One down, 11 more to go

Alyson had her first chemo treatment on Monday. It was a long day as her infusions were done at a slower pace for observation purposes. The remaining 11 treatments will go faster. The first drug, Hercepton, was infused over a 90 minute session. They then observed her for an hour to see if she would have any adverse reactions since this was a new drug to her. After the hour observation, we had to put on her cold cap 30 minutes prior to her chemo drug infusion. They want the cold cap to start so that the scalp can be cooled down before the chemo drug got into her system. The chemo infusion lasted an hour. Once the chemo drug was done, she had to keep the cold cap on for another hour before she could take it off. We won't know if the cold cap is working until about the third or fourth treatment. We are praying that it is effective in eliminating hair loss for Alyson. As I said, it was a long day. We left the house at 10:30 am and didn't get back until around 8:00 pm.
Tuesday, Alyson felt normal for most of the day until her face became flush red. At first it was bright red and eventually subsided to a pink color. Before she went to bed she started to feel a headache coming on and it got worse through the night. She didn't get much good sleep, but woke up for work anyway. The headache was pretty intense to the point she is now laying in bed after getting sick a couple times. I am staying home with her today and the boys, luckily, are at a camp today and don't have to see her sick. We called to doctor to have them send in a prescription for an anti-nausea medication. I hope this will help her feel better and that the headache will go away too.
On the other side of this, we started school at the college on Monday as well. I am excited for the group of players we have this year. We have a lot of new faces and a solid core of returners. I cannot wait to get started working with this group in the coming days. I have a great assistant that will likely be on his own a lot as we care for Alyson, but I am confident that he will do a great job and have our guys prepared for this season.
Thank you for your continued prayers as we are still a little uncertain as to how Alyson will respond to chemo side effects. I hope she is able to recover in between treatments and can avoid being sick for this 12 week period.

Treatment begins

We visited the oncologist today to determine when chemotherapy would start. Since the lymph nodes were clear we knew that Alyson would not need to undergo radiation therapy. Today's visits were to follow up post lumpectomy and chemo port placement. She is healing nicely from the lumpectomy and we were told that the margins were clear (also good news). Now all we had to determine was the type and length of chemotherapy. She will begin her chemotherapy Monday August 20th. Alyson will get one treatment per week for a total of 12 weeks. She will go in every Monday for 12 weeks which will put her last treatment on November 5th. The obvious side effect will be hair loss. We think we may have a solution to that side effect. We have purchased a "cold cap" which will be worn during her chemo infusions. The purpose of the cap is, essentially, to keep her scalp cold, therefore restricting blood flow to her scalp which would keep the chemo drugs from getting to her scalp. This cold cap should either eliminate her hair loss or greatly reduce it. We are hopeful that it will prevent her hair from falling out. We won't know if it works for a few weeks after treatment has begun. Usually hair loss from chemo takes about 2-3 weeks to occur.
Alyson is in good spirits as she approaches this phase of treatment. We are hopeful that the chemo will have as little impact on her body as possible. The typical side effects are fatigue and nausea the day after and then gradual improvement within 2-3 days. She is hoping that the chemo will not impact her ability to work too much during the week, and oddly enough that it won't keep her from attending my basketball games at Judson.
After chemotherapy is done in November, she will recover for about a month before she will go in for her mastectomy. We hope she can have it done early in December and have a little time to recover before Christmas.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. It has been greatly appreciated and felt as we have traveled this road once again. Please continue to pray for chemo treatments to have as little impact as possible (except on the cancer). Pray that the cold cap works and for our boys as they may begin to really feel the impact of seeing Alyson not feeling well all the time.
I will update you as much as possible as we go through chemo. Thanks Y'all and we love you all!

