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| I look sad, but I look different too. Physical changes, especially the color of my eye lids. Zombie like?! Lol. |
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| Been sporting the wig, A LOT! |
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| Just me! |
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| My brother, Mark and I. |
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| Took this today, December 16th! |
Monday, December 16, 2013
Almost the end!
Sorry for the lack of posting! It is now December 16th. After I had my petscan on November 1st, I received good news from the doctor. He called me a few days later to tell me that it came back clear! No tumor in sight! I was so happy!
When I went to my ninth chemo, I had an appointment with the doctor. I was a little confused by what he meant by everything being "clear". I asked and he said......that I was in remission! That's right, REMISSION! I felt so overjoyed! So many emotions going on! I felt like I was on top of the world, I had actually beat cancer! Although I was in remission, the doctor wanted to finish out the remaining therapies just in case there were any cells still floating around.
At this very moment, I've had my eleventh chemo and on Wednesday, December 18th, I will have my twelfth AND FINAL chemo! I've waited six months for this! It went by slow at times but also fast. I couldn't truly ask for a better Christmas gift!
So what happens now? I will see the doctor every 2-3 months for the first 2-3 years. For the last 3-5 years, I will see the doctor every 6 months. I'll have a physical exam and CT scans. (no more petscans, yay!). I've kept life as normal as I could for the past 6 months...but now it will really go back to normal. Hair growth, back to work, no more feeling always tired!
There's one special lady I'd really like to acknowledge in my blog - my mother. My mom has been my rock during this journey. I truly don't know what I would do without her. She came to every chemotherapy, every doctor appointment, every scan...she has been by my side every step of the way (even times when I was a total crab!). In times of weakness, she was strong for me. She gave me strength to get through this. I will be forever grateful for her. I can't imagine my life without her, she is my angel! Thank you, Mom! I love you more than you will ever know.
This isn't the end though. I will definitely continue to post pics, especially since I can start growing some hair now! Thank you for everyone who has supported me throughout this time. My family, friends, and my Scribes family. I love each and every one of you. I am so grateful to have such wonderful people in my life. I couldn't have made it without you guys. As for now, I'm outtie! Thanks for reading and joining me, every step of the way! :)
When I went to my ninth chemo, I had an appointment with the doctor. I was a little confused by what he meant by everything being "clear". I asked and he said......that I was in remission! That's right, REMISSION! I felt so overjoyed! So many emotions going on! I felt like I was on top of the world, I had actually beat cancer! Although I was in remission, the doctor wanted to finish out the remaining therapies just in case there were any cells still floating around.
At this very moment, I've had my eleventh chemo and on Wednesday, December 18th, I will have my twelfth AND FINAL chemo! I've waited six months for this! It went by slow at times but also fast. I couldn't truly ask for a better Christmas gift!
So what happens now? I will see the doctor every 2-3 months for the first 2-3 years. For the last 3-5 years, I will see the doctor every 6 months. I'll have a physical exam and CT scans. (no more petscans, yay!). I've kept life as normal as I could for the past 6 months...but now it will really go back to normal. Hair growth, back to work, no more feeling always tired!
There's one special lady I'd really like to acknowledge in my blog - my mother. My mom has been my rock during this journey. I truly don't know what I would do without her. She came to every chemotherapy, every doctor appointment, every scan...she has been by my side every step of the way (even times when I was a total crab!). In times of weakness, she was strong for me. She gave me strength to get through this. I will be forever grateful for her. I can't imagine my life without her, she is my angel! Thank you, Mom! I love you more than you will ever know.
This isn't the end though. I will definitely continue to post pics, especially since I can start growing some hair now! Thank you for everyone who has supported me throughout this time. My family, friends, and my Scribes family. I love each and every one of you. I am so grateful to have such wonderful people in my life. I couldn't have made it without you guys. As for now, I'm outtie! Thanks for reading and joining me, every step of the way! :)
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Life!
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| Just me! |
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| Friends and myself :) |
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| 7th chemo with one of my best friends, Justin! :) |
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| Spending time with my second cousin, Mikey! |
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| Momma sent me this, love it. |
Sorry I haven't updated in awhile but here it is!
