Skip to main content

Fantastic

The past few days have been absolutely fantastic. Matt took me to Half Moon Bay for an overnight getaway to celebrate the halfway point on Thursday. We stayed at this nice little Inn right on the beach. I've always loved everything about the ocean, especially falling asleep to the sound of waves crashing, so it was just what I needed to relax and rejuvenate. We had a delicious dinner out (basil pesto risotto with scallops - thank GOD the chemo didn't mess with those flavors!!) and I even had a glass of wine! I wasn't planning on drinking until I finished treatment in June..but I decided I deserved one glass. Apparently wine is one of those things that can taste bad while on Cytoxin. And seeing how my taste buds have been all crazy lately I was scared to ruin one of my favorite drinks. But lucky for me, wine still tastes great!

On Friday we had the best surprise - a visit from my cousin Justin and his wife Annie. They live in NY and are out here for the weekend for the Big Sur marathon. Justin knows first hand what I am going through. Not only did my Aunt Maria battle breast cancer, but Justin also had lymphoma years ago. When I was first diagnosed he sent me an email that I still read occasionally. It's exceptionally inspirational and motivating, and helped me get in the right frame of mind from the get go. I know this may be reaching, but as I was falling asleep last night it occurred to me how odd it is that they happened to be out in California right at this point in my treatment. Right at the halfway point. Right at the point that I was starting to have massive anxiety about my upcoming infusion and was getting that hopeless, scared, "I can't do it anymore" feeling. We only saw them for a little over an hour, but it was so uplifting and wonderful. It was something I never expected, yet did so much for me.

And then there's today...nothing exceptional happened today. Just an awesome day with my little ladies. A park playdate with good friends over lunch and baking homemade chocolate chip cookies afterward equals a great Saturday in my book.

The past few days have been perfect. After a rough round 4, these days were what I needed to not only feel normal, but to remind me why I am doing this. I love my life!

Comments

  1. Things happen for a purpose and Justin and Annie being in California with you at just that moment in time is one of them. They are wonderful people and just what the dr. ordered for you to get through the next part of the treatments. Yes, the girls and your wonderful husband are what you are fighting for. Life is wonderful after cancer and you must remember that. Love Mama

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Beauty in Life and Death

This is Matt unfortunately Melissa did not get finish her last entry so I will take it from here.  I will try not to have any typos or grammatical errors.  Melissa would really not like that, but she was my official proof reader for all important documents. Melissa and I always strived to look for beauty even in the darkest of times.  It is not always easy but it is always there when you look hard enough.  Our situation the last year and half have not been ideal there were lots of tears and dark times, but the beauty was overwhelming. Whether it was a note, meal, flowers, or text a a low point or just the love we felt from family or friends.  The beauty was there.  We had so many people praying for us and for Melissa to beat cancer once and for all, but I also prayed that Melissa would be pain free and if it was God's will that she passed peacefully.  Melissa was in so much pain last year.  She did not let her slow her down but she was hurting.  She packed more into a year with

Sigourney Weaver

Years ago (okay, fine...decades ago) in high school some boy jokingly called me Sigourney Weaver. I don't remember all of the details of how or why that nickname came about, but it's sort of funny that she and I do have a lot in common now. Well, the Sigourney Weaver of 1997 or whenever "Aliens" came out. Bald, badass, and with an alien growing inside of us!! My alien will be removed tomorrow morning though, Thank GOD! I'm SO over having this gross bump that hurts more and more every day. The other day I couldn't even put my jeans on without it pinching my little alien baby. It turns out I'm developing a "day before surgery" routine. I go shopping. Today it was the first ever "Back to School" shopping for Reagan! She starts Kindergarten next month, so I figured we should get her some new clothes before the full effects of radiation kick in and I'm too tired. (Wait.... I don't think anything will ever make me "too tired&qu

It's Baaaaaaccccckkkkk.......

6 years.... that's how long it's been since I finished with active treatment. However, I took Tamoxifen for 5 years to squash any estrogen left in my body. I recently switched over to a "tougher" aromatase inhibitor call arimidex. These drugs provided comfort and faith that I was doing everything in my power to prevent a recurrence. Guess what?! They failed me. Big time. It's back, and it's back all over. After months of hip pain that my NP chalked up repeatedly to muscle pain, she finally sent me to an orthopedist. He took X-rays and did NOT like what he saw. Additional blood work and bone scans have led to the diagnosis of cancer pretty much throughout my skeletal system. Metastases were found in the skull, scapula, multiple ribs, pelvis, both hips, and spine. Definitely NOT the news I was expecting nor wanting to hear. After an afternoon of crying and occasionally feeling like I was going to throw up, Matt and I met with Dr. Adler, my oncologist. He was