The Chemo Crew

Why wouldn't you show up at Chemo with your very own nurse?

Ok, Sarah was the friend on this one,

but definitely knew the questions to clarify with our nurses.

Pink jackets, pink blankets, pink bracelets and even pink tape to match!

The "Round One" Chemo Crew!

One is Done!!!

Round One of Chemo is Done!

I arrived pretty nervous to my first appointment. All I can equate it to was the feeling of arriving to be induced with Jack. When will it hurt? What will hurt? Will I be able to take it?

I was at ease knowing my babies were with my Mom and taken care of. Actually they couldn't wait for us to leave because they were going to the zoo and park.

I was well supported. Brian and Sarah were by my side and if you know the three of us, this chemo center wasn't going to be the same. We were all decked out in pink and Sarah even made "Team Dani" pink bracelets with my Dad's favorite saying "Fight Hard, You'll Win" (yes, Sarah and I were told this a lot in high school). There are lots of extras for family and friends. Adam came for a visit as well.

It was a total of 3 hours of treatment because my Herceptin was a Super Dose. When the hung the first bag, Sarah looked at the IV machine and said "Ok, now do your job!" I sat through three bags of chemo and it wasn't bad. No discomfort during treatment and was sent home with lots of meds to help with the aftermath. They said tomorrow will be my toughest day and I will be very achey.

I actually feel great. Brian and I went to lunch on the way home and I was able to spend some quality time with the boys before bed. An amazing dinner was waiting, new bedding on my bed, and a great sign from FOWD. I am truly blessed!

Thanks for all the support, well wishes, prayers and messages. I will post the chemo room pictures tomorrow, yes we did take pictures in the room (you've got to document this stuff!).

I'm off to bed, drinking lots of water and getting ready for a par-tay on Sunday.

It's All Pink Ribbons, Inside and Out!

Getting diagnosed with Breast Cancer in October is bittersweet! There are pink ribbons everywhere, people are so aware, and everyone is talking about the rates and survival of breast cancer patients. On the other hand, it's everywhere shirts at Old Navy, pink shirts on all the docs at Kaiser, and even breast cancer ribbon bagels at Panera which doesn't give you much space to not think about it for awhile :-)

Yesterday, I went in for my ultrasound so they could further define the tumors they found on the MRI. They found 4 small tumors with the largest being closest to my armpit and moving in a line towards the center. They performed a needle biopsy to take pre-chemo samples from 2 of the 4. No, I wasn't expecting to be given local anesthesia, and have many small samples taken out, but I rolled with it. After taking samples, they put two small markers in tumor 4 and tumor 2. They are too small to see to the eye, but will provide a marker for my post-chemo scans. In a best case scenario, after chemo the tumors will be undetectable. These small markers will provide a point for the doctor to say, "It was there."

One marker looks like a small coil. The other marker looks like a Breast Cancer Ribbon.

So it looks like I will be sporting my breast cancer ribbon whether I am wearing pink or not!

Thanks For Loving Me Through It!

Warning: Tears Ahead

I'm Gonna Love You Through It - Martina McBride - Martina McBride Videos

and Friday it is!

After a long day of doctor phone calls, I was scheduled for my first chemo treatment on Friday. Think good thoughts, say lots of prayers and send positive energy my way. I am.....

A little nervous-Not sure quite what to expect.

A little scared-I don't do medicine well (actually Brian has trouble getting me to take aspirin when I have a headache) so having it pumped through my body is a little concerning.

A little excited-A start means we're moving!

A little annoyed-We have a birthday party for Jack on Sunday. Luckily, I have an incredible group of family and friends who offered the world to me.... oh and to make cupcakes, clean my house, set up the party, and watch my kiddos :-) Jack has been talking about his costume party for 6 months. Can't hold Buzz down!

Meal Train

Chemo is all set to start either this week or next, I am just awaiting a call from the Chemo Coordinator with the first available appointment. The treatment plan is to first attack the cancer with Chemo and then to reevaluate the need for surgery after that.