Good News, no...GREAT News

Our last post stated that we were waiting until this week Wednesday/Thursday to find out the results of the lymph node dissection. Alyson received great news saying that her lymph nodes were clear, which means that the cancer did not spread into her body. This also means that she will NOT have to undergo Radiation therapy after chemo and her mastectomy. This is such a weight off of her shoulders, one to not have the cancer in her nodes, but two, she won't have to have radiation and all of its possible side affects.
We are taking the week off from doctor's appointments and will enjoy a quick trip to Iowa to see some dear friends from Texas. Yes, I said IOWA. We will go to the Iowa State Fair along with attending our very first Sweet Corn Festival...in IOWA. Should be fun! Iowa people!
Alyson will likely begin her chemo treatments somewhere around August 20. She will have 12 weeks of treatments. It will be once a week for 12 straight weeks. The other great thing about the nodes being negative is that the chemo will be less aggressive. We are seriously considering investing in what is called a "cold cap". She would wear this extremely cold cap during her infusions and it has proven, in many cases, to significantly reduce hair loss. It's expensive, but probably totally worth it.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and support! I will post more after we have more information from our next doctor's appointment on August 17.

Truer words have never been spoken...

Truer words have never been spoken...Cancer Sucks!!! Alyson has been diagnosed with Breast Cancer for the third time. We found out July 12 after discovering another lump back in May. This time it is on the right side. Previous occurrences were on the left.
As you can imagine, we have seen several doctors with different opinions on how to treat this cancer. What we do know for sure is that Alyson will undergo chemotherapy followed by a mastectomy and then reconstruction of the breast area and possibly radiation; she will then be treated with a drug called Herceptin for a year. To determine the strength and duration of the chemotherapy, Alyson underwent a lumpectomy and sentinel lymph node biopsy Thursday. The results of the biopsy will be in next week (Wed/Thur) and we will then know the type of chemo and the duration of the treatment. Friday she had her chemo port placed in her chest (left side). It was a long two days at the hospital.
This new cancer is more aggressive than her last two battles and will need to be treated as such. Previous occurrences were whats called Her2 negative. This time she is Her2 positive, which is more aggressive and unpredictable. I will give more details in another post soon. The good news is that we believe we have caught it early and the lump is relatively small. Our hope is that it has not gotten to her lymph nodes. If is has not spread she will be able to avoid radiation therapy, which she really would like to avoid. If it has spread, then she won't be able to avoid it. We have decided that she will be treated at Loyola Medical Center (Cardinal Bernadin Cancer Center) in Chicago. It is a little over an hour drive from our house, but we feel it is her best case scenario for treatment. Her oncologist there is the considered the world authority on Alyson's type of cancer. The team of doctors there have been phenomenal. Alyson's team consists of her oncologist, a breast surgeon,  a plastic surgeon and a lot of nurses and nurse practitioners.  Each time we have met with these doctors I have a feeling as if we are their only patient case. The individual attention is much appreciated. We are in good hands.
As for Alyson, she is in great spirits and ready for battle. No surprise there! I am blown away at how she just poises herself and keeps moving forward. This time, though, we have two awesome boys that will be affected in some way...we just don't know how yet. Brooks (12 yrs old) knew that when he was 1 or 2 his mom had cancer, but didn't really understand it then. He's seen pictures of him and his mom when she lost her hair, but doesn't really remember it. Now that he is older and is obviously much more aware, we know he will be affected because he has such a gentle spirit. When we told him, he teared up a bit, but then was ok. We just don't know how he will handle it once Alyson loses her hair and undergoes all these surgeries. Brock (7yrs old), on the other hand, just doesn't grasp the concept quite yet. For now, we have been carrying on as normal and by looking at Alyson they don't see any change in her to warrant concern on their part. Our prayer is that they will be minimally affected by this and that we as parents will be able to keep things as normal as possible for them.
We aren't putting her cancer journey on Facebook or social media...she struggles with Facebook, but would admit she is a bit of a Facebook stalker, lol! I will be putting updates on this blog for those that love her and want to pray for us.
Our next task as a family is not to ask God how He can help us, but rather ask how we can glorify His name through all of this. This won't be an easy task, because my desire is for Alyson to be healed yesterday! I do know this; God works in ALL things.  I will finish with this verse that I read just before she went into the operating room to have her lumpectomy and lymph node biopsy...
"So do not fear, for I am with you; Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." -Isaiah 41:10
Your prayers are coveted. This road will be a long one and frustrating at times. This blog will likely show the ups and downs that we may go through. But please pray for wisdom for Alyson and I as we care for her and our boys, and for the doctors that are treating her.

