A Skydazzler's Life Unwrapped...

My 1st Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to me!  This is a day to celebrate!  Today, December 9th marks my one year anniversary of being cancer free!  A year ago today I had the surgery performed by Dr. John Handy that helped to save my life and make me cancer free!  It has been a challenging year not only for me but for my loving family and friends.  I realize that they are the hero's of my story, taking care of me and helping me to heal.  Bryant, Thank you!  I love you so much.  If love could heal by it self, it'd been cured by your hands alone.  Thank you for being there for me by my side traveling this path.  You are my everything.  I feel so blessed by the Lord to have come through this with the grace of his healing hands.  It is because of him that I am here celebrating today!

My wonderful friends helped me celebrate this anniversary yesterday at work with a yummy cake in my honor.  Thank you for your love and support!  I am a cancer survivor and this is the first of many many years to come!  Whoo hoo!

Moments to Ponder and Be Thankful!

You can be assured that this morning when I woke up I said a prayer thanking the Lord for all of my blessings, the good health and healing that has been bestowed upon me in this past year.  It was exactly one year ago today, October 12th that I began the journey of curing and becoming a survivor of lung cancer!  Now, I could focus on the date of being diagnosed which was a few weeks ago. That was a blessing also, since lung cancer is so often not found until a much later stage.   But I find it much more positive to celebrate and be thankful for the anniversary of when we started the fight against this cancer and my healing began.  On October 12th of last year was my first chemo treatment.   I am so thankful I have had the chance to fight this cancer, to be cured of this cancer and be a survivor of this cancer.  I will be forever grateful for the support I have received and continue to receive from my husband, my daughters, my family and friends.  I will be forever grateful for the excellent care I had and continue to have from Dr. Helen Ross, Dr. John Handy and Dr. Steven Marvel.   It has been 10 months since my surgery and I would say that my physical strength is probably 90% back.  My mental strength was tested, but never left.  Beating this cancer is an experience of not only the body but also the mind and spirit.  I get rattled and a bit unnerved when I have one of those pesky 3 month appointments coming up, but I know in my heart that I will be fine and it is just another "test" to get through.  So everyone...let's celebrate!!  Let's celebrate the first of many many years to come of my good health and strong spirit!  I love you all!

Chemo 5, Robin 0

Okay, this is not the way CHEMO is suppose to go.  I've been told the infusions should all be about the same each time they are given.  And you should react about the same.  They should effect you the same.  Okay... who forgot to tell the chemo treatments?   I want to go back to the first one back in October 12th.  That was acceptable. Not tons, but way easier than they last two.

I've already been in contact with the nursing staff/infusion staff at Providence to see what we can do.  We've got a challenge on our hands to try and figure out what has been different?  Was it the Aloxi anti nausea meds?  Was it drawn out longer?  More hydration during the whole thing?  We've got to figure this out.  This is my fifth lousy day, it shouldn't be though.  I have been trying with all my might to get through this.  I know I will eventually, but how bad does it have to be.  haha, did I hear someone say  "oh this bad".  LIL.  Well after all we are fighting lung cancer, so I guess it suppose to be a cake walk.  I just pray that this mission is a success, and that MY "SEARCH AND DESTROY" TEAMS, search out, find and destroy any left over little cells that may thought they might want to try and hide.  Uh....ain't gonna happen!  Bye bye cancer cells......  I feel so bad for my dear friends and family.  You are all being so supportive, encouraging , sending prayers.    I should be doing my part by getting better.   At least a little better. I am, a little better.  Not throwing up as much as I was.  So that really is a highmark.  I just need to keep looking up, looking for those little bright spots, not looking down at the tracks where I've been.  I can do this.

See... Have kept soup down.  Who put something in our water supply while I wasn't looking???  Ya, the TASTE is back!.   Note to self.  Okay....want to lose some weight.  Let's do it after all this chemo runs rampant through my body.  You are right Bobbi, what I would give just to walk a few laps around the living room right now.  By the end of the week....I promised!  There is a couch in there, I could always take a nap if I needed to!  haha

Chemo 2, Robin 0

Okay, hate to sound like it is a repeat day, so let's just sum today up by saying.....

Blahhhhhhhhhhh.

