in Morris and are resting comfortably. We both miss the kids and are looking forward to my parents bringing them home tomorrow.

Thanks again for all of the texts, phone calls, cards, packages, flowers, prayers, and thoughts.

Love,
The Cozzis

7/27/2012

Colleen was discharged from the hospitl around 5 pm this evening. It was a blessing to enjoy some time outside in the fresh air this evening at her parents house. We will be spending a couple of nights here at her parents before returning to Morris. Colleen's strength continues to improve and her positive attitude remains intact. Thank you all for your prayers and good will. We are inspired by our family and friends.

7/26/2012

Just wanted to give everybody a quick update. Colleen is doing well. Dr. Mammolito and Dr. Jones saw Colleen this morning and were pleased with how things looked. She is going to spend one more night in the hospital and should be released tomorrow morning. All of the nurses have been extremely kind and helpful. She is resting now and catching up on Project Runway. We are hoping for a good night of sleep and will then spend a couple of days at Colleen's parents house in Peoria before hopefully heading back to our home in Morris. Thanks so much for all of the texts, comments, thoughts, positive vibes, cards, prayers, and notes...they bring joy into our hearts. Love, The Cozzis

7/25/2012

Colleen was released from the post-recovery room around six and transfered to her own room. The nurses and doctors have been wonderful. She is in pretty good spirits, but tired. Dr. Mammolito will be checking in with Colleen in the morning. Colleen may be able to leave tomorrow afternoon or Friday depending on how she is doing. Thank you for all of the prayers, well wishes, positive comments, energy, and thoughts. They have been a blessing and very uplifting. Love, The Cozzis

7/25/2012

Colleen is in recovery after a 4 hour surgery. Both doctors (the breast surgeon and the plastic surgeon) said everything went well. We will receive the pathology report in approximately a week. Colleen is currently in recovery and will be brought to her room in about an hour. Updates will follow.

7/23/2012

I had my plastic surgery consultation on Friday morning with Dr. Jones. He was great, very kind and compassionate. I have decided to do a bilateral mastectomy. I will be removing both breasts and getting immediate reconstruction. Dr. Jones would like to put the implants in during surgery, but he won't be able to know if that is possible until Dr. Mammolitto has completed her portion of the surgery. So I will either wake up with implants or expanders.

Today, we had an initial consultation with Dr. Khater, my radiation oncologist, at the Cancer Care Center in Ottawa. I wanted to talk with him about his perspective on my surgery and reconstruction. He was really nice and spent over an hour talking with us and answering our questions.  He is comfortable with the surgery plans. It was good for me to see the facility where I will be receiving my chemo and radiation and the staff there was really sweet and supportive. We will be heading back to Peoria tomorrow and surgery is scheduled for Wednesday. I will stay in the hospital for one overnight and then go back to my parents house. I am not sure how long I will stay in Peoria. I am hoping I will be feeling pretty good and would like to get back to Morris over the weekend.

At this point I am feel ready to move forward. I trust that I have fantastic doctors and I am in great hands. I know I have an amazing support system of awesome people. All the prayers and positive thoughts are so greatly appreciated, please keep 'em coming! Thank you.

7/19/2012

We just got back from Florida with my family and we had a really great time. I also got some great news on the trip. I have tested negative for the BRCA breast cancer gene, very relieved not just for myself, but for my other family members as well! So happy! We are heading back down to Peoria today and I have my consultation with Dr. Jones, my plastic surgeon on Friday morning. We'll come back home for a few days and then go back to Peoria on Tuesday. Surgery is set for Wednesday. I am feeling nervous and anxious, but ready as well. 

Thanks again for all of the comments, cards, phone calls, and texts it has really made me smile to hear from all of the people who have reached out. It helps to know there are so many friends and family from all over sending me prayers and positive thoughts. Thank you! 

7/10/2012

I had my PET scan and ECHO on Monday. We were able to get the results back from the PET scan that afternoon and nothing else showed up except for the left breast and lymph nodes, which we already knew about. Thank God! :)  It was such a huge relief to get that information and I am so thankful I was able to get the results so quickly. I had to call the nurse back today, because I realized I completely blanked everything else she said once I heard the good news.

So basically I am all set for surgery on the 25th in Peoria. I am still waiting for the BRCA genetic test results. I also still have the consultation with the plastic surgeon on the 20th. In the meantime, I am looking forward to taking a little vacation with my family before everything really gets going.

Thanks again for all of the love, prayers, and support from everyone. I need it and I am grateful. It is instrumental in staying positive and getting through everything.

7/06/2012

Well, we got some disappointing news, the results from the lymph node biospy came back postive. So, that's not what I wanted to hear, but it is a bump in the road and we need to just keep on moving forward and staying positive. We met with Dr. Thomas on Tuesday and he was wonderful, reassuring, and very positive about my diagnosis. My blood work and the chest x ray came back normal. I will having chemotherapy and radiation after my surgery. I have decided to have the chemo in Ottawa, IL which is about a 25-30 minute drive from my house. Dr. Thomas will be my oncologist in Ottawa. On Thursdsay, we met with Dr. Le-Lindqwister, a breast oncologist, in Peoria. She was also great and will be collaborating with Dr. Thomas on my care. I feel like I will be in excellent hands.

I have a PET scan and an ECHO on Monday. I will have surgery on the 25th. There will be a 4-6 week recovery before I begin chemotherapy. Chemo will be every 3 weeks for 6 treatments. After chemo, I will have radiation. I also will need to be on Herceptin for a year, every 3 weeks, given by I.V.

It feels good to have an idea of what the game plan will be, but also kind of scary and overwhelming. I am just trying to remain positive, hopeful, and grateful for all of the support and love. Thanks again for all of the postive thoughts and prayers.

7/3/2012

Just a quick update on how things are going. Yesterday, I was able to schedule my consultation with Dr. Jones, the plastic surgeon, on July 20th and I have a surgery date set for July 25th. Today I was able to get to Peoria for some blood work, a chest x-ray, and a lymph node ultrasound. On the ultrasound, there was one lymph node that looked a little thick, so they decided to do a fine needle aspiration biopsy. The procedure itself wasn't bad at all, except for my fear of needles :) We should get the results at the end of this week or on Monday, just working on a lot of positive thoughts and prayers that it comes back negative. I also have an appointment this afternoon with Dr. Thomas, an oncologist. He is the doctor who treated my dad and was kind enough to get me in at the last minute today, I am so grateful. He will be able to give us more information on treatment options.
Thanks again for all of the thoughts, prayers, and comments. It is amazing to know that there are so many people supporting me and it really helps us in remaining positve and keeps us smiling. Thank you!