I am sorry it has taken me a week to update everyone on THE NEWS! I did my PET & Bone Scans last week and called Dr. Steffen's office first thing Thursday morning to find out results. Karey got back with me that afternoon and I did not get good news. The pet scan showed activity in lymph nodes in my lower abdomen (near my right kidney), my upper abdomen (near my aorta) and under my right arm. The bone scan showed that there is improvement in those original tumors but, paradixically, there is new activity in my ribs, right femur, left femur, left tibia and on the outer skull. So, needless to say, the time has come for a change of plan.
I started chemotherapy yesterday. I will be continuing on the Zometa and the Lupron, but we are stopping the Faslodex. I started a once a week regimen of Taxol and an every other week Avasten. The treatment took FOREVER. I got to the hospital @ 9am to get some x-rays of those bones in the left leg and Tina (IV QUEEN) Cull put in my IV. Then I headed over to the cancer center for my treatment. Of course, I dosed myself on Xanex and slept through most of it, but we didn't leave until 6:45 yesterday evening.
I brought my entourage, Mom, Gus, Eric, Mary Ann Chopko and Tina! I saw some if my old friends from over the many years I have been a patient there and overall, it was a pleasent experience.
This morning, I am feeling a little pukey, but not too bad. I will start losing my hair in 2-4 weeks. I have an appointment with Dr. Moore (the surgeon who did my mastectomy) at 10.15 today and sometime this week he will put a port in my chest to give those poor old veins a rest!
Overall, I accepted so much of this a long time ago and I am not ready to give up the battle! Continue sending your vibes my way and with everyone's help, I just might win this fight!
Love and gratitude!
Tara
And, I must give my mother a public shout-out for my new Ikea chaise lounge! I will be recovering in style and comfort! Thanks Mom!
Mobile Blogging from here.
Showing posts with label Breast Cancer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Breast Cancer. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Beginning of European Vacation
So, I guess I will dedicate this post to our trip to Europe.
On September 8, mom and I boarded a flight to Chicago, where we met up with my cousin, Sarah and my aunt, Gloria. The four of us then flew to Rome, Italy. I knew this was going to be a fabulous flight as soon as we got on the plane. A woman knocked me backwards into my bag and mom and it hurt my leg, then we were seated in the VERY back row where there was no way to lean your seat back. I went into full panic mode. To top it off, there was some kind of box under every right and left aisle seat. The middle row of seats were fine, but the aisle seats were ALL kinds of messed-up. My mother, with her newfound bravery, marched straight to the flight attendant. She told them that her daughter had surgery recently and she would not be able to sit in that seat. I have a serious problem with sitting anywhere, except the aisle. The very kind flight attendant moved us to some seats in the middle row. It was not a full flight, thankfully. It was, however a long flight. I dozed on and off until we arrived in Rome.
Sarah had arranged for us to stay in a condo near the Vatican. The owner of the condo had arranged for a car to drive us from the airport, so we would not have any problem getting to our destination. The place was lovely! I mean, it was really beautiful. The owners met us there to give us the keys and they were very nice.
The first thing on my list of to-dos was to get a hold of a phone. Mom and I needed to be able to stay in touch with Gus for Sonic business and things. Mom and Gloria went immediately to sleep, nice long nap and Sarah and I took off on foot, cameras in tow to find the Vodafone store. I had a phone I had gotten in Ireland, but lost the charger. It would have been nice if I could have just gotten a new charger and sim card. But, I had to buy a new phone. It was a very long walk to the store and Sarah and I were tired and hungry by the end of the trip. We did get some gelatto, but we hadn't really eaten since we were on the plane. We took a cab back to our home away from home and found our sleeping beauties still sleeping. We roused the girls to head out and eat dinner. Little did we know, in Rome, there is no dinner until 7. Restaurants serve pasta starting at 7 and pizza starting at 8. We walked the streets trying to find an open spot, where we wouldn't have to wait so long to eat! We found a place down the main street in our neighborhood. The food was awesome, the waitress was friendly and we were all so happy. That was the end of day #1 in Rome.
The next day, it was urgent that I get some new shoes. I couldn't walk. The shoes I brought along KILLED my feet. We took a cab to Via Del Corso, to the Camper store. I can always count on Campers to take care of my tootsies. After the shopping, we went into a church and looked around. We lit candles for Doug and Dad and then decided it was time to eat. We sat down outside at a little restaurant and guess who was sitting at the next table over.....It was Joan Collins. Yep. The photo is the proof. After lunch I went home sick sick sick. The girls did some fun shopping. I hit the pharmacy and got some medicine. I stayed in bed the rest of the day and the entire day after.