Grandpa Cec'

"What ya doin ref!!!" is one of the memories I have of Grandpa Cec. He was always at our basketball games in high school and even though he wasn't my blood grandfather, he was simply known at Grandpa Cec to everyone who knew him. I was fortunate enough to know him a little better than most people because he was the grandfather of my best friend, Craig, growing up. He was much more than just my friend's grandpa, he sort of adopted me as one of his own, especially since Craig and I were always hanging out with each other. One summer Grandpa Cec and Grandma Martin invited me to go down to South Carolina with them and Craig on a vacation. Though I don't remember much about the trip itself, I do remember feeling like I was with my own grandparents.

There are only a few people in our lifetimes that you can call an influence, and Grandpa Cec was one of those people. He always put other people before himself. I can remember him helping Craig's mom out with yard work. He would mow the lawn, plant flowers, and do whatever else he could to help. It wasn't just me that he influenced. It was anyone he came into contact with. My younger sister Rachel, who played Volleyball at Liberty University called me one day to tell me that Grandpa Cec and Grandma Martin showed up at one of her games. Liberty University is down in Lynchburg, VA. That's not just a cruise across town. He took an interest in people's lives and he made them feel special. He visited other people he knew that were out of state, for no other reason than to just see how they were doing. You don't find many people like Grandpa Cec anymore.

I will always remember Grandpa Cec. He passed away on September 21 and was welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven soon there after. In his final weeks of life, he still put other people first. One night I went up to the hospital to visit him. When I got there he was sleeping. I didn't wake him because I know in hospitals it is hard to get any sleep, with all the doctors and nurses checking up on you. I got word that he was disapointed that I didn't wake him up. He said he was sorry for sleeping. I wished I would have woke him up, because I didn't get to see him before he went home to the Lord. While he was in the hospital, the doctor's were telling him that things didn't look good for him and that Cancer was doing its work. He told the doctor's that where he came from, that when a horse was sick or wounded, they would take it out back and finish it off with a shotgun....jokingly he asked the doctor if they had any option like that for him. The great part there is that he wasn't afraid of death. He knew what awaited him in Heaven and he wasn't afraid. He got to talk to all of his family and they all gave him permission to go. While we will miss him down here, he will be waiting to greet his family when their time comes...and what a great day that will be. Heck if I get there I am sure he will be there to, just like he was when I was young, making sure that I am doing well. My wish for that day is that he will have his famous fishing hat on, like the one in the picture, because that is how I will always remember him. He was a great man and he lived his life well.

Thanks Grandpa Cec', I will always consider you as my own...

Looking forward to another school year

Well, its August and it's already time to begin thinking about next school year at the college. Even though our students don't really come on campus until September 1st, it is still time to at least begin to ready myself. It's been a great summer thus far. I have been able to do a lot of fun things with Aly and Brooks and family. I have been able to get away from things as well and take time to stop and listen to God...at least a little. I still battle with wanting things done my way, but I'm working through those issues.
The College is timidly anxious about next year as early numbers indicate a large group of new students attending this September. We have a number of projects that are ongoing across campus that are exciting. I can't talk about them here until they are officially completed. Our Men's Basketball team is looking good to this point...at least on paper anyway. We have some really good players coming to attend in the fall. Early indications show that we could be pretty good, as long as this group of guys are willing to put aside any selfishness and be more willing to be good teammates. It should be a fun if not interesting year once we start practices and games.
Anyway, the Lord has been good to me and my family this summer and we are looking forward to the opportunities that He has for us. Hopefully my eyes and heart will be able to see those things and I will feel His guidance wherever He may be leading.

...so long for now. Sure would like to get an invite to a certain bed and breakfast in Texas sometime...anyone know of a nice place?????

Self Worth?