My friend, Sarah, started an awesome website called Meal Train. Everyone has been asking how they can help, and she knew that this would be an easy way for people to get involved. She works at UCD Med Center and says that many of her families use this site to coordinate this type of effort. It has available days to sign up for and when you enter your email it will even send you a reminder. For those of you like me that forget until the last second :-)

Link to Meal Train

Happy Dance!

The PET scan was clear, so the cancer has not spread.

They found a small mass in my left breast which links to the removed lymph node and the small pebble size one in my neck. It is all tying together nicely. Again, not your normal response to a Stage 3 Breast Cancer diagnosis, but much better than the alternative.

The surgeon and oncologist agreed that doing surgery now would require a month of recovery and give the aggressive cancer time to grow. They felt the best option was to start chemo immediately.......as in possibly Wednesday.

We are ready to kick some butt, so we said "Let's Go!"

We are waiting for a call to see if they can push me onto Wednesday's schedule! I'll keep you posted!

Don't go to the Airport

PET Scan Nurse: Do you have any plans to go the the airport this weekend?

Me: No

PET Scan Nurse: Good because after you complete this test you would be considered and treated as a bomb if you entered the airport area.

Me: Interesting that they don't tell you this before you come!

Later ........

Me: Why do I have to use the wheelchair lift to enter the PET Scan area? There are stairs right there.

PET Scan Doc: They aren't compliant and our patients usually aren't able to use the stairs. Although we appreciate your energy and youth, it's a double edge sword.

Me: Yes, because you never come in to have a PET Scan if things are good.

Jan and Chemo Class

We fell in love with the chemo coordinator that spoke with us after the oncologist. Her name was Jan and she was spunky and had a take charge attitude. She explained the three drugs that would most likely be my chemo treatment and then said that when we had a more definite diagnosis we would attend chemo class where we would get specific directions. She gave us her direct line and let all of us know that we could call her with any questions.

Fast forward to 6:30pm that night and I got a call from Jan (yes 6:30!) that she had seen my oncologist in the hall and that the MRI had pointed to Breast Cancer. She didn't know a definite answer on what was found, but we were to attend chemo class the next morning and we now had a plan! What a relief, we now weren't searching or treating an unknown!

The next morning we went to chemo class with 18 other newly diagnosed patients. Jan came up and told us she may use us in her future classes as one of the only groups of people that were excited with a diagnosis she gave! For us three, the known was a better scenario than the unknown. Here is what we learned about my chemo:

3 drugs commonly referred to as TCH: Taxotere, Carboplatin, Herceptin

One 3-4 hour treatment every 3 weeks for 6 total treatments (18 weeks total)

It is an aggressive and very strong treatment due to my age, health history and fact that the goal is to CURE it!

I will lose my hair :-( The way she put it is that Taxotere won't make your hair brittle it will open up the follicles and all the hair on my body will actually fall out. This should be interesting. Brian and I should be sporting matching do's by christmastime.

She said that the drugs have improved greatly and that everyone reacts differently so the other side effects can range in intensity. The date of starting chemo treatment was now dependent on 2 things:

1. Clear PET Scan showing that the cancer had not spread to any other organs in my body.

2. Surgeon's decision on whether or not to operate.

Results should be in by Monday, October 24 on the next step.

Unknown Primary Cancer

The following Wednesday we had an appointment with the oncologist to discuss the biopsy results. At this point, we didn't know what to expect. All we knew for sure was that the mass and lymph node were cancerous. My mom, Brian and I went to the appointment together. We immediately made a connection with the doctor as he had treated my mom's friend about a year ago. He was friendly, had young kids, and joked with Brian (which we all know wins him over). They tested for 3 receptors and the receptor for Breast Cancer was 100% positive. This coupled with where they found the lymph node all pointed to Breast Cancer.

The issue was that my mammogram was clear. If they can not find the original tumor and it has already spread to the lymph nodes it is considered an "Unknown Primary Source" cancer. He felt with the positive Breast Cancer results in the biopsy that we just weren't seeing the tumor on the mammogram. He scheduled a Breast MRI to try to locate the tumor and a PET Scan to assure the cancer had not spread into any other organs. He gave us the following scenarios:

1. We would find something on the Breast MRI which would help us define this as Breast Cancer. At this point, my surgeon would decide if he could remove the mass or not. The treatment plan could include any combination of surgery, radiation and chemo in this case

2. We would not find anything on the Breast MRI which could mean that my immune system fought off the original tumor or that we might need to look further. We would then treat with Chemotherapy as an Unknown Primary Source cancer.

