Jill and Chuck Living Well With Metastatic Breast Cancer

 Hi Friends and Family - Here we are, the last day of May - can you believe it? Time sure does fly, that's not just a saying...that's for real.  Tomorrow, June 1, will be 2 months since we first met with my oncologist and hear him say, "I think this is your breast cancer metastasized to your bone".  In some ways, it's hard to believe it has been 2 months already, and in others, it feels like yesterday.  From day 1 (probably from birth), I've been complex. I've lived a somewhat complex life in my growing years and beyond at times, and this breast cancer since 2010 has been a little out of the norm - a little complex.  In my primary cancer in 2010 (remember....if you're metastatic, the original breast cancer is called "primary"), my breast surgeon at the time, Dr. Stocks, said "this is Sheryl Crow style cancer - you have one little tumor...we'll do a lumpectomy and radiation likely and that is it."  Well...nope. I ended up having ...

 Happy Memorial Day Weekend Y'all!   I hope you all enjoy some down time doing exactly what you love this weekend!  Here's a quick, good update!  I mentioned that I've been having some pain in my femur, in a pinpointed spot that shoots down my leg. Of course, the worry about that is that the cancer is there since it's not uncommon when have mets to the bone for it to be in the femur. But, NO....... It's sciatica.  I've been rather limpy walking for the last 6 weeks because of the right hip pain, putting most of my weight on my left foot when walking, sitting on my left butt when sitting, sleeping on my left side, so I got myself all out of whack. And, I do have some inflammation from radiation, the biopsy, the cancer., all a good recipe for sciatica. They sent me for an Xray to make sure I didn't have any fracture (which is fairly common for bone mets) and if there were a cancer lesion on my bone, it would show up. NO LESION, NO FRACTURE!  Also, the ho...

 Hi Friends and Family! It's been 12 days since we've written!  Here is the big news - RADIATION IS COMPLETE!  Have you ever wondered what a day in the life of SBRT Radiation is like? haha!  Sure you have! Well...it's a very precise science. Literally, this radiation finds its way around organs and the bladder, bowel, to get right to the tumor site and zap it without damaging my insides along the way.  Before the SBRT radiation is even scheduled, a 3D model is created using specific software, with the CT Scan and Pet Scan that I did earlier. The  radiation therapists - I always had 4 of them align my body precisely—within millimeters—using lasers and real-time imaging called Cone Beam CT Scan.  This is done each and every time.  There were sheets underneath me the radiation techs would pull to move me, and the the bed itself would move. I laid with my feet in the mold of my legs that I created during the simulation, and let me tell you, that bed ...

Hi friends and family!  Game on finally! I will have 5 rounds of high-dose SBRT type radiation, every other weekday starting this Wednesday, May 7th...then Fri. 5/9, then Mon. 5/12, then Wed. 5/14, then Fri. 5/14.  Here's a a GOOD VIDEO on what this targeted radiation is and why it may be very effective for me.  This past week has just been a scheduling / insurance authorization / medication decisions kind of week as far as the medical side of life goes....I can only say - I can't say it enough - ADVOCATE FOR YOUR HEALTH AND PLANS. I felt like I was in this weird gray area last week where not much was happening, yet, a lot was happening behind the scenes.  I have a team of like 9 now in Oncology and Radiation/Oncology, and it does take a bit to understand who's who. what their role is and who I should go to for what. I think I got it now!   I just wanted to get this news of radiation to you all!  We will write more this weekend!  Hugs and Love,...