10/1/2012

It's been a while and it's been great not to have any major news to report! We enjoyed summer vacation. We spent time with family and went on a long road trip to visit friends. In between all of that I continued to get my Herceptin treatment every three weeks at the clinic. I had my reconstructive exchange surgery on Aug 1st and everything went really well. It was much easier than the mastectomy, thank goodness. I have healed well from that surgery and so far everything looks pretty good. I started school at the end of Aug. I am really enjoying being back at work. I have been feeling great, working out, and living life. On Sept 18th I had my last final Herceptin treatment and I have officially completed all my treatments. I will see Dr. Thomas in three months. He will check my blood work and monitor my heart. I still have my port and will hopefully get that removed sometime next summer. I have follow up appointments my plastic surgeon, Dr. Jones, in Oct. And I will have follow ups with Dr. Mammolito, my breast surgeon, and Dr. Khater, my radiation oncologist later in the year. It's hard to believe everything that has happened over the last year. It's hard to believe that I am actually finished. It's a little scary not having the safety net of going in every three weeks, but it's also freeing and it is good to be able to move forward. I wish I could say that I will be getting back to "normal", but in reality it will be more like a "new normal". Having cancer has definitely changed me, there is a greater sense of fear and anxiety, but also a deeper appreciation for life and love of family and friends as well as compassion for others dealing with illness and other life challenges. I hope to focus on the positives as I continue to live a LONG and HEALTHY life! I am forever grateful to everyone to who prayed for me, thought of me, wrote me, supported me and loved me...I can never fully explain how much it helped me get through it all....THANK YOU! Love, Colleen 

PS. I am rocking a serious afro! 

4/29/2013

Just a quick update, I am feeling really great. Work has been really good. I recently had my quarterly ECHO, to check on my heart because of the Herceptin, and everything is good. I also had an x-ray and ultrasound on my hip because I had been having a little weird pain, but again all good. I have been working out more and feeling energetic and stronger. I will have a few follow up appointments with my doctors this summer and continue to get the Herceptin every three weeks. I am scheduled for my exchange surgery on Aug 1st. No bigs news to report and I like it that way :)
Looking forward to a relaxing summer break with Tony and the kids. Lots of love sent out to all of my friends and family, I am always grateful of the support system I have.

4/20/2013

Just wanted to give a quick update on how things have been going. I have been feeling really good. I went back to work last week. It is so great to be back and doing something normal. My colleagues are awesome and my students are sweet and everyone has helped make the transition back to work easier. I am so grateful to work at such an amazing school and to really enjoy my job. I have a Herceptin treatment next week and an appointment with Dr. Thomas. My hair is growing back and I am sporting a super short cut, but hey, I have hair, so can't complain. I still have some small side effects from the chemo and radiation, but overall I feel good and I am continuing to workout which really helps with my energy and overall well being. Tony and the kids are great and we are all adjusting to our new schedule. We are also starting to look forward to this summer. We are so thankful for all of the support and kindness given to us.

3/23/2013

I finished radiation on March 13th! I'm so happy to be done with this part of my treatment. Overall everything went really really well. Dr. Khater and his team were so great. The most irritating part was a burn under my armpit, but it healed up pretty quickly. I tried to get some exercise in almost everyday and I think that really helped with fatigue. I went to see Dr. Jones on March 18. I was kinda nervous about that appointment, because I hadn't seen him since I started radiation and was curious about how he thought my skin looked in terms of reconstruction. I know radiated skin can be more challenging for plastic surgeons. But the it went really well! Dr. Jones couldn't believe I was only 6 days out from radiation. He thought my skin looked great. He was very impressed with Dr. Khater's work and even wanted me to make sure I let Dr. Khater know how impressed he was. Yay! So I had a fill on my right side, I only have one more to go with that. And I was able to schedule my implant exchange surgery for August 1st! I am a little anxious about it, especially with all the issues I had with healing for the mastectomy, but I am mostly excited to move on to this next big step and I just need to have faith everything will go smoothly. I am planning on going back to work on April 8th and I'm excited about that. I still will be getting my Herceptin every three weeks. I have a lot of follow up appointments to go to...but I am just hoping everything continues to go well and I will continue to move forward!

Right now we are in Florida with Tony's family and it's awesome....warm weather, family, and fun. Tony definitely needed a break, he has been so amazing through out everything.
I have such a huge and strong support system, I am so grateful for everyone's thoughts, prayers, and actions....I truly feel lucky and blessed! THANK YOU!

3/8/2012

I'm at the clinic today. I'm getting Herceptin. My ECHO results were good. My blood counts are still a little low, but higher than they were last week. The nurse says sometimes it just takes a little longer for some people to bounce back, but at least it's improving, so soon it will be back to normal. I have finished 30 out 33 radiation treatments, my last treatment is this Wednesday. Whoo-hoo! So excited to be done with this part. It's been going really well. My armpit is burnt and irritated, but it's manageable and I can get thorough it...almost done! I will see Dr. Jones next week and hopefully he will say my skin looks good and I can finish up getting fills on my right side. I don't know when I will have my reconstruction surgery, I haven't really thought about it too much, but I will probably start to talk Dr. Jones about a general game plan. I have been feeling pretty good. I have been trying to exercise a lot, it helps with the fatigue and feels great that I can tell I am getting stronger. I also finished up seeing my physical therapist for the lymphedmema. She was awesome and very helpful. I don't have any more swelling and feel like I have a handle on how to manage it. My hair is coming in, it looks darker to me, so it will be interesting to see what it ends up looking like. I'm still wearing a hat, but maybe I will be able to go "topless" this summer or sooner? Can't wait! I'm starting to get ready to go back to work and really looking forward to it. It will be quite a change from being home myself to back in a middle school, I'm a little nervous, but mostly excited. I work with such wonderful people and have such nice students, I have really missed being there. We are also going to Florida with Tony's family for spring break, it will be great to celebrate completing another part of my treatment and just have a fun, warm, relaxing time together. We are really looking forward to it. The farther I get from chemo the better I feel. I am so happy to not feel sick, to able to workout, to be able to get out of the house and see people...I know it will take a while before I am 100%, but it so awesome to know that each day gets better and better. I know I have made it this far because of my amazing support system, thank you so much for all the prayers, positive thoughts, and kindness.

