Update On Life Part 1:

It has been a long time since I last posted on here...I am really terrible at this blog/keeping up-to-date business.  It really is going to start being a goal of mine to post on here more often of the things that Jonathan and I are doing.  My last post was in January so there has been a lot going on since then.  I will probably have to break up the update into multiple posts!  Last time it was my three month check-up and I was hoping to get my mediport out.  Well, that happened in March and I'm glad to say that it has healed very well.  April was busy for me, I started working out in the field for my work.  We were working 10-12 hour days Monday-Thursday.  Which was wonderful because I have a three day weekend.  I am still working 4 10's but I am now back in the office until September or October, unless a new project comes up where I will get to go work outside again.

Jonathan has been working hard and learning a lot at the sewing shop.  He has completed some projects and they are fantastic looking.  One of these days he is going to sit down and help me make some stuff. 

This seems like a good start to the update.  Coming soon (I promise it won't be 6 months again) Part 2 of the update!

3 Month Check-up

Last Friday, January 25th, was my 3 month check-up with my oncologist.  I had a PET scan the Tuesday before so I got the results at the appointment.  My doctor told me that the scan was clear and that I was officially in remission.  It was great news and Jonathan and I were very excited and thankful to hear it.  He also told me that I could get my mediport out.  So hopefully I will be getting that schedule to be done in the next couple weeks.

Lots of News!

It has been a long time since I have posted anything!  To start off with, I had my last chemo treatment on September 17th.  I had a PET scan on October 8th, and I started my Radiation treatments on October 8th as well.  I had 20 Radiation treatments and I finished last Friday on November 2nd.  My PET scan results showed that the mass was a little smaller than the second scan I had and it is all scar tissue now.  There was no cancer activity in the area!  I went through Radiation so that it would kill any microscopic cancer cells that were in the area and lower my risk of getting cancer again.  Since I am done with all my treatments I would now consider myself in remission and I just have to go to checkups every couple months!  It is so exciting to be done with treatments.  It felt so weird this week not having any dr. appointments to go to!

I must not say this enough to people, but I would like to say thank you again to everyone that has helped and supported us throughout this process and beyond.  It is so great to know how much our family and friends care about us!  Jonathan and I appreciate everything that everyone has done. Mom, Dad, Glenn, Teresa, Dave and Nancy have been amazing and we couldn't have gotten through without the support of our parents.  We are forever greatful and we will never be able to repay you for all the stuff that you guys have done for us over the years.   So Thank you and we love you all...

Some exciting news, we have adopted another dog!  Her name is Dioro and she is a black lab and she about the same age as Hemi (4 or 5).  We came about adopting her from my friend Rochelle.  Her and her husband, Tyler, have taken offers on their dream jobs of working in Malawi, Africa.  Although, I will miss them very much, I wish them nothing but the best and I am so happy for them.  Dioro and Hemi have been playmates since I got Hemi.  We have been wanting to get another dog for awhile now so that Hemi would have someone to play with, but it was hard to do because Hemi is such a picky dog on who he likes and will get along with.  So when Rochelle ask me if I would adopt Dioro, it was a perfect answer for both of us!  We just got her on Sunday, but so far it has been going good.  Dioro has more energy then Hemi, so Hemi has been getting worn out everyday playing with her!

Since I have been done with Chemo, I have been running a mile about once a week.  Next weekend, November 11, I will have my first indoor soccer game.  I have not played soccer since May maybe even the end of April, and I have missed my teams and just playing.  I'm a little nervous to get back out there and don't know how much I will really be able to do, but I will find out on Sunday!  If anything, I will be good at subbing! haha Kaylea, my friend, bought me an awesome pair of indoor soccer shoes, so if nothing else, I will look pretty stylish while I'm out there!

I have a number of pictures to post, so once I get them from my camera I will upload them to the site.

14th Week of Treatment

I can't believe that it has been 14 weeks of treatment.  It has gone fast but at the same time it is slow.  I now only have 4 weeks left of chemo.  About 29 days if we want to be exact about it. haha  I'm so excited to be able to not have to worry about infection, being able to eat fresh produce, and starting to have my hair grow back!  I really do miss my hair, I thought I would get used to not having it but alas, that is not true.  I'm still hoping what little of my eyebrows are left will hold on for this last month.  I guess that is one good thing about having thick eyebrows, they last longer than people who have tweezed them thin!

Jonathan and I went and met with the radiologist on Wednesday last week.  He was impressed that I was doing so well going through R-CHOP and that I was working as much as I am.  He showed us the pictures of the PET scans of the before and after 3 rounds of chemo.  It was crazy to see how much of a difference there was.  He said it is about 95% gone.  I was so excited to see that and hear that.  It makes such a difference when it is said like that then when I was originally told the new dimensions of it.  The radiation will go in and kill the microscopic cancer cells that are left over improving my chance that the cancer will not come back.

I will be starting radiation, hopefully, a couple weeks sooner than what I had originally thought.  September 17th is my last round of Chemo, on September 26th I will go in to where I will have radiation and get a CT scan so they know where to shoot the beams at.  Then if I'm feeling well enough Dr. Kelly said that I would probably start radiation the first week in October.  I will have to go 5 days a week for 3.5 to 4 weeks.  Which means that I should be done with all my treatments by the end of October!  Woohoo

5th Chemo Treatment

Yesterday was my 5th Chemo treatment.  I now have one treatment left!  I have about 40 days to go before I can officially say that I am done going through Chemo.  The chemo treatment yesterday really made me not feel good and I was really depressed afterwards.  Needless to say, yesterday was a rough day for me.  Also, Yesterday I got my blood work back and my white blood count was lower than the normal range.  So, I had to go back today and get an injection to boost my white blood cells.  I have been told that I could make my bones hurt and that also that I shouldn't have a problem.  So we will see which way my body handles it.  I'm hoping for that not have a problem with it.  Next week Jonathan and I are going to meet with the radiologist that will be doing the radiation part of my treatment.  That more than likely won't start until 3 or 4 weeks after my last chemo session.  Next week we will find out more and hopefully get a schedule of when my treatments will start and for how long I will have to get them.