Hey everyone! It's been awhile since I've updated but time sure if flying by! I've had my 5th, 6th, and just yesterday, my 7th chemo! I'M MORE THAN HALF WAY DONE! I'm so excited! I've been feeling pretty good, just the usual tiredness and loss of appetite after the first few days. I met this woman at the Gathering Place (a place cancer patients and their families can go for yoga, reiki, massages, or just to hang out!) and she told me that lemon drops help for nausea. I bought a bag and it really does help. I'm mostly nauseous when I'm actually getting chemo, I think it's just me not wanting to be there lol. I can't complain though, it could be way worse! My hair is weirdly growing but thinning at the same time. I've had my days where I'm really missing my hair! I look at other girls with such nice, long hair and I do get jealous but...I keep telling myself it'll grow back. I think I'm going to start taking biotin (if the doc approves) to help with growth and my nails...my nails aren't as strong as they used to be. The only other weird thing I've had is my right eye watering in the mornings after I wake up. I told the doctor about it yesterday but he isn't too concerned, unless it starts to effect my vision - could just be a blocked tear duct thing. He also told me yesterday that I'm doing so well. My nurse Barb, scheduled my second pet scan for November 1st. The doctor seems very excited to see what the results will be since I've been doing so good! I can't wait to see! I wanna see most of that stinkin' tumor to be gone! My attitude during this whole situation has been strong and positive - I can't see myself being any other way. With such a great cure rate, how could I not be? As always, I want to thank my family, friends, and Scribes family for sticking by my side! I thank God everyday for putting such wonderful people in my life. Thanks for reading, see you at my next post! :)
“Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” — G. K. Chesterton.
“Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” — G. K. Chesterton.
Monday, September 2, 2013
Just life :)
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| En route to Marblehead! |
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| I don't always wear glasses...but when I do, I look like a nerd :P |
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| Just me :) |
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| Admiring Lake Erie, this was in Marblehead |
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| Indians game with Dad! :) |
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| Very excited for this event! Love my Scribes family! |
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| Silly Belle and I |
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| Thinning! : / |
8 more chemos to go!
Hi all! I had my 4th chemo on Wednesday, August 28th. It's currently Monday, September 2nd. Happy Labor Day! Let me just say...I slept my weekend away! No partying/drinking for me! Not sure why but chemo really took a toll on me this time around. The doctor wasn't even sure if I was going to have chemo because of my low counts, but I was glad to have it done! Thankfully, my counts were at 660 which is 100 more than it was last time! A friend from work and her husband brought me a Vitamix that was especially donated to me! I had a smoothie every morning the week before my fourth chemo, and I truly think that's what made a difference in my counts. I mixed fruits with kale (very healthy for you and you couldn't even taste it) in the Vitamix and it tasted so good! It made me feel great throughout the day too, like I had a good amount of energy. So thankful for the Vitamix, it's truly a great thing to have!
My next chemo is on September 11th and on the 14th, I have my fundraiser at Aces. Very excited for that! I can't wait to see everyone that's going to attend!
My hair is still in tact, in fact - it's actually growing...well, growing and thinning at the same time. Hard to describe. Still rockin' my scarves and hats though! The cold weather is approaching so I can't wait to see what the stores will have!
God bless everyone and thanks for reading :)
Do not be afraid of tomorrow; for God is already there. - Author Unknown
My next chemo is on September 11th and on the 14th, I have my fundraiser at Aces. Very excited for that! I can't wait to see everyone that's going to attend!
My hair is still in tact, in fact - it's actually growing...well, growing and thinning at the same time. Hard to describe. Still rockin' my scarves and hats though! The cold weather is approaching so I can't wait to see what the stores will have!
God bless everyone and thanks for reading :)
Do not be afraid of tomorrow; for God is already there. - Author Unknown
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Pics! :)
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| Buzzed hair! |
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| Barely any hair! |
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| I like this hat! |
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| My wig from The Gathering Place. Looks pretty natural! |
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| My friend Tony wearing my wig! LOL! |
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| Bumper sticker from my friend Kathleen! Love it! |
Almost into single digits!
Hi everyone!
Tomorrow is my third chemo. After tomorrow, I'll only have 9 more to go! Single digits! I'm hoping that my white blood cell count isn't low anymore too - fingers crossed. Besides that, I'm feeling pretty good. I only feel nauseous and tired a few days after chemo. The worst part is having a good week and feeling okay then right back to it...it goes by too fast. I'm starting to dread it. Can't wait til I don't have to go through that anymore. I also had the port put in my chest. It healed up really nice - no more poking in my hands, yay!
As far as my hair, I buzzed the mohawk. It started to fall out in clumps. Pics will follow.