I will give more details on the next post. But, I will update everyone on my medical situation. I came home and had a voice message from Dr. Steffens' nurse. It turns out that Dr. Steffens wants scans. One set of markers was up just a little and the other set of markers was in the normal range. I have a PET scan scheduled for tomorrow and a bone scan scheduled for Wednesday. I'll let you know when I get some information.
I will post some more photos as I get around to updating the days of the trip. For now, I hope you enjoy the two photos above.
Love and Gratitude!
Tara
As you read this, the new Avett Brothers cd has been released. Everyone run out and buy I And Love And You!! It is so wonderful and I couldn't be prouder of my dear friends! Support these talented guys!
On September 8, mom and I boarded a flight to Chicago, where we met up with my cousin, Sarah and my aunt, Gloria. The four of us then flew to Rome, Italy. I knew this was going to be a fabulous flight as soon as we got on the plane. A woman knocked me backwards into my bag and mom and it hurt my leg, then we were seated in the VERY back row where there was no way to lean your seat back. I went into full panic mode. To top it off, there was some kind of box under every right and left aisle seat. The middle row of seats were fine, but the aisle seats were ALL kinds of messed-up. My mother, with her newfound bravery, marched straight to the flight attendant. She told them that her daughter had surgery recently and she would not be able to sit in that seat. I have a serious problem with sitting anywhere, except the aisle. The very kind flight attendant moved us to some seats in the middle row. It was not a full flight, thankfully. It was, however a long flight. I dozed on and off until we arrived in Rome.
Sarah had arranged for us to stay in a condo near the Vatican. The owner of the condo had arranged for a car to drive us from the airport, so we would not have any problem getting to our destination. The place was lovely! I mean, it was really beautiful. The owners met us there to give us the keys and they were very nice.
The first thing on my list of to-dos was to get a hold of a phone. Mom and I needed to be able to stay in touch with Gus for Sonic business and things. Mom and Gloria went immediately to sleep, nice long nap and Sarah and I took off on foot, cameras in tow to find the Vodafone store. I had a phone I had gotten in Ireland, but lost the charger. It would have been nice if I could have just gotten a new charger and sim card. But, I had to buy a new phone. It was a very long walk to the store and Sarah and I were tired and hungry by the end of the trip. We did get some gelatto, but we hadn't really eaten since we were on the plane. We took a cab back to our home away from home and found our sleeping beauties still sleeping. We roused the girls to head out and eat dinner. Little did we know, in Rome, there is no dinner until 7. Restaurants serve pasta starting at 7 and pizza starting at 8. We walked the streets trying to find an open spot, where we wouldn't have to wait so long to eat! We found a place down the main street in our neighborhood. The food was awesome, the waitress was friendly and we were all so happy. That was the end of day #1 in Rome.
The next day, it was urgent that I get some new shoes. I couldn't walk. The shoes I brought along KILLED my feet. We took a cab to Via Del Corso, to the Camper store. I can always count on Campers to take care of my tootsies. After the shopping, we went into a church and looked around. We lit candles for Doug and Dad and then decided it was time to eat. We sat down outside at a little restaurant and guess who was sitting at the next table over.....It was Joan Collins. Yep. The photo is the proof. After lunch I went home sick sick sick. The girls did some fun shopping. I hit the pharmacy and got some medicine. I stayed in bed the rest of the day and the entire day after.
I will give more details on the next post. But, I will update everyone on my medical situation. I came home and had a voice message from Dr. Steffens' nurse. It turns out that Dr. Steffens wants scans. One set of markers was up just a little and the other set of markers was in the normal range. I have a PET scan scheduled for tomorrow and a bone scan scheduled for Wednesday. I'll let you know when I get some information.
This is the church we visited
Sandy and Joan Collins
I will post some more photos as I get around to updating the days of the trip. For now, I hope you enjoy the two photos above.
Love and Gratitude!
Tara
As you read this, the new Avett Brothers cd has been released. Everyone run out and buy I And Love And You!! It is so wonderful and I couldn't be prouder of my dear friends! Support these talented guys!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Cranes and Ramseur Records
My beautiful crane tattoo!!!!Well, I couldn't be happier with my tattoo! Thanks to Rodney @ Ace Custom Tattoos I think it's perfect and he did such a great job with the most important part of the tattoo....my uncle Doug's signature.
