Category: Cancer
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But Maybe This Seems a Little Too Routine Now?
My scan from April 7th was good and clear! No evidence of disease. Nothing to note. Grateful, thankful, blessed. I was pretty relaxed this time around, all things considered. God has been so good to me. And the more time that passes, the “easier” it gets. BUT, there’s always the IF. In fact, I felt…
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Chemo – Outpatient
Continuing my series on the chemotherapy experience, we now move on to the outpatient chemo experience. As a reminder, you can review the other parts to the entire chemotherapy regimen in my other posts: Why Outpatient Chemo? As you may recall, one day of outpatient chemo alternated with the four to five days of inpatient…
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Cancer and the Flu
I think I’m ready to fast-forward to 2024 (insert frustrated, crying emoji here)! I was filled with anticipation and excitement for the new year, but here I am. In bed. With an uninvited guest who we shall call Flu. (I tested negative for COVID.) I thought it would be a simple hit and run. The…
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“Scan Looks Good”
I apologize if I’ve left some of you in suspense. My December 6, 2022 scan was clear. I appreciate that the doctors and nurses at Moffitt don’t do any of the chit chat before sharing the results. They understand what patients need to hear ASAP. Dr. Reed only had one foot in the door before…
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Chemo – Inpatient
I was hoping to post more frequently, but I’ve found my free time has decreased significantly. We’ve been doing a little bit of traveling which I have been thrilled about, but I’m still reconciling that my mind and body just can’t handle as much as it used to. So in my first chemo post, now…
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Things I’m Still Struggling With
For friends who have seen my social media recently, everything may look pretty good. We had a wonderful weekend in New York City and celebrated a friend’s birthday in Sarasota/Longboat Key. In general, life is going really well on this side of cancer and I’m incredibly thankful. But there are a few things that I…
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Chemo – The Port and Prep
In my first chemo specific post I gave an overview of the drugs and the timeline. The next couple of posts I’m going to dig into the process and little intricacies. I will follow up with the side effects and long-term implications as well. The Port If a patient will be receiving chemo drugs intravenously…
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Who’s Ready to Move onto Four Month CT Scans?? THIS Girl!
I received great news last Friday (Aug 5, 2022)! There continues to be no evidence of disease and that was my last 3 month scan! My next scan won’t be until December. Amazing! God is so good. We stayed the weekend in Tampa to make the city a little friendlier to me. I had spent…
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Chemo for Ewing’s Sarcoma – An Overview
Overview of Chemo Treatmentfor Ewing’s Sarcoma The worst part of my cancer treatment was chemo. Looking back on it, I can’t wrap my head around how I got through it. And I didn’t even complete the planned course. I was told over the phone how my chemo regimen would go about 5 days before receiving…
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Celebrating My One Year Whippleversary
My one year what-a-what?? My Whippleversary! The surgery I had to remove my cancer is called a Whipple (we’ll get more into those deets another time). And thus, those who have been “Whipped” celebrate their Whippleversaries. My surgery took place on June 1, 2021. I was under the knife for almost 8 hours. I was…
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Things You Should Say to a Cancer Patient
I previously wrote a short list of things you probably shouldn’t say to someone diagnosed with cancer. Thankfully, there’s a flip-side of things that cancer patients want to hear – need to hear. The following list contains words that I could never get enough of during treatment. “I’m praying for you.” I believe that no…
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Things You May Not Want to Say to a Cancer Patient
At first, I was going to title this “Absolutely Do Not Say These Things to a Cancer Patient.” But in reality, some of these things are hard not to say to someone in a difficult situation. We will never know exactly how another feels and we don’t know for sure how they will respond to…
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Scanxiety
Scan + Anxiety = Scanxiety And this is what so many cancer patients feel before, during, and after each scan (MRI, CT, etc). Whether it’s a scan for active cancer or surveillance, each one contains so many what-ifs. I remember my first scan after four rounds of chemo. I was praying SO hard that there…
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How I Got Cancer
Ok, I’m going to get into some really deep scientific stuff on how I got my rare cancer. The truth is… I have no stinkin’ clue. Some cancers are genetic, inherited from our parents. You or someone you know may be in this situation. Perhaps breast cancer runs in your family and you’re on top…
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That Time I Was Diagnosed with a Rare Cancer (Part II)
I continued to record several videos over the following weeks. Not knowing a specific diagnosis kept me moving through each day as if everything was going to be alright, and talking to the camera was cathartic.