What I've Been Up To and What I'm Doing Now...

Goodness it's been a long time since my last post!  Time to update you all!  This is easiest done with pictures, lots and lots of pictures!!!


August 2016 happenings...

August 8, 2016

I had my exchange surgery.  The lovely expanders (formerly known as Lucy and Ethel) came out and the implants went in.  A very successful surgery has given me a less than desirable look which will most likely lead to another surgery this summer.  It's all part of the battle and the journey.

August 16, 2016

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk Kick-Off

I was asked to be a guest speaker at the kick-off breakfast for the 2016 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk.  Without hesitation, I accepted.  It was one of the greatest moments of my life!  I am so glad I did this because it has lead me to a great passion of mine, speaking about my journey and raising awareness!

 My parents, my sister, Cole, me, and Cole's parents

My sister and I - true survivors! 

Valerie Pritchett and I

I was so excited to have the opportunity to meet her!

#friendsforever

August 25, 2016

1 Year Cancerversary Celebrations!

My colleagues celebrating with me

1 year cancer free calls for a great celebratory dinner!

#crabfest

September 2016 happenings...

September 2, 2016

Filming on City Island

Valerie Pritchett asked to interview my sister and I so she could share our journeys and help to raise awareness of breast cancer.

September 3, 2016

Senators Paint the Park Pink

I was asked to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Harrisburg Senators game.  Of course I would!  Such a fun time and a great way to raise awareness and share my journey!

 Cole, me, and my parents taking a selfie at the

Making Strides booth

 Me on the jumbotron during my pitch

 Me throwing out the first pitch

September 13, 2016

Recording Radio Promotions for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk

I was asked if I would be willing to record radio promotions for the Making Strides walk - of course I said yes!!

 I became known as "one-take Jake" because it only took me 1 take to record each of the promos I recorded!  Go me!

Our beautiful group of gals that have become great friends!

October 2016 happenings...

In the News

October 4, 2016

Here is the link to the news story that Valerie Pritchett did on my sister and I.

You may want to have a tissue ready!

http://abc27.com/2016/10/04/know-your-breast-cancer-risk/

Pink Day at School

October 6, 2016

Newville Elementary hosted a pink day to raise money for my Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walking team, Sisters in Stride.  This day was also my sister's last chemo treatment!

 My dear friend, Heather, and I on pink day.

Heather's grandmother is a survivor.

Donation from our School to Pink Hands of Hope

October 2016

Our school donated $1,100 to Pink Hands of Hope!

Way to go Big Spring!

Steeler's Breast Cancer Awareness Game

October 9, 2016

To celebrate my 1 year cancerversary, Cole surprised me with tickets to the Steeler's breast cancer awareness game.

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk 2016

October 15, 2016

I joined the Making Strides team as a committee member very late in the game, but it has become a passion of mine!  I cannot wait to continue helping to make this successful event even bigger and better each year!  I'm all about raising awareness, sharing my journey, and helping others!

 Real Men Wear Pink

Here I am with Dan Green and Jordan Piscioneri, members of the new group, Real Men Wear Pink, to Making Strides.  These men helped to raise thousands of dollars in the fight against breast cancer.

 #survivorsisters

 Called up on stage by Valerie Pritchett

 Cole and I - love the pink beard!!

 Part of my walking team - Sisters in Stride

 Survivors!

Big Spring Breast Cancer Awareness Football Game

Coin Toss

October 21, 2016

I was asked to be an honorary captain for our varsity football team and to do the coin toss at our breast cancer awareness game.  Of course I said yes!!

 I'm the one in the pink to the left of the team!

Hershey Bears Pink the Rink

October 30, 2016

I helped out with the silent auction of the Hershey Bear's jerseys.

Money from this auction went to the American Cancer Society.

 I spent a little money myself!  I bought Nathan Walker's jersey.

A precious group of gals having a great time raising awareness!

November 2016 happenings...

