Tuesday, March 15, 2011

The countdown is on...



...only a few more sleeps until radiation. I am quite anxious to get going with it. It'll be a long 6 weeks, but will be over before I know it!

I am recovered from surgery, and back to doing life as I always do. Super excited as I went out today without my hat for the first time. I took it with me (of course), but I didn't put it on - and it was cool to feel the wind and the back of my fluffy lined coat on my head. Oh, the things we take for granted!





Things are a bit crazy with our business picking up, and all my appointments, but thanks to our friends and family, we have lots of help. Oliver purchased a small dump truck so we will add "dump truck/delivery services" to our menu. If you or anyone you know is looking for landscaping, general yard maintenance, and/or delivery of soil, mulch, sand - visit us at www.mullenbroslandscaping.ca.

Now that I've got that plug in.... :)

Keira woke up with her first fever today, so that was kind of sad to see. She is a trooper and while she isn't feeling 100%, she was in pretty good spirits overall. Aidan is pretty sick too so we hope our munchkins are back to good soon!

Anyways, just a quick update today, and I'll write more after my first rounds of radiation treatment (I start on March 24th!).

Bye for now,
Kelly

Friday, March 4, 2011

Back to good...and on to the next!

Long time no "talk"!  Sorry it has taken so long to write, but I thought I would wait until today as we met with the radiation oncologist in Abbotsford this morning to discuss the next phase of my treatment.

As it stands today, I have recovered quite nicely from my latest surgery.  I continue to receive Herceptin, which is an antibody used to treat a unique form of breast cancer cell I carried, and it is administered by IV every 3 weeks until October.  I am still seeing my naturopath every 2 weeks for IV Vitamin C injections, and I continue with my cocktail of vitamins and supplements - all with the goal to prevent reoccurrence.

The plan as we understand it from our meeting today is to start radiation on March 24th (Thursday) and I will need to go for 28 radiotherapy sessions - that is every business day until May 4th.  I had  CT scan today, and the technicians tattooed my chest to pinpoint where the radiotherapy will target.

Once radiation is complete, I will be back in to see the plastic surgeon to carry on with the reconstruction process - and then my oncologist will be prescribing Tamoxifen, another drug which helps block breast cancer cell growth.  I'm told I will be taking this drug for up to 5 years :(

I can honestly say that today I am feeling pretty overwhelmed with everything.  I'm not sure what it is about today that has me feeling this way - but it is what it is.  I will be happy when this phase of the process is over - and soon after that we will be honoring the first anniversary of my diagnosis (May 11th - time sure flies!).  I am happy that my hair has started to grow back.  It's coming in a bit darker and I am now comfortable not wearing my hats, in fact I much prefer to go without but it is still just too cold!

..and on to the light of our lives - Keira Faith is now 7 1/2 months, and as of yesterday, weighs 19lbs 2oz. She is just a little monkey - rolling over now, squirming around and chatting up a storm.  She had her first PJ party this past weekend with her BFF Anna Marie - and is saying her first word..."HI".  She is pretty clever and just loves everyone.  No teeth yet, but they are trying - and she is loving her solid foods.  She is a great eater and still an amazing sleeper.  We are so blessed to have such a great baby!

I got this eating thing in the bag!

My cuzies

My big brother loves to read to me!

Chillin'

...mmm...beer!

Hanging with my BFF, Anna Marie

Bouncy bouncy
Oliver and I are still working on growing the business - and we are now offering small dump truck services.  Check out our website at www.mullenbroslandscaping.ca!  Slow and steady wins the race - and, while we have had a few snow contracts, we are getting busier with lawn contracts now as we head into the spring so that is exciting.

I am happy to say, with the help of some very generous people in my life, I am up to $550 towards my $2000 fundraising goal for the Weekend to End Women's Cancers.  Click here to check out my webpage and I'd love to have some company on my 2 day walk!

Anyways, I hope you are all doing well and we hope to see you all soon.

Love ya!
~O, K, A, K