Today I am doing much better and not feeling sick like yesterday, which is so much better.  I'm and just tired and maybe a little nauseous.  I stayed home today from work and I will stay home again tomorrow.  Thursday and Friday I will probably go to work for half days like I have been previously on treatment weeks.  I have been doing pretty good and working 8 hour days on the weeks that I don't have treatment. 

I'm looking forward to being done with this and getting back to my "normal" schedule and life.  I miss being able to do the things that I was doing before I got diagnosed.  It has been hard not being able to play soccer, do yard work, help out around the house, and eat anything that I want (fresh produce).  Some days are definitely harder than others.

10th Week Of Treatment

So Monday was my fourth chemo treatment.  Last Thursday I had my PET scan.  I was the first appointment of the day which is very nice because I don't have to wait for anyone else.  I go in they take my blood glucose levels and put an IV in my arm.  Then I go lay in a chair and get Xanax to calm and relax me.  Along with the medicine they give me a shot of radiated sugar in the IV.  I sit and relax in the chair for an hour while the meds work into my system and the radiated sugar gets moving around.  Then after an hour I go in the the PET scan and lay there for about 30 minutes while it scans my body.  It is pretty painless and I pretty much sleep through the whole thing.  I'm not allowed to drive home after the procedure so Jonathan was there with me during the whole thing.  He just gets to hangout in the waiting room for two hours while I'm in the back getting scanned.

So on Monday I found out the results of my PET scan.  Originally the mass was about 8cmx4x4, it is now about 4cmx2x2.  Which is great news according to my Dr.  He was very excited to tell me about it and so therefore I am very exciting with the news.  I now will only have 2 chemo treatments left and then I'll be done with Chemo!  WooHoo!  After my last treatment I will get another PET scan to see how much is left and where it is located so that when I start radiation they know where to put the lasers, I'm assuming anyways.

My chemo treatments haven't been going too bad.  I have just been really tired this week, and I could really just lay down all day and do nothing.  But I don't, Tuesday I took a nap in the morning and afternoon, and then Wednesday I took a nap in the morning.  Today and tomorrow I am back at work for 1/2 the day and then I will go home and take a nap after that.

Other than this news, I don't have a whole lot of new exciting news.  Jonathan and I did buy tickets to 3 games for WSU football this season and I am so looking forward to going.  I may not make one of the games because it is the weekend after my last chemo session but the other two I will be there.  One is going to be Apple Cup this year and it is going to be super cold I'm sure, especially with little to no hair to keep my head warm!  I have also started making plans for next year trips that I want to take.  I have learned that I don't want to put things off anymore and I need to do the things that I want to do while I have a chance to do them!

8th Week of Treatment

So I haven't posted in a long time!  I'm already into my 8th week of treatment for chemo.  I now have about 10 weeks left of going through chemo and recovery (75 days, yes I'm keeping track).  I have now had 3 rounds of chemo and I'm doing and feeling pretty good.  To keep busy I have been pretty much keeping my life the same as before I was diagnosed with cancer.  I'm working pretty much everyday, I go watch Jonathan play soccer, take hemi on walks when it isn't too hot out, and hangout with friends when I can.  On Monday, I tried jogging for the first time since I last played soccer at the beginning of May.  I ran probably a total of 1/4 of a mile and my legs were definitely tired.  Today is Thursday and they are still sore!  I want to be able to keep my strength up in case the last rounds of treatment make me more sick/tired/weak.  I feel like staying active is really helping me to not feel so terrible during my rounds of chemo.  I have been feeling more tired after the infusions, for more days than just Monday and Tuesday.  This last infusion I was tired Monday - Friday.  Although I went to work 1/2 days on Wednesday and Thursday which probably made me more tired on Friday.  The nausea hasn't been too bad, the pills I have been given really help.  I haven't lost my appetite yet, so that is going good for me.  The day of my 3rd infusion, I weighed 101lbs this time.  That is up 2lbs since my last infusion.  So I'm gaining all the weight back that I lost when I was in the hospital for a week.

Last weekend was the fundraiser Kickball Tournament.  It was a great success and I'm so grateful and blessed for all the people that were there and involved in it all.  I don't have a final total yet but when I last looked it was over $9,000 made!  I would really like to thank Jeni, Chris, Michelle, Val, Jen, Jeni's Parent's, Teresa, and the ladies at Travel Leaders for helping with everything during the tournament.  Jeni did an awesome job organizing it and it went so smoothly!  I was able to make it out and watch the morning games and then the later in the afternoon games.

Next Thursday I have an appointment to go get another PET scan.  This will show how much the cancer has shrunk since I started chemo.  Jonathan and I are hoping that it is pretty much gone!  Even if it is nearly gone I will still have to go through 3 more rounds of chemo and then 4 weeks of radiation.

Well I have wrote enough for now I think, Thank you to everyone that has been commenting on my posts!  It really means a lot to have so many people care about how I'm doing!