I'm also very excited because in a month, Aces is hosting a fundraiser for me! My boss, Carolyn, also set up a clambake fundraiser for October (I can't wait to see some families of Scribes there, I miss my babies at work!). I feel so very blessed! I can't express how thankful I am to all the wonderful women I work with! All of you are family to me and I love you all so much! Just thinking about everything they've done for me makes me tear up - happy tears of course! I want to thank them and everyone else in my life that has been so supportive! I couldn't do it without you guys! <3
"I don't think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains." - Anne Frank
Tomorrow is my third chemo. After tomorrow, I'll only have 9 more to go! Single digits! I'm hoping that my white blood cell count isn't low anymore too - fingers crossed. Besides that, I'm feeling pretty good. I only feel nauseous and tired a few days after chemo. The worst part is having a good week and feeling okay then right back to it...it goes by too fast. I'm starting to dread it. Can't wait til I don't have to go through that anymore. I also had the port put in my chest. It healed up really nice - no more poking in my hands, yay!
As far as my hair, I buzzed the mohawk. It started to fall out in clumps. Pics will follow.
I'm also very excited because in a month, Aces is hosting a fundraiser for me! My boss, Carolyn, also set up a clambake fundraiser for October (I can't wait to see some families of Scribes there, I miss my babies at work!). I feel so very blessed! I can't express how thankful I am to all the wonderful women I work with! All of you are family to me and I love you all so much! Just thinking about everything they've done for me makes me tear up - happy tears of course! I want to thank them and everyone else in my life that has been so supportive! I couldn't do it without you guys! <3
"I don't think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains." - Anne Frank
Monday, August 5, 2013
New hair and other random pics!
Goodbye hair! Well kinda...
Hi everyone! I had my second chemo on July 31st. 10 more chemos to go! Almost into the single digits, yay! I'm feeling pretty good. My white blood cell count was very low. The normal is 1,500. I was at 690 when I went in. Yikes...Although the doctor wouldn't have done chemo on any other cancer case, he said mine is curable so he was going to go through with it - being a little aggressive. I didn't mind, I felt okay and would rather not put it off!
The next evening, I was running my hands through my hair and what do you know?! Clumps of hair coming out. I was expecting it at some point but I was still surprised! I went to bed and woke up the next morning with lots of hair on my pillow. Ugh. I called my friend over to shave it. I wasn't going to go completely bald, just wanted to go shorter. As much as I thought it was going to be very emotional, I did pretty well with it! I think my first haircut really prepared me for this moment. I wasn't pleased at how it looked so...well...I went a little crazy and my friend gave me a mohawk. Haha. I'll post pictures of course. Just having a little fun with different hairstyles...not like I can do this on any other daily basis! ;)
"Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not muscles". - Alex Karras
The next evening, I was running my hands through my hair and what do you know?! Clumps of hair coming out. I was expecting it at some point but I was still surprised! I went to bed and woke up the next morning with lots of hair on my pillow. Ugh. I called my friend over to shave it. I wasn't going to go completely bald, just wanted to go shorter. As much as I thought it was going to be very emotional, I did pretty well with it! I think my first haircut really prepared me for this moment. I wasn't pleased at how it looked so...well...I went a little crazy and my friend gave me a mohawk. Haha. I'll post pictures of course. Just having a little fun with different hairstyles...not like I can do this on any other daily basis! ;)
"Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not muscles". - Alex Karras
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Inspiration!
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| For all the girls fighting cancer! We're still beautiful! Thanks for sending this to me, grandma! :) I'll be losing my hair soon, the nurse said it could be up to two weeks or a little less. Just want to upload more pics of my hair before it start to thin. |
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| So short! Lol. |
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| Smile never fades! |
Thursday, July 18, 2013
My First Haircut!
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| Discussing the cut... |
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| Rubberbanding sections of my hair to cut off for locks of love! Like I mentioned before, I donated 10 inches! Very awesome feeling! |
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| The end result! I think I can pull it off! What do you think? :) |
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| Another pic of my short hair...holding up gifts I received from my mom's co-worker, Erin! :) |
My Long Hair!
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| Long, blonde and straight! |
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| Curly/wavy? |
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| Before going out with friends! Wavy hair again. I have very thick hair. Lol. |
The beginning...
This is my first ever blog! I will be posting weekly pictures of this crazy hair journey that I'm about to go through. I'll also talk about my feelings and how I'm physically feeling...but mostly about my hair haha. I'm so excited to share it with friends, family, or someone else who is going through a similar situation. Hair is important to women! Yes, I know it will grow back. I can't wait til it does! It may be an emotional roller coaster but if this is what it takes to get healthy, then so be it! With all that said, I'd like to thank my friend Jess for showing me her hair blog and inspiring me to make my own! I hope my blog can comfort someone, as hers did for me! Love you girl! :)
Here's my story...
