and what a year it has been! last summer i was dealing with some pretty severe lower back pain. my doctor thought it may be strained muscles, since my xray showed nothing unusual. i spent the month of July doing physical therapy, but i felt like i wasn’t making any positive progress, my pain was increasing. then, on Aug. 1, my lower back pain was so severe i could hardly walk. somehow, i managed to get up, take the kids to swim class and get them home. i spent the rest of the day laying on the couch, trying not to move. my daughter made me lunch and set it up on a little table so i could just sit on the couch and eat. sweet girl!!!
by evening, i was much worse. a friend who is a physical therapist came over and rubbed a numbing cream all over my back. she also made up a big ice pack for me and gave me some pain killers {i know, you should never share medications, especially pain killers, but i was desperate!}. i managed to eat dinner and then went to bed. the next morning however, my world changed forever…
i won’t go into all the details here, instead i think i will share my Caring Bridge posts from last year over the next several days. but to sum things up…
last summer i was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic breast cancer {MBC}. i had felt a lump in my right breast earlier in the summer, but my doctor said due to the extent of the metastatic lesions, the cancer had most likely spread before i noticed the lump. i have spent the past year healing from surgeries, enduring treatments, fighting for my life and learning more about a topic i never wanted to know about.
i am ER/PR+ and HER2-. my primary site is my right breast and i have mets {metastatic lesions} on my spine, pelvis, left hip and a few ribs. i have had 2 rounds of radiation to my spine and 2 surgeries to my spine – 1 to put bone cement in lumbar vertebra 2 and 4 {L2, L4} and 1 to fuse L3 – L5 in order to stabilize L4. i have been put into medically induced menopause and will be in menopause for the rest of my life {otherwise the tumors could begin to grow again}. i have had chemo through a port that was surgically placed in my chest and i have taken oral chemo pills. i get a bone strengthener through my port every month to repair my damaged bones.
i’ve had numerous types of scans. but the best scan i’ve had was on May 24. that PET scan showed that there is now no evidence of active disease {NED} in my body! after all the challenges and difficulties of the past year, it was such a relief to hear that! i know that although my doctors and i have done our part, my healing is a result of prayers and that God is good!
it’s been a tough year, and i’ll share more, but like i said, i think i’ll share my Caring Bridge posts from last year. they explain a lot and give a very good insight into what i have been dealing with. i have a lot of other things on my mind that i would also like to share about my journey, so be looking out for those as well.
i hope you, and no one you know, will not ever be faced with a cancer diagnosis. but if you should find yourself here, i hope my experience will be a source of encouragement for you.
more to come tomorrow, until then, peace and blessings to you!
my mommy-brain 