First and Foremost, I want to begin with, I'm sorry. I'm sorry it takes me so long to put up a new post. I've been busy with life. But I want you to know that I am still here and I still have so much of my story to share. Now lets back track to where my last post left off. Here we go, Welcome 2018.
2017 was a very hard year for me, to say the least. I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in February, the 13th to be exact. It’s like, Happy Valentine’s Day to me. NOT!! Once I received my diagnosis, things snowballed from there. Everything started to happen so fast, I couldn’t even wrap my mind around it. Doctors appointments, blood work. Tests. This, that. It was super overwhelming. From March – August, I was given chemotherapy. In September, I had my surgery (lumpectomy and lymph node dissection). Once I healed from my surgery, I started radiation and finished that mid November. Yes, my year was very long. But I did it. I endured 9 months of treatment to get rid of this devil that entered my body. All of it. I hated every minute of it, but it killed all the cancer and now I can proudly say, “I am cancer free!!!” Wow! That feels amazing. Soo, let’s begin my new story as a cancer free woman 😀
Jan 2, 2018 –
It’s that time to see my oncologist. Hopefully we start off this new year with good news 🙏🏻 He does his exam. Everything looks great. No sign of any lumps. I have healed from my surgery quite well. I do have to say that my surgeon did an amazing job. I do have a numbness from my lymph node scar, the area under my armpit and that numbness goes around to my back. I just have no feeling there. Hopefully in time that will go away. It’s very weird not having feeling there. I still have my radiation burn. That is very sensitive still and red. Skin is still very dry in that area. Overall, he is very pleased with everything. Yay!! Good news 👏 I won’t need to see him for awhile but I am scheduled for everything else. Follow up mammy the beginning of March. I’ll see my surgeon at the end of March and my radiologist in June. Gotta keep things on track. We most definitely don’t want that devil coming back.
How about some hair pics?? I think YES!!
24 weeks post chemotherapy – Look at all that curl!! Sooooo exciting
25 weeks post chemotherapy – I’m getting some bangs!! 😁 Sorry for the blurry pic
Feb 2, 2018 –
Today I go in to see my primary doctor. She wants to see how the medication 💊 (Sertraline) is working for me. She suggested weaning me off of it but I don’t feel comfortable yet. I was in such a dark place that I don’t wanna go back there. So I asked her if we could just leave it as it is. If I feel I’m ready sometime to come off of it, I will. But that time isn’t now. Overall, she’s happy with me and my progress! yay
Here is today’s pic.
Feb. 4, 2018 – It’s SUPERBOWL!!!!
Well, anyone who knows me, knows I love football. My team is the Pittsburgh Steelers. Although my team didn’t make it to the big game, I’m still sooo into it. The Superbowl is exciting for me. I just need to get my workday over with and then off to watch the game. My son and I will be watching it at my brothers house this year. The Philadelphia Eagles and The New England Patriots will be play each other. I’m not a fan of the Patriots, so I guess I’ll be rooting for the Eagles. Why Not?!?
While at work, my coworkers and I always take Superbowl selfies. We dress up in our favorite team jerseys. It makes it so fun at work. Sooooo, here’s our selfies
Feb. 4, 2018
I really did enjoy today. Work was fun. The game was good and the Eagles won it this year. The score was 41-33.
Feb. 5 –
5 months post chemotherapy – I added in a blue hair wax, just to play around with it a little
February 13th, 2018 –
Well, today is my 1 year anniversary from my initial diagnosis 👏. Honestly, I didn’t think that I would ever get here. One year ago, I couldn’t even look this far ahead. But look at me now. Here I am, 1 year later and cancer free. Maybe you know how it feels and maybe you don’t, but it’s super exciting and a huge relief. You just don’t know what your outcome is gonna be. It’s scary. So much uncertainty when you’ve been given a cancer diagnosis, but I beat that devil inside me that tried to take over. It wasn’t easy, but I did it. Thank you Lord for having my back. I couldn’t have done this without You!
I’m slowly getting my body back to where it was pre diagnosis. Your body takes one hell of a beating. Chemotherapy is no joke. I lost a lot of strength in my arms, hands and my legs. My legs are the worst. If I squat down, Lord I ain’t getting back up. Somebody better come and help me or I’m staying there. But that is a work in progress. I’ll get there.
I’ve been working on my mental health as well. If you remember, I hit rock bottom of rock bottom. The bottom of the barrel. It got sooo bad for me, I truly wanted to end my life 😔 I got so depressed that I just didn’t want to live. I had so much to be thankful for yet I was in a world of despair. Thank goodness that is all behind me now. Happier days have found their way back into my heart. I am still on the medication for my depression (Sertraline 50 mg) and that has worked wonders. Every day is a new day to move forward. It’s crazy now to think that I ever felt that low. Never in my life had I felt that way and I don’t ever wanna feel that way again. With everything that happened in 2017, now you can somewhat understand why I couldn’t wait to kiss that year goodbye. It was like getting rid of all that heavy baggage I was carrying around. 2018 started off with a nice deep breath, good news and a new appreciation for life. I am determined to have a better year this year.
So, I have come full circle. 1 year ago, I got the worst news a person could possibly get, health wise. News that knocked me flat on my ass. I endured 9 months of treatment that included, Chemo, Surgery and radiation. When they told me back then that my year was gonna be a long one, damn, they weren’t kidding. I wanna put it behind me. I wanna seal 2017 airtight and never have to look there again. I wanna wash my hands of all the pain, the fear, the uncertainty, all of it. Now, it did teach me a lot, but most of it was just heartache for me. IT.WAS.JUST.HARD.
So, Goodbye heartache. Goodbye fear. Goodbye cancer. And Hello to a healthy new Me. Slowly I will get back to me. Physically and mentally I will get back to 100%. In the meantime I am going to enjoy being cancer free. Gosh it feels wonderful to say that. I can’t wait to do all the things I missed out on last year. I can’t wait to enjoy life again. I.CAN’T.WAIT. A little Hope and a little Faith can take you a long way. So, lets start enjoying life!!!!! Shall we?
Oh man!! I can’t wait to color my hair!!!!
Some friendly advise and something I know firsthand
The Boob Naked Truth 