3. The two previous scenarios would all be dependent on a clear PET Scan. My cancer would be considered Stage 3 unless the PET Scan showed that it had traveled to any other organs. (Let's just leave it at that, we needed a clear PET Scan).

He sent me right over to Radiology where they took me in for a Breast MRI. We all walked into the internal waiting room......

Nurse: Undress, put on this gown and leave your shoes on

Me: I have my cowboy boots on

Nurse: Go ahead and just leave your socks on

Me: Ok (laughing..........)

We are a little sock challenged at our house,

but I'm thinking it may become a tradition here!

A Wait!!!

And so the wait began.........5-10 days for the tissues to be examined, tested and processed. Our appointment with Oncology was set for the following Wednesday one week after surgery.

Of course, in typical Danielle fashion we did not just sit around and wait for the results......

A Routine Surgery

Surgery was scheduled for the following Tuesday and my pre-surgery appointment was very routine. The Doc said it would be a routine lump removal. He didn't have any major concerns I had given birth to two boys, never had surgery, was young and had clear bloodwork.

I was not worried, but more annoyed. They wanted me to arrive at 9:30 for a 1:00 pm surgery and I didn't want Brian to have to take a full day off work. I planned for a friend to drop me off and Brian was going to arrive prior to surgery. I checked myself in and joked through pre-op with my nurses. We talked about her kids and she asked me teacher advice :-) The anesthesiologist prepped me and even rested her feet on my bed until the surgeon was ready.

Brian was in the waiting room when the doctor opened the door and asked, "Is there a Brian Singley here?" He then waived Brian into the hallway, where he told him that what he found was cancerous. He removed the mass, the lymph node, and the tissues surrounding it. Brian, still in his work clothes, was shocked and asked the Doc if he was f'ing kidding him and didn't hear much of anything after the word cancer.

Brian went into emergency mode and started making calls. He called my mom, at work (no answer), on her cell (no answer), again (no answer). He called the front office and was transferred to her friend at work who told Brian she was getting her nails done. Her friend drove to the nail salon picked up my mom and rushed her over. In the meantime, Brian called a friend to get my boys and my brother for support and I am sure then tried to summons up the courage to tell me! This is where we are lucky to have a support system that came into full force at a moment's notice.

Next thing I know I was waking up from surgery, the nurse laughed that I was up too early and no one was ever alert this quick. I should have gotten the first clue when the nurse was going over my follow up appointments which included a Wednesday appointment with oncology. I was groggy and didn't think twice until my mom walked in. I looked at her, half awake and said, "Wait, you aren't supposed to be here. You should be getting to boys. What's going on?". I focused on the nurse because I couldn't look at my Mom yet. Brian came into the room and started rubbing my shoulders. Adam met us in the hall and I knew it wasn't good. This routine surgery did not have routine findings at all.

No Walk in Mammo for Me

It's Breast Cancer Awareness month and the signs were posted everyone, "Walk in Mammograms" so you think this would be easy.

Me-I'm here for a mammogram
Him-How old are you?
Me-32
Him-I'm sorry you're not old enough for a walk in mammogram

Lovely! So after calling my general doctor obtaining an under 35 year old order, I was able to participate in the exciting process of my first mammogram.

A Pain in the Arm

I noticed a dull pain in my arm pit in early September 2011 while training to run a half marathon with friends. Luckily, I was super aware of my aches and pains at this time and knew that this wasn't of the running variety. I made an appointment to see my general doctor and he found a small lump in my armpit (about 2 cm). My bloodwork was clear so he scheduled me a 4 week follow up appointment to reevalaute.

I finished up my training and completed a half marathon in October and had my follow up appointment the following week. I went into the appointment thinking that the doctor would say it has broken up on its' own and that we were clear. He was immediately concerned when he felt it because the lump had almost doubled and I had a small lump in my neck. I couldn't feel the lump so had no way of checking its' progress. He called the surgeon from the office and sent me directly for a mammogram.