Here is the underside of Boobzilla. The discoloration is spreading. The black-yellowish area is now about 6-7 inches. It kind of oozes nastiness. This area was not initially blistered during treatment. It got red, but never got as painful as the other areas that blistered severely. It has been 3 weeks since my last radiation treatment. Why the heck is the burning getting worse? Poor Lefty is so painful, swollen and nasty looking. The doctors are not concerned. I see Dr Mounds again on Tuesday. Hopefully he will have answers.
Yesterday was my PET scan. Preliminary results are good. I will have a brain MRI on Wednesday and then will meet with the doctor to discuss all of the results.
I really think all of the pain is from something running amuck in my frankenboobie. It just does not seem normal to me. What do I know? Hopefully next week will be the week for answers.
Enjoy the weekend! Sorry for the graphic photo.

It appears that I am finished with my treatments! Other than taking the Tamoxifen for the next 5 years. I was not qualified for the clinical trial, so….this is it! On Monday I went to the hospital to be de-ported. It feels good to be rid of the port.

I visited Dr Mounds on Tuesday. He was not happy with the severity of my radiation burns. He was kind enough to call in a prescription for a new ointment to put on them. So much better.

It is so odd to be at this point. In my mind, I figured that at the end of this journey one of the doctors would announce “Congratulations! You are cancer free!” Not so much. Apparently I will never be considered cancer free. I am not even what they used to call remission. I am just a breast cancer patient that finished treatment. For now.

The one thing the doctors agree on is that it is not if, but when the cancer comes back. Now I am suppose to be on the alert for persistent bone pain, a cough that will not go away, fatigue. All of these are signs that the cancer might be back. Sweet. I will be 50 next month. Bone pain and fatigue are the norm for me.

I I don’t mean to sound like I am complaining. Just making an observation. After the past 8 months everything revolved around fighting cancer. I was no longer just Genevieve, I became Genevieve, the one with breast cancer.

No longer a patient. I have been kicked to the curb and don’t let the door hit you on the way out. No ticker tape parade, no high fives with the specialists.

Time to get back to being just Genevieve.

Thank you all for joining me on this journey. It has been a helluva ride.

Cheers!

Tomorrow is my final radiation treatment! Woot woot!
For my final nuking I will get the gold chainmaille drape. This special fabric is suppose to intensify the radiation. I get to wear it every other treatment.
Today I met with my oncologist and we discussed the next phase of this battle. For now, I will start taking a drug called Tamoxafin. I will stay on this for 5 years.
I am really looking forward to being able to focus on something other than the day to day cancer battle. I am hopeful that this new drug will not cramp my style too much!

Radiation Week – kind of like Shark Week without the ocean.
I am three treatments in to my 25 on the schedule. So far, it has been a walk in the park. Maybe more of an amusement park. The machine is cool, it spins and rotates, the table moves & wiggles. The two techs that prep & nuke me are nice. I am assuming they will be sending me flowers and likely I am on their Christmas card lists since they fondle me daily. I was actually considering getting “Property of Redwood Regional Medical Group” tattooed on my chest. After all, it is no longer mine.
I had my little ‘Radiation Teach’ meeting yesterday. My daughters went with me. Radiation has a much smaller list of side effects than chemo. Love that. I prefer to think of it as tanning. Every day I have to go to the tanning booth for 5 weeks. That makes me feel normal. OK, normal if I lived in Jersey.
Busy weekend ahead. My son and his family are coming for a visit. Baby Gwen cuddle time! Also, there is a big fundraiser for the animal shelter that I am proud to be a Board member of. It is called the Rooster Booster and it is going to be a blast. Great food, drinks, raffles, auctions and animals! What could be better?
Have a wonderful weekend everybody.

The second surgery went well. I totally flaked on posting an update the day after.
I got to go home on Thursday, which in hindsight, might have been a bad idea. Thursday night was rough, lots of bleeding from one of the incisions and pain. Darn it if I could not find that wonderful little morphine button that made the pain go away from the first surgery.
Tried to take it easy over the weekend. By taking it easy, I mean bed rest was not in the cards but I did try to be kind to my battered old body. That was probably the wrong choice of words. Now I can’t stop thinking about foods that are battered and fried.
Today I go back to Dr Mounds to find out how he felt the surgery went. I vaguely remember speaking with him while I was in the recovery room. I also vaguely remember pink dancing elephants there. Pretty sure the hospital does not allow dancing pink elephants. This morning I will try to focus and ask questions about what he found when he got in there. Of course, by now, we all know he will say he found fat.
I am anxious to find out the pathology results. Fingers crossed that we get great news from the lab.
After I heal from the latest surgery, I will go get some radiation. I have been told it feels like a bad sunburn so I will just visualize a day at the beach. Surely, those pesky dancing pink elephants won’t be at the beach.
Have a great day.

I got to ring the bell at the chemo suite to announce my final chemo treatment.
I am so proud of my body for enduring the last grueling 5 months. I think it has earned some chocolate for all it has been through!
Now I am off to relax in the swim spa. Have a great day.

Jennilee and Tina brought me lunch and visited while I was getting my infusion today. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family that is so supportive.
Today was my 7th chemo treatment. Only one more to go! In two weeks I will be done with this phase of my battle. My body is tolerating the chemo pretty well. I have the side effects but those are manageable. My red cell count is low – the lowest it has been since I started this journey. I was told to rest more and take it easy. I am pretty sure that means no housework, right? All those in favor? Done. No cleaning. Thank you chemo.
Tomorrow I meet with the radiation oncologist to get his opinion on the second surgery before/instead of radiation. I am all for the surgery but want the input of my whole team. Before I meet with him I will get the dreaded belly shot. I certainly won’t miss those suckers.
Have a wonderful day!

Yesterday my daughters, Jennilee & Tina, took me for a massage. It was so wonderful! After that we met the rest of the family for dinner. As we were pulling in to the restaurant parking lot we saw a big sign board. It was flashing a message that read :Fight On, Mrs Huney. Happy Mother’s Day.
love Glen and the kids.
It was so sweet. I am such a lucky person.
I am doing ok on the Taxol. The nausea is almost nonexistent but there are other unpleasant side effects like severe muscle and joint pain. I guess if it is not one thing it is two.
Have a great weekend everyone. Happy Mothers Day.

This is the blanket that was made by Novato High School freshman. Their class handmade blankets for chemo patients. I love my blanket and have a renewed faith in the youth of today. Along with this gorgeous blanket, I received hand written notes from 4 of the students. A very special thank you to Karla, Dhalma, Joyce and Joel. You have made a very difficult time in my treatment so much more enjoyable. You should all be very proud of yourselves.

Dr Mounds removed the mole. Can’t say that I enjoyed the procedure but it is over with and now I wait for the results.
He did not do the boob fill. Just colored on my chest for awhile.