In June of 2013, I noticed a weird lump on the side of my neck. I truly didn't think anything of it. I showed my mom and we both kind of shrugged it off. I thought I had maybe just pulled a muscle or it was a swollen gland. I let it go for about a week and then started to grow more concern when it wasn't going away. Not to mention, I had a very strange pain in my lower back that I couldn't even sleep with unless I took Ibuprofen before bed. With all this going on, I called my general doctor and she examined me. She set up a CT scan and everything I thought it could be, definitely was not what it was.
An open biopsy was performed on the lump, along with other different tests and I later found out that my body is currently battling stage 4 of Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Stage 4 means that it's in your bones, which in my case explained the pain I had in my sacrum (lower back). It's also in my neck and chest area, where the doctors believe it started growing. I'm currently looking at about 6 months of chemo; one session every two weeks. So here I am, 23 years old and in complete shock that I have this. I never would have thought it was cancer. Doctors aren't clear on what causes it but the good news is that it is a curable kind (like 90% cure rate, yay!). Hearing that news and knowing how confident the doctors were in getting rid of it, has kept me so positive!!
As I'm writing this, I still have my hair. I did donate 10 inches to locks of love! It made me feel really good to give my soon to be gone hair to someone else who may need it! It was a big adjustment and a few tears were shed but I'm actually starting to like the short hair look. I think it was also a good way to prepare for when it all starts falling out. When I was told I was going to lose my hair, I bawled my eyes out. I apologized to the nurse for sounding so selfish but she said that that is typically the hardest part. Thankfully, there are so many alternatives - such as hats, scarves, and wigs.
I had my first chemo session on Tuesday, July 16th. It went very smoothly and I'm feeling pretty good so far (writing this a few days after it). Haven't had any side effects so far and hoping none arise!
The nurse told me that I will probably start losing my hair two weeks after the first session, if not sooner. I've decided to shave it when it starts thinning. I'd rather get rid of most of it instead of watching it thin and fall out in big clumps. It's definitely not going to be easy getting rid of those last pieces of hope, but I've faced the reality that it's going to be gone eventually. I've been keeping a positive attitude through all this! Hopefully around the new year, I'll be able to say that I fought and am currently a cancer survivor! That would be a great start to 2014!
"Fear can keep us up all night long, but faith makes one fine pillow." - Philip Gulley
Bring on the pictures!
Here's my story...
In June of 2013, I noticed a weird lump on the side of my neck. I truly didn't think anything of it. I showed my mom and we both kind of shrugged it off. I thought I had maybe just pulled a muscle or it was a swollen gland. I let it go for about a week and then started to grow more concern when it wasn't going away. Not to mention, I had a very strange pain in my lower back that I couldn't even sleep with unless I took Ibuprofen before bed. With all this going on, I called my general doctor and she examined me. She set up a CT scan and everything I thought it could be, definitely was not what it was.
An open biopsy was performed on the lump, along with other different tests and I later found out that my body is currently battling stage 4 of Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Stage 4 means that it's in your bones, which in my case explained the pain I had in my sacrum (lower back). It's also in my neck and chest area, where the doctors believe it started growing. I'm currently looking at about 6 months of chemo; one session every two weeks. So here I am, 23 years old and in complete shock that I have this. I never would have thought it was cancer. Doctors aren't clear on what causes it but the good news is that it is a curable kind (like 90% cure rate, yay!). Hearing that news and knowing how confident the doctors were in getting rid of it, has kept me so positive!!
As I'm writing this, I still have my hair. I did donate 10 inches to locks of love! It made me feel really good to give my soon to be gone hair to someone else who may need it! It was a big adjustment and a few tears were shed but I'm actually starting to like the short hair look. I think it was also a good way to prepare for when it all starts falling out. When I was told I was going to lose my hair, I bawled my eyes out. I apologized to the nurse for sounding so selfish but she said that that is typically the hardest part. Thankfully, there are so many alternatives - such as hats, scarves, and wigs.
I had my first chemo session on Tuesday, July 16th. It went very smoothly and I'm feeling pretty good so far (writing this a few days after it). Haven't had any side effects so far and hoping none arise!
The nurse told me that I will probably start losing my hair two weeks after the first session, if not sooner. I've decided to shave it when it starts thinning. I'd rather get rid of most of it instead of watching it thin and fall out in big clumps. It's definitely not going to be easy getting rid of those last pieces of hope, but I've faced the reality that it's going to be gone eventually. I've been keeping a positive attitude through all this! Hopefully around the new year, I'll be able to say that I fought and am currently a cancer survivor! That would be a great start to 2014!
"Fear can keep us up all night long, but faith makes one fine pillow." - Philip Gulley
Bring on the pictures!
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