I have been really trying to figure out what it is I am supposed to be doing and where I am supposed to be doing it. Along with that process comes the question of self worth. I don't think that I have placed my self worth in being able to make a certain amount of money. I really feel like it comes from the desire to provide for my family more adequately, and naturally that takes more money. I have never said to my self "boy things would be great if I made 'x' amount of money or things would be great if I worked here instead of there. It just bothers me that the goals I have for myself have not come to fruition faster. I understand the concept of patience and I understand things could change in an instance. When I made the decision to pursue college coaching I promised myself that I would not let any job sacrifice my relationship with the Lord, my wife, and my children. Too many coaches have ruined those relationships by working all the time. I have chosen to follow the model of: when I'm at work I am working on basketball, and when I am home I am with my wife and family. I am always available to the players on our team, whether at work or at home, but I try not to take my work home with me as much as possible. Because of that I sometimes wonder if I started into this business of coaching too late. I have never spent summers on the road going from one AAU tournament to the next. I haven't gone to every coaching clinic trying to meet the "next" coach who could get me a job. I have purposely sought out Christian colleges/universities to work at so that I can keep my faith in the open. I made those choices. Because of that I sometimes wonder if that was the right thing to do. Thankfully I get the right answer when I come home and my wife and son are happy to see me, and when I'm home,...I'm home. I'm not coming home when my son is sleeping and gone before he gets up. I know I am doing that right, at least I think I am. Because I love being home enjoying my family I wonder if I should even been coaching, but I love the game. I love the kids on the team. I love my boss. I love my college. But will I get to where I want to be, doing what I am doing, doing it the way I am doing it....I DON'T KNOW?

I go back and forth between things I must be doing wrong and things I do right. Its a battle that is wearing on me. One day I am down because I feel like I have screwed something up somewhere along the line, and another day I feel like I am doing things well and I try to improve from there. The thing of it is, is that I have always been able to keep a pretty level head about things. I don't let myself get too high or too low, but that has been tougher lately. I understand people go through this battle all the time, but this is my battle and I am trying to win this thing.

When I look at other opportunities for employment, its like a double edged sword. On one side I am trying to improve things for my family, and on the other side its like I'm not grateful for where I am. I have said this before, I get paid to watch kids play a game that I love to be a part of. Not many people get to say that or enjoy it the way I do.

As you can tell, I am flat out frustrated...not depressed, just really, really, frustrated. Wanting to do the right thing...whatever that may be.

So What is it...

I had mentioned in my last entry that I had somethings in the works. Well as is turns out those things never worked out. I was a finalist for the Dean of Students job here at the College. I didn't get that job, which would have been a great opportunity for me and a real nice pay raise. I really thought that I had a good shot at the job and thought that I would do a great job as the Dean of Students. I had high hopes for that. When that didn't work out I had applied for a head coaching job at a Christian College near Chicago. It would have been a great fit for me both spiritually and professionally. That too did not work out. They gave the job to the assistant coach. I had looked at some other spots as well that never really developed.

So in my mind it begged the question...What is it I am supposed to be doing?????? I am just at a very frustrating spot in my life. I want so much to be able to do more for my family. Both of the opportunities would have afforded me that. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful to have a job where I am at. Its just that I want to be able to provide for my family without having to rely on other people. I don't make enough money at the college to adequately provide for Aly and Brooks. If not for being able to "babysit" the house we are in we would probably have to live at one of our parents houses and that freaks me out. As it is, we can barely afford to live for "free" in the house we are living now. I have got to believe that I am worth more than what I am currently making. So I ask myself...Am I in the wrong profession? Should I be doing something else? Am I supposed to be happy with just getting by?

I feel like I have been patient. I feel like I haven't gone after unrealistic opportunities. I have to believe that I am not being unrealistic when I think that I can do better for my family. I just feel like where I am now doesn't give me that opportunity. I do love the college and its mission and I am grateful to have a job here, but to be honest I would barely be able to survive when Aly runs out of unemployment.

So I will continue to ask What is it??????????????

Potty training

We began potty training...or I should say Aly has been potty training Brooks this week. It has been quite an adventure for Aly and Brooks. He has been doing well for the most part, but has had trouble figuring out how to go #2. He is not quite comfortable with the whole idea of just letting things happen. He seems to be more comfortable hiding in a corner and doing the deed in his "big boy" underwear. We went out to eat last night and he had to go "pee-pee". When he came out he made it known to the whole restaurant, rather excitedly, that he went "pee-pee on the big boy potty daddy!!!" It was rather funny. We are hoping that by the end of the week he will figure out the #2 part and figure out how to wake up in the middle of the night to go potty. This weekend will be a big weekend for him. We are going to a cookout at my aunts house. It should be interesting. He has made some great strides. He can finally ride his bike with training wheels. Its awesome!!!!!!!