The interview with John Hancock went really well this week, also. It was nice to talk with him and Scott Avett made a surprise appearance to say hello. If you missed our little interview, you can download the podcast. Information in the previous post. Thanks again to everyone at the John Hancock show and Ramseur Records!!!
Tonight, Gus and I are going to be attending Ramseur Records Night at the Visualite Theatre in Charlotte. We will have t-shirts to sell and we will be supporting Dolph and his label's artists! If you're in the area, head out there and say HI!
Love and Gratitude,
Tara
The interview with John Hancock went really well this week, also. It was nice to talk with him and Scott Avett made a surprise appearance to say hello. If you missed our little interview, you can download the podcast. Information in the previous post. Thanks again to everyone at the John Hancock show and Ramseur Records!!!
Tonight, Gus and I are going to be attending Ramseur Records Night at the Visualite Theatre in Charlotte. We will have t-shirts to sell and we will be supporting Dolph and his label's artists! If you're in the area, head out there and say HI!
Love and Gratitude,
Tara
Monday, May 18, 2009
this is my wrist with NO tattoo!Hello all! I hope everyone is doing well. Nothing much different going on here. I have no news about my health. I have now completed 2 rounds of the Zometa (bone strengthener) and Faslodex (hormone therapy). In a couple of weeks, I will have another scan to check on things going on in my body.
This weekend, Mom, Dad, Cameron and I flew to Chicago for my cousin Jeff's graduation from Northwestern Law School. Congrats to Jeff! Get your bar study on...
On Thursday, I am going to Kansas to spend some time with my family out there. It will be a nice long weekend.
Wednesday is a huge day! First, Gus and I are going to call in to the John Hancock Show on 1110am WBT. There is live streaming on the website: hancock.wbt.com just click on the listen tab and listen live. We are supposed to be on between the 8:00 and 9:00 hours, Eastern time. This will be very exciting for us. If you miss it live, you can always listen to the podcast.
At noon that same day, Gus and I will go to ACE Custom Tattoo to get our tattoos from Rodney Raines, the greatest tattoo artist in Charlotte, possibly the world! I can't wait! It's going to be great! So, take a good look at the photo of my wrist, you will never see such again. That wrist will be tatted up. I will update everything after my big day!
Love and Gratitude,
Tara
This weekend, Mom, Dad, Cameron and I flew to Chicago for my cousin Jeff's graduation from Northwestern Law School. Congrats to Jeff! Get your bar study on...
On Thursday, I am going to Kansas to spend some time with my family out there. It will be a nice long weekend.
Wednesday is a huge day! First, Gus and I are going to call in to the John Hancock Show on 1110am WBT. There is live streaming on the website: hancock.wbt.com just click on the listen tab and listen live. We are supposed to be on between the 8:00 and 9:00 hours, Eastern time. This will be very exciting for us. If you miss it live, you can always listen to the podcast.
At noon that same day, Gus and I will go to ACE Custom Tattoo to get our tattoos from Rodney Raines, the greatest tattoo artist in Charlotte, possibly the world! I can't wait! It's going to be great! So, take a good look at the photo of my wrist, you will never see such again. That wrist will be tatted up. I will update everything after my big day!
Love and Gratitude,
Tara
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Lucky Girly!!!!!
So, this week has been pretty tough for me. I have had some really great days, but I have had some really bad days as well. Just trying to process all of this is overwhelming. I'm giving it all I have, but sometimes it just takes a little while.
When I forget how lucky I am, it seems that there is someone making me smile!!! I got a call, just minutes ago from my mom and she directed me to a website for the John Hancock Show and I hurried to check it out. He's a local radio personality and great friends with The Avett Brothers. There is audio of an interview he did with Scott Avett just before they opened the show for The Dave Matthews Band at Verizon Wireless Ampetheatre in Charlotte. Not only did they mention my t-shirts, but there is a link to my blog on John Hancock's home page. Talk about exciting!!! The amount of support and love that comes my way on a daily basis is awesome. Thank you ALL!
Make sure you continue to check out The Avett Brothers music and go see them when they come to your town. They are really great friends and already have done more for me than I can ever express in words!
Thanks once again to John Hancock and Dolph Ramseur for showing their support! And welcome to anyone new who found this through their outreach!!! I am honored!!!
Love and Gratitude,
Tara
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