Hope Lodge

November 20, 2016

At the November Making Strides committee meeting, I was recognized as a Pacesetter for the walk.  This means I personally raised over $2500!  I raised $2513!  I was and still am ecstatic that I reached my goal!  As a Pacesetter, I was invited to the Hope Lodge in Hershey where we took a tour and treated the guests to a brunch.  What an honor to be a part of this humbling experience seeing the dollars I helped to raise help others!

 abc 27 News (above) was there to film this event

as well as WGAL channel 8 (below).

 Cole tried desperately to avoid the cameras, 

especially when he was in the kitchen!

A wonderful group of people!

December 2016 happenings...

Erin's Donation

December 7, 2016

Erin Hurley, a former student of mine, donated her locks to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program.  According to her and her family, I was an inspiration and Erin wanted to help others battling this disease.  Love, love, love the Hurley family!

 Of course we had the media involved!

Any way to raise awareness, I'm all in!

 

January and February 2017 happenings..

   Taking time to slow down a bit!  It's been several busy months.  I'm feeling the exhaustion!  But things will pick up again in March as I prepare to get back in the swing of things with Making Strides.  I am so excited to be part of an amazing team of friends that share my passion!

Happening Now and in the Future

So where am I and how am I now?!?!  Big questions!  

In October, I was selected as a Voice of Hope for the American Cancer Society.  I'm honored to be selected and cannot wait to continue my mission, my passion of sharing my journey and raising awareness!  I have been a part of a few conference calls and will be a part of a conference/retreat in March to really get started on being a Voice of Hope.  Super excited for this!  If you are part of Relay for Life, please contact me.  I'd love to help in any way I can!  I'd love to speak at your event!

I had yet another PET scan (my 5th since diagnosis) in December.  My blood work was great as was the scan!  All clear!  Still NED (no evidence of disease)!  My oncologist is the best!  Dr. Lee will continue to order PET scans every 6 months for me for a few year.  I was stage 3 and hope to never be stage anything again!

Side effects...  

Chemo brain still exists.  Fortunately, it's not as bad as when I was going through treatment, but it's definitely still there.  It's very, very frustrating.  Searching for words and not remembering things - it takes a toll emotionally.

Acid reflux/indigestion/heartburn - never had these in my life until I started chemo.  It's an everyday thing now and sometimes it really hurts and literally makes me vomit without any notice.  Yeah, it's that bad.

Pain from one of the meds I have to take is a constant.  24/7.

Taking other medicine to counteract what one medicine is doing sucks, too.

But I'm alive, right!?!  Yeah, that's great news, but not what a survivor always wants to hear.  Why, you may ask?  Not because we'd opt for the opposite, but because we miss all or part of our old self.  We miss being pain free.  We miss our energy.  We miss our scarless bodies.  We miss not having to be so careful to not break a bone.  We miss so much of what and how we used to be because of what we were diagnosed with and had to go through!  And to top that off, survivor's guilt is incredibly painful!  Rant over because I'm feeling positive once again and because I know that things can always truly be soooo much worse!  See, my moments don't last too long sometimes!

Many people continue to reach out to Cole and I telling us their stories about them or someone in their family being diagnosed.  It's horrible that we had to go through what we did.  But it's a blessing that we can be of help to so many others battling this beast.  

As I conclude this post, I look at today's date, February 12.  In 13 days, it will be 2 years since Dr. Barton called me and gave me the dreaded news that nearly dropped me to the floor.  "I'm sorry.  It's breast cancer."  On March 13, 2015, (a Friday the 13th to top it off), I was officially diagnosed with stage 3c breast cancer.  Stage 3c!  STAGE 3C!!  My God!  Stage 4 is the only thing that is worse than stage 3c.  How did I not get diagnosed at stage 0, 1, or 2??  How did I skip those??  I did self-exams many times each month in the shower.  I never felt anything.  What I didn't know was that I was missing an important area - the area where the lump was - in my armpit.  Had I known better, perhaps I could have found this lump sooner.  But I can't and I won't look back now.  I continue to look forward.  I'm a positive person 99% of the time now.  But I continue to give myself my moments.  I need them.