2/15/2013

I'm sitting here at the clinic getting my Herceptin. I everything is going smoothly, my white cells are still a little low, but I feel good, so it's just a matter of being patience and giving them more time to come back up. I have completed 15/33 radiation treatments. My skin is starting to get a little pink and I am a little tired, but that's about it. The treatment takes about 5-10 minutes and to me the last three weeks have gone by pretty quickly. I have been seeing a physical therapist twice a week and she is really nice and its been very helpful in reducing any swelling in my arm. The farther I get out from chemo, the better I feel, even with having radiation treatment. I am really working on trying to get my energy and strength back up and I really do feel a difference even in the last three weeks. I am just impatient and want to feel better, sooner, faster! But it's happening and I a moving forward. My hair is started to grow back very S L O W L Y....I am still bald, but it's coming. I have started taking weekly pictures so I can see the growth a little better. Tony still has more hair than me, but soon......:)

I see Dr. Mammolito next Tuesday for a follow up appt. I will also be getting another ECHO to check on my heart, I get one every four months while I'm on Herceptin.

I am grateful to be feeling better. I am so thankful for all the prayers and support I have gotten. I am so touched by all of the kindness people have given to my family and I...so amazing!

1/28/2012

Today is my first day of radiation. I will be getting 33 treatments for the next 6 weeks. I went in on Tuesday the 22nd and got my CT scan, which took 3D pictures of my body. I also got 4 little tattoos, tiny dots. Dr. Khater used those images from the CT scan to make plan of exactly where I will receive radiation. The tattoos are used to line up the machine correctly. On Friday I went in for a practice run. Dr. Khater explained to me that statistically they know where a reoccurrence is most likely to occur and they used that information in addition to the CT scan to determine where and how much radiation I will receive. I have heard that radiation is easier than chemo, so I'm hoping that is the case. Dr. Khater and the techs are so great and helpful. I am feeling ready to get started.

Last Wednesday I had my first Herceptin only infusion. It took about an 90 minutes and everything went smoothly. I saw Dr. Thomas, I had lots of question about my hair growing back, my nails getting better, when I would have more energy....basically he said be patience and that everything I was experiencing was pretty typical. I did have some swelling in my hands and he checked me out and said I had some slight lymphadema. Because I had lymph nodes removed during surgery, I am at risk for swelling on my left side. I was pretty disappointed in that news. Dr. Thomas sent me to a physical therapist who specializes in treating LE. I met with her on Friday. She was really nice and informative. I have to see her a couple times this week, but the good thing is we noticed it really early and it can be managed.

I also saw Dr. Jones. The incisions are looking good. He was able to do my last fill on my left side before beginning radiation. I also got another fill on my right side. I am not scheduled to see him again until March! Right now I am just hoping that the radiation treatment will cause any issues and everything will go smoothly.

So I am feeling pretty good. Tony says he thinks he sees a little hair growth! I have been trying to be more active and I think I am slowly getting a more energy and stamina...baby steps. Feels really great to be done with chemo and out of that cycle. Now I am just trying to be patient with my body as it heals...mentally I want to be 100% better, but physically that will take some time...but really each day gets better.

Thanks so much for all the love and support!

1/3/2013

Happy New Year Everyone! Even though 2012 was challenging, I definitely feel it was a very good and lucky year for me. I found my lump, was diagnosed, and able to start treatment. I can't even imagine where I would be if I hadn't gone to the doctor when I did. However, I am ready to ring in 2013 and keep moving forward. I had my last chemo yesterday and I am back at the clinic today getting a Neulasta shot and some fluids. It feels so good to be done! I know in the next few weeks I will deal with the side effects, but to know that I don't have to do it all over again is awesome! I will still need to come back every three weeks for Herceptin, but it doesn't have the side effects of the other drugs and I am sooo looking forward to growing some hair.

I saw Dr. Jones, my plastic surgeon, on Monday. Things are looking good with the incisions. I am stitches-free! He removed the stitches and I was able to get another fill on both sides. I will have my last fill on Jan 18th before I begin radiation. I am hopeful that this will be it with the incisions, no more issues! Fingers crossed!

Also we met with Dr, Khater, my radiation oncologist, yesterday. I will go in for mapping and a scan on Jan 22. On Jan 25 I will have practice run and then I will begin the six weeks of radiation on Monday Jan 28th. Dr. Khater is so great and the primary rad tech is a women named Angel, who is a breast cancer survivor, so even though I have some nervousness about radiation, not really sure what to expect, I know I am in good hands.

I just want to thank everyone again for all the support. I truly feel surrounded by love and kindness from all over. I really feel lucky. I know there are people going to chemo and dealing with cancer and other illnesses and doing it by themselves and I can't even imagine how tough that must be. I have always felt all of the prayers, positive thoughts, acts of kindness and love. It has been an incredibly important part for me in getting through all of this and staying strong and focused. I am forever grateful. And I know I will continue to have support and love as I continue on to the next steps, thank you.

I also want to give a quick shout out to Tony, my parents, and my in laws. They have been so amazing, helpful, and there for me every step of the way. They are awesome.