Its been too long!!!

Its been too long since my last posting...not that anyone is really watching. I am just going to update everyone on what has been going on lately. My good friend Bryan Hyma is doing well after his cancer treatment. The doctor's feel he is in the clear at this point. He has expressed thanks for all of the prayers. He also recently became a father and he and his wife adopted a beautiful little girl. The family is doing well and adjusting nicely.

The basketball team finished a successful 25-7 season as National Runners-Up. We made it into the Championship game on a last second shot in overtime to beat the defending National Champs. In the Championship game we tried to make it an ugly game by slowing down the tempo against a high octane offense. We did a good job of not letting them score a ton of points, but unfortunately we couldn't score either. We lost 45-31.

After the National Championships me and the family were able to get away to Florida. We met up with Aly's family. Her sister's family, her mom and dad, and our family all stayed in a nice condo that was right on the beach. We were there for a week and had a great time. We relaxed, played on the beach and I even got to golf a little. I built a sand castle for brooks to destroy. We saw the Space Shuttle take off one evening just after sunset. It was really pretty neat to see, even though we were a couple hundred miles away. It was easy to tell that the space shuttle was taking off. Speaking of sunsets we watched the sun go down just about every night. That is just such a peaceful time and refreshing. The week away really did some good for us. I did come to the interesting realization that tan fat looks much better than pasty white fat. My brother-in-law told me that and I agreed. Alyson and I have several things in the works, that I am not able to discuss at this point, but when things start panning out I will no doubt inform everyone...don't worry we are not pregnant...lets just get that out now. Enjoy the pictures from Florida!!!

Merry Christmas...Its my 36th!!!!!!

Every year, two days before Christmas I get another year older. Today I turn 36 years old. I am now officially closer to 40 than I am 30...but perhaps 40 is the new 20...at least I hope so anyway.

Anyway I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

My how brooks has grown

Alyson and Brooks were able to go on a team trip to St. Louis with me. Here is Brooks on the bus enjoying being with the team. This past sunday we were able to see Santa, Brooks loved it. The other picture of Brooks was after a recent snowfall. On one of the nights I was able to keep him up late and we built a snowman in the dark. It was a great memory for me. Being on the road so much I just took advantage of an opportunity to spend time with him and Aly after a game. It was a great time.

A fun shot of Brooks!!!

Where has the time gone????

I was surprised to see how much time had gone by since my last post. It really didn't seem that long ago. To update you on my friend with cancer, he is doing very well. He ended up going through pretty intense radiation treatment. He went through it with flying colors, meaning he had no complications with his treatment.

What a summer we had. It was fun filled with family trips and just hanging out. Brooks is doing very well. He is talking like crazy and it is so fun to communicate with him now. He even made my year the other day when he, unsolicited, said "I yove (Love) you dada". It was awesome. He said it to Aly later that day as well. Aly and I celebrated our 10th Anniversary on October 3rd, again, where has the time gone. We have had a great time over the last 10 years.

Alyson is now looking to get back to work. She has filled out a couple of applications for jobs and is now waiting to hear from them, all the while looking for other job postings. She has enjoyed her summer off of work taking care of Brooks...and me.

I am full bore into basketball season with practices and game preparations. We have our first game on November 1st. It also happens to be our homecoming game. It should be a good season with all the new players that we have. The sad part about when games start is that I won't be home very often in November and December. Between November 1st and December 17 I will have 27 games between Varsity and JV. That's about a game every other day. It will slow down in January and February. But I love it all, just gets tiresome sometimes.

I will be putting some pictures up from the summer of our trips soon. Hope all is well with the three or four people who read this.

Good friend needs Prayer!!

Yesterday, I got a call from a dear friend of mine. His name is Brian Hyma, we affectionately refer to him as "Hyma". He is a fellow alumni at Oakland Christian High School, and I worked with him while I was at Olivet Nazarene University. He called me to tell me that he has been diagnosed with Testicular Cancer. He has already undergone some surgery to get the tumor and is awaiting results of tests to see if the cancer had a chance to metasticize to anything in his abdomen. The doctor's feel confident that they were able to get all of the cancer involved with the tumor.