I leave you with this.  Please do the self-exams.  Women and men!  Men, you are not excluded from breast cancer, sorry!  Get your regular check-ups and mammograms.  Know your family history and if you have a family history of breast cancer, look into genetic counseling and testing.  If you don't have a family history of breast cancer, as was my case, stay on top of all of your medical appointments.  My breast cancer has been the start of my family's cancer history.  

I will also leave you with my email address - just in case you need it or want/need to pass it along to anyone that needs a shoulder to lean or cry on...please know that I am here for you!

wendyy720@gmail.com

Laugh More, Live More, Love More

Where to begin??  It's been over 4 months since my last post and there has been a lot happen since that post!
Thank God for genetic testing!!!  Because I tested positive for the CHEK2 gene (a gene that increases my risk for breast and colon cancer), my family was able to get the genetic testing for this gene as well.  There were all tested last year.  My dad tested negative, my sister tested positive for the breast cancer, and my mom tested positive for breast and colon cancer.  What does this mean?  It means they need to get more frequent mammograms, MRIs, etc.  My sister and mom both had mammograms that came back with clear results.  My sister had her MRI and was called the next day with the doctors wanting her to come in for an ultrasound and possible biopsy as they "saw a small spot".  Yes, panic mode!  She went in for the ultrasound and had a biopsy.  The doctor told her right then and there that he was 98% sure that it was cancer.  A very small spot caught early.  But still, when you hear those words, all you hear is cancer.  When my sister called me to tell me that she was being sent to Dr. Barton, my breast surgeon.  I asked her if she knew what that meant.  She did.  We knew she was about to be diagnosed.  And she was.  On May 11, 2016, (1 year, 2 months, and 15 days after my diagnosis) she was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer.  If you're like I was, I didn't know the difference in stages.  This will help...

Just for reference, I was stage 3c.  My sister had a lumpectomy the following week and then had to have another surgery the week after her first surgery as she did not have clear margins the first time.  We thought and had hoped that she would only need surgery and radiation.  We were wrong.  She would need chemo, too.  Ugh! 
So while this was happening, my mom went for her MRI.  They called her the next day and were scheduling her for an MRI guided biopsy.  Seriously!?!  
I was getting my PET scan at the same time mom was having her MRI biopsy.  Mom got a call the next day stating that her biopsy was clear!  Praise God!!  I met with my oncologist 2 days after my PET scan.  The first thing she said was that my scan was clear!  Again, praise God!!  Mom and I were over-joyed with our great news, but wow!  The guilt set in as we were about to go through all of this again with my sister.
Her first chemo was June 23, the same day I met with my oncologist.  After my appointment, I went over to the infusion center to see my sister.  When I walked in and saw her getting her treatment, it was hard.  I fought back a tear because I knew she was in the best of care.  She had done well with her first 2 treatments, but found out quickly how hard chemo is on the body.  It truly is something that you don't realize until you go through it.  She is on a different treatment plan than I had, but no matter what that treatment is, it is rough!  She receives chemo once every 3 weeks, 6 treatments in all.
So let me go back to the genetic testing.  I am such an advocate for this.  I understand people not wanting to know if they have a cancer gene.  It is scary.  I get that.  However, had my family not gotten the genetic testing done, my sister would never had known she had breast cancer.  She would only have gotten the mammogram, which showed nothing.  She would not have been eligible for an MRI, which showed the small spot.  This "small spot" was aggressive breast cancer which grew in size very quickly from the time it was discovered until it was removed.  Just a few weeks time.  Who knows what stage she may have been at when it was discovered, which would have been another year later because that's when she would have gotten her next mammogram.  
Because I tested positive for the gene that puts me at a greater risk for breast and colon cancer, I was told to get a colonoscopy every 5 years.  At this point, I'm guessing that most of you just said "yuck" or "oh man" or something close to that.  Well, after suffering through a digestive disease for the first 20 couple years of my life, I was used to a doctor being at that end of my body.  So the thought of a colonoscopy has never bothered me in the least.  Nor does the prep.  With that being said, had I not had the genetic testing, I would not have had a colonoscopy until age 50.  That's 11 years for me to wait.  By that time, the precancerous polyp they removed in my colon would have been cancerous as it takes around 10 years for a precancerous polyp to turn into cancer.  Looks like I may have been diagnosed with colon cancer at that time.  I cannot explain to you how grateful I am for genetic testing!!!  If you are eligible, do it!!!  It could save your life!! 
And speaking of life, I celebrated my 39th birthday this week!  I will always be proud to share my age because of what I've been through!  I'm looking forward to celebrating 40!!  Seriously!!  There will be a party!  (Hint, hint, hint to my family and friends reading this!)  I also celebrated the one year mark since my last chemo.  My birthday was July 20 and my last chemo was July 21.  Here's a picture from July 21, 2015 and July 21, 2016...