Hopefully better tomorrow.

Love to all,  Robin

Chemo 1, Robin 0

Hi all,

Just a short post to let you know I am a bit under the weather today!  Woke up early, needed pain meds.  Started throwing up a few times until I finally fell back to sleep around 8:00 am.  I got woke up by Kyle, son-in-law 2, to find out some info on a car he has. Couldn't go back to sleep, needed to take the rest of my meds like the steroids, etc., so needed a little food.  Tried a quarter piece of toast, which stayed down.  I was up for a while, but somehow fell back to sleep.  Guess I am just super tired. I called Shapes in Salem hospital to see if I could come down and get my blood booster shot to see if that helped.  Had to call Bryant for a ride.  Just to soon for me to get there on my own.  Maybe next week.   Just got back a while ago after stopping at the store for some dinner foods.  Back home almost 7:00pm and I am beat.  Tired, sleepy.  This wasn't suppose to be this way again this time.  Oh well, I'll get throught it.  I'm sure tomorrow will be much better.  Think I will get some extra sleep tonight.  Love you to all, Robin

robin

Chemo this Thursday, the 19th!

Time to gear up on the prayers again please!  I really need this chemo to go in and find any little stray cancer cells, if there are any there and kill them.  This is a search and destroy mission! 

All the appointments have been made to get my chemo treatments completed.  I will be having my chemo treatment on Thursday, January 19th at 10:00 am.  I meet with the PA first.  She will check my blood pressure, general health and take blood.  I probably won't start infusion until 11:00 am though.  The infusion takes most of the day.  The only concern I have is my cough came back this weekend. Ugh!  I felt pretty sick on Sunday.  I had to up the pain meds again.  Went back to the high powered stuff, but extended the time between each dose.  I am feeling much, much better today.  Yipee!  I can breathe deeper again without coughing and my cough isn't near as frequent as the weekend.  I am going to be keeping my fingers crossed and the prayers going.  I am ready for my chemo now and want to get this part of the treatment done.  I will have the second and final treatment tentatively set for three weeks after this one, so February 9th.

I'm home!

Hello to all!  Thank you all for your many prayers and thoughts of support and love while I was in the hospital.  I had an amazing and challenging week!  Obviously I was out of it a little, well for the most part..haha, but that can also be a good thing.  I finally came back around to everyone by Tuesday.  Wednesday was a day to listen to my dear sweet husband, my girls, the nurses and of course my doctor.  I had to start eating, pay attention and cooperate.  A lot to do!  I just did what they told me too! haha

The day after Thanksgiving...

I had the best doctor appointments ever last Wednesday.  I am sorry I didn't post it then, but between getting ready for Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving itself...well I'm sure you understand.

I had appointments with the surgeons and my oncologists office on Wednesday.  Partly for more tests to see if I was surgery ready (talk about stress) and get results from my scans that I had done on Monday.  First of all I passed all my tests with flying colors and I am surgery worthy.  Talk about a huge relief.  Now the question becomes when and how much will Dr. Handy take of my lung.  The plan right now is just the upper lobectomy, with the option of the whole lung (pneumonectomy) if he finds it necessary once inside.  His office should be calling me Monday with a date for the surgery.  My oncologist wants it done by week 5 after my last chemo, so it will be within the next 2 weeks for sure.  As soon as I find out a date, I will post.

I need to find a treadmill!

This is day 7 after chemo treatment and I think I am getting closer to being on the right track of life.  This past treatment although long, didn't seem that different.  Until the next day.  Boy was I sick.  Ugh....couldn't keep much down, except for me. haha  Went to work Friday, a little rough, nauseated, but held it together until after work.  Came home and basically slept the rest of the weekend. The stomach was still icky Sunday. Having a hard time keeping water down.  This must be a cumulative effect.  Second chemo, more resident poisons already there.  Still having trouble eating.  Getting mashed potatoes down and some jello too. Weird diet right now...this too will pass.  I hear that some people at work are sick with colds.  This will be a trick not to get them.  Wash the hands, don't touch your nose or eyes, cover the mouth when coughing...all the good stuff we know and need to put into practice.  Can't get these colds.  Can't take the time off.  CATCH 22.