Brian has one of the strongest faiths of anyone I know, and he is confident in the care that Christ will provide. Nonetheless, this is a very difficult time for him and his wife, Melissa. They have been married for only a couple of years, but are a great example to couples everywhere as to what it means to follow Christ. They are on their knees before Gods throne and want others to join them. I am asking that anyone who might read this blog please remember them in your prayers. Thank you on behalf of the Hymas.

Going to Indy!!!

I am going to Indy...the Indy 500 this weekend. I am going with my dad, brothers, and nephew. The 5 of us will get to enjoy the race for the second year in a row. I am not really a race fan, but I really enjoyed going last year. The power of the cars is something you have to see in person. The television does not do it justice as to how fast the cars are going. I am looking forward to going. The weather is supposed to be beautiful. Last year the race was shortened due to rain, but it looks good thus far. I will take some pictures and post them next week. It will be a great bonding time for the Thrift men.

P.S. As a side note there will be a Thrift moving to Texas soon...my younger brother Trevor looks like he will be moving to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area pretty soon. I would expect that he will represent us Yankees well down there...and that Texans will treat him well. Y'all can be a little sensitive when Yankees come to town...so be nice...Clint!!!

Blobity Blah Blah Blah!!

Blobity blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah blaaaaaahhh!!!! Blaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh! Can I get an AMEN? Anybody else looking for answers? I am looking for clarity and all I hear is Blobity blah blah blah...Blaaaaaaaahhhh! I am not even sure what it is I am looking for, but I am looking. Any suggestions?

Coaching Merry-go-round

March and April for College Basketball Coaches is a time of year that many coaches find themselves, either looking for jobs because they got fired, or because they have had relative success and are being offered new jobs. It is a crazy time if you are on either side of the spectrum. In that spectrum there are coaches that are looking for jobs because they want to move "up" or move on from their current position. I have found myself in the position of looking to move up or move on two times in my coaching career. When I first started coaching at the college level I was a volunteer coach at Rochester College for 1 season. After that 1st season, I was looking to move up in the profession from a volunteer to a paid coaching position. I had the opportunity to move up and become a Graduate Assistant at Olivet Nazarene University. I took the job and enjoyed every minute I was there. Most Graduate Assistantships last for 2 years, as you are normally working on some sort of Master's degree. I had planned on staying at ONU for another season. Just after the season was over, my wife and I were in Chicago shopping with my mother who was visiting for the weekend. We were in the H&M store when I was offered a new position in Abilene, Texas at Abilene Christian University. I mentioned the spectrum of being in a spot where you had relative success and you are being offered new jobs. I wasn't in that spot, but I certainly wasn't looking for a new position, but found the offer intriguing. I took the job and stayed there for two seasons while completing my Master's Degree in Education. I was now in a position where I needed to move on because I had to. I wasn't being fired, but there was not a place to move up at ACU, so I was looking at various schools. During that time, the Assistant position opened up at Rochester College. It was my alma matre, and a place that I loved very much. I took the job, and have now completed my second season as the head assistant coach. I say all of that to say this.

Coaching Basketball is a CRAZY, CRAZY business. It is a business that makes grown men run around the country in search of the next best player, or next best position. It makes grown men move their families on an average of every 3-4 years, its just absolutely insane. I have several friends in the business and it seems like one of us is always looking at other coaching jobs or opportunities. I have moved from Michigan to Illinois, Illinois to Texas, Texas to Michigan all in the last 5 years. That puts me moving my family every 1.6 years. Now that's crazy.

Despite all of that, I love this profession and what it allows me to do. I am at a great school and work for one of the best coaches in the country at any level of college basketball. Nonetheless this business is like a merry-go-round in that it can be dizzy-ing at times. But again, I love it. Its just that time of year that it gets crazy.

Slide Show

Here are some random pictures taken over the past couple months- road trip to Tennessee, visit to the Children's Museum in Flint, Easter, and a few miscellaneous pics.