I know I'm one of the very few, but losing my hair was extremely easy for me compared to it growing back in!  Frustration!  I chose to not get it cut or trimmed until I reached the 1 year mark.  Well, I made it to June 23 and chose to get highlights.  I also got it trimmed...a whole quarter of an inch.  I just can't cut it.  I do miss my long locks.  The past 2-3 months have been less frustrating for me while it's growing back.  It is great to feel the wind blowing through my hair again.  I'm happy about all of this, but in the back of my mind, I feel so guilty as my sister is going through the exact opposite of me.  I know she's struggling with hair loss.  And I know everyone says "You're still beautiful without hair" and "it will grow back".  Those are very easy words for someone to say, but those words do not help the person going through it.  There truly is nothing to help that person.  The only thing that helps is time when it has grown back in.  I'm struggling with helping her through this because I had no issues with the hair loss and she's the exact opposite.  I never want to go through chemo again, but if I could switch places with her, I'd do it in a heartbeat.  

So where am I in my process??  I have my exchange surgery scheduled for August 8!  This is when my plastic surgeon will remove Ethel and Lucy.  Oh, I'm sorry.  I should explain that Ethel and Lucy are my expanders.  I'm a big fan of I Love Lucy.  Lucy was always the one causing trouble, so that's my right expander cause it was very troublesome and still is.  Ethel just tags along and that's what my left expander is doing.  Simply tagging along for the ride.  Anyway, I get my expanders out and implants in.  I will have a new set of foobs (fake boobs).  I'm so ready to be rid of these expanders.  It will be 17 days short of 1 year of dealing with these things.  I'm definitely not looking forward to another surgery.  But it should be my last one.  It better be my last one!

I'm still on medication to help with different things.  One of these medicines causes me pain every second of every day.  Some days are worse than others.  But I choose to keep taking it because it will help lower my risk of recurrence.  That, and my oncologist would really yell at me if I chose to stop taking it. I continue to have many doctor's appointments, but they will eventually become less frequent.  I'm very fortunate to have doctors that are so proactive.  And I'm comforted knowing that my sister has the very same team of doctors that I do.

I'm feeling so much more like myself with each passing day.  It feels great to have energy, to laugh like I used to, to simply be back to being Wendy!  But even better than that, it feels great to see Cole smiling and laughing again.  Cancer is very stressful!  We all know that.  I knew I missed his smile and laugh through treatment, but I've realized exactly how much I missed them.  Don't get me wrong,  we smiled and laughed through it all.  But those smiles and laughs mean so much more now than they ever did.  I have several wishes, but one of the biggest wishes I have is that everyone could be loving life like I am now.  Cherishing and appreciating the smallest things.  I truly am living more, laughing more, and loving more.