Cancer Update (posted by Aly)

So, it's been a while since we’ve posted about cancer. That’s probably because there hasn’t been any major activity going on in our “cancer world” lately (PRAISE GOD!). For those that have just recently started reading our blog, here’s a somewhat quick summary of our cancer story to bring you up to speed:

Nov. 2005, I felt a lump in my left breast and following a lumpectomy, I was diagnosed with Stage I breast cancer (1.5cm tumor, hormone positive, no lymph nodes involved). I was 30 years old, living in Texas, and 5 months pregnant with Brooks. My treatment the first time around consisted of the lumpectomy only (no chemo, no radiation, no on-going medication…that’s a long story). Brooks was born healthy in April of 2006 and we moved home to Michigan 2 months later after Brian got a coaching job at Rochester College. It was upon my first diagnosis that Brian decided to create this blog.

Fast forward to Feb. 2007- a routine MRI revealed a new lump, same area as the first one, believed to be a regrowth of the original lump. Again, it was a fairly small tumor at 1.5cm in size. This time one lymph node showed positive for cancer activity so the diagnosis was moved to Stage IIa. I opted for a single mastectomy (partly because this got me out of radiation), followed by 8 rounds of chemo (4- AC / 4- Taxol). I finished chemo in August 2007, had reconstructive surgery in October 2007, and started the drug Tamoxifen shortly thereafter (this is an estrogen blocker used to help prevent recurrence in breast cancer patients whose cancer is hormone positive). Currently, the plan is for me to remain on this drug for 5 years. I have 2 more phases of reconstruction left, the first of which is scheduled for the middle of April and the final phase will probably be sometime in June (I’ll leave it to your imagination to figure out what those 2 phases are). I had my annual mammogram last October which came back normal and I have my next annual MRI scheduled at the end of April. If that comes back normal, I will just continue to have routine follow up visits with my surgeon and oncologist every 3-6 months.

Below are some of the lingering side effects of my cancer treatment that I am currently experiencing (most of these are common side effects; some will most likely be permanent):
-reduced energy level (this is mild and seems to be improving lately)
-sense of taste has been affected (foods just don’t taste the same as they used to, they’re much duller tasting and I find myself craving strong flavored foods)
-it’s very difficult for me to get a good clean shave in my left armpit due to the removal of the tissue in that area during the mastectomy, I really have to maneuver my skin so the razor can be at just the right angle to get the job done.
-occasional mood swings (side effect of the Tamoxifen…these are always fun, probably not for Brian though)
-numbness all over the left side of my chest (due to nerves being cut during the mastectomy)
-recently some of my eyebrows and eyelashes started to fall out again (not enough to be noticeable to most people and already the new growth has started coming in…hopefully these end up sticking around for the long term)
-really weird nerve sensations on my left side (for example, there’s an area about the size of a quarter just to the left of my midline and if I touch it, it feels like my skin is on fire and I actually feel the sensation in a totally different area of my chest than where I’m touching- very interesting and not too comfortable…did I mention it feels like my skin is on fire?)
-last but certainly not least, HOT FLASHES, all the time (these are the worst!!)

I’ve been going to a support group for women with breast cancer for about a year and a half. It’s a monthly meeting put on by Gilda’s Club, a nationwide organization created in honor of Gilda Radner who died of ovarian cancer in 1989. I’m not normally the type of person that would be interested in a support group but for some reason I decided to check it out one time and I’ve been going ever since. I find it to be very informative, quite humorous at times, and extremely encouraging. Until recently, I was the youngest member of the group. But, a couple gals in their 20s just started coming and as much as I hate that they are there (for their sake), I’m very excited to have an opportunity to get connected with some other young BC women. I met another gal in her 30s during chemo and we’ve kept in contact ever since. It’s definitely encouraging to have a connection with other women going through the same thing as you. I’m secretly hoping to get our own little side group started with just young survivors.

Physically and emotionally, I feel really good. A lot of people refer to my current state as “getting back to normal” but as any other cancer person /survivor would tell you, life will never really be “normal” again. And that’s ok, I’m fine with that. It’s just different now. We move forward, but we will always have it with us.

Here are a few pics of my hair. This is 7 months post chemo, and yes, those are curls you see (never had any curl in my hair before).