Praying my way through

I decided that it was time for me to update everyone on what's been going on with me. In September of 2013 (9-17-13) I had bilateral mastectomies done because I was diagnosed with Triple negative invasive ductal carcinoma, breast cancer. On February 19th 2014 I completed 4 sessions of Adriamycin and Cytoxin as well as 4 sessions of Taxol chemotherapy drugs, these are standard of care chemo drugs for breast cancer. After that chemo regimen I was ready for radiation treatment. I went in to get scanned 3 months after chemo and got hit with a recurrence and metastatic breast cancer to the lungs and possible bone!!! Needless to say I was taken aback by this information, I had to regroup and gather myself. I said "Lord, I just went back to work after being off for six months and now this again"  God answered me by saying, "Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God, But the very hairs of your head are all numbered, do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrow" Luke 12: 6-7. I knew then that it was going to be alright.

From that diagnosis I've gone through some things. I immediately began a new treatment to see if there would a positive response. The chemo medicine was called Eribulin and I was on that for 2 sessions when my symptoms kept flaring up. I was coughing out of control and had such bad shortness of breath that I was scanned again and that's when they said "you have a pleural effusion" That's when the space that is between your lungs and ribs fills with fluid (pleural fluid). Now I knew why I couldn't walk 2 feet without gasping for air, my lungs were screaming!!!! They then rushed me in STAT to have it tapped to remove the fluid. When the procedure was done they removed a total  of 500ml of fluid from me and let me tell you I felt so much better. Here's a link to what is done during the procedure. http://patients.thoracic.org/information-series/en/resources/thoracentesis.pdf

I then was able to resume some of my day to day activities with ease but then 5 days later it was back again and I was back in the hospital. I had to have the same procedure repeated again but this time there was double the fluid! In just 5 days 1000ml of fluid, that's a lot of fluid!!!! The doctors all got together and came up with a plan because I can't keep having this procedure done it was too risky for me. So I agreed to have surgery to have a catheter (tube) placed in the pleural area for me to drain this at home. Surgery was done on July 2nd with a thoracic surgeon performing it. At the time we didn't know how long I would have to have it but I knew it was for the better. Well Thank God I received it because it immediately started helping me and now only 2 months later it can be removed because the space has no more fluid in it and it hasn't produce fluid since July 23rd Praise the Lord!!!

At the present time I am happy to say that I will continue with this new regimen of Chemo meds, Gemcitabine and carboplatin and God is working it out for his glory. I am tolerating the treatments and managing the side effects.. I have side effects of course because now I have to watch my blood sugar because of the steroids I'm on and I have pain management. The best way for me is my faith in God along with his peace that he so freely gives me, I just BELIVE!!!!!

Rejoice in the Hope of Experiencing God's Favor 

The Bible is full of hope-filled promises for you and me. We have access to God's presence. He wants to heal us of our diseases. He will supply all our needs. There are so many more, too many to count! That's why it's so sad when Christians miss out on God's promises due to lack of faith. 

Here's the question: Are you expecting those promises? Good things begin to happen to you when you rejoice in the hope of experiencing God's favor on a regular basis. 

Luke 2:52 (AMP) tells us that "Jesus increased in...favor with God and man." You and I access the favor of God by faith. We can increase in that favor and experience His promises just like Jesus. Even if you don't see those things in your life now, you can rejoice and put your hope in God, knowing that they will come. 

Everything that is promised in the Bible is for us. So rejoice in the hope of experiencing God's glory right now and He will make incredible things happen in your life. 

Prayer: God, I expect and rejoice in Your promises for me. I believe that You can bring to pass everything that I'm promised in Your Word. 

In Jesus's name, Amen.

Peace and blessings



Do I need a mammogram?

This is the last day of Breast cancer awareness month, the month of everything pink!!!!
I noticed on a lot social media sites this one image about getting a Mammogram

It really got my attention because a lot of women do this Instagramming of their boobs but do they know what an actual Mammogram is? So since this can actually be a little scary for some women I want to help shed some light on what a mammogram is.
 A mammogram is an X-ray image of your breast used to screen for breast cancer. Mammograms play a key role in early breast cancer detection and help decrease breast cancer deaths. So basically it is a low energy X-ray done on this equipment

During a mammogram, your breasts are compressed between two firm surfaces to spread out the breast tissue. Then an X-ray captures black-and-white images of your breasts that are displayed on a computer screen and examined by a doctor who looks for signs of cancer.

ok so now for the part that some women find scary... Does it Hurt? I want to say no but everyone tolerates pain differently. For me it was uncomfortable it was like someone squeezing your breast to tightly and it hurts for that time but once they let go it's over. This is repeated several times on each side. Another issue that scares some women is the diagnosis.. What if? Will I Die? Well if your diagnosis is cancer it surely is better to know early and breast cancer is not a death sentence.....

 

I know that the unknown is scary but once you have it done it is no longer unknown and it could potentially save a life.... Yours....

 

 

Peace, Love and Blessings.

Coming home after surgery

I had surgery on September 18th in the morning and had bilateral mastectomies.

This photo was the morning before surgery. I had my family with me and I believe that makes a world of difference. My surgical team was awesome everyone worked together to obtain the best possible outcome for me. Before I was rolled into surgery there was group prayer so that everything would go according to God's plan. Here is a link to the video of me the morning after I had the mastectomies done,

My next step is my follow up appointment on Monday with my plastic surgeon and the breast surgeon. I haven't had the pathology report yet but at this point I am focusing on the physical healing of my body. Honestly the pain was a lot to deal with in the beginning but once they figure out what works for you it makes things tolerable. So far it's been 3 days since surgery and the only thing I can say is that I nap more that I've ever napped but that is due to the pain meds. I did not however get a pain pump. Some people after this type of surgery receive a pump for pain meds but I received pills. I mean I already have enough drains coming out of my body 4 to be exact 2 on each side.
Every 12 hours I empty them and measure the output and chart it for my plastic surgeon.
Throughout all of this my daughter has been wonderful. I explained it to her in a manner in which she could understand and she said "so mommy you're going to have boo boos on your boobies and I can't squish my face on them?' I said yes that's right baby. She then said that's ok cause boo boos get better. I love her to pieces.

One thing I know for sure is that you need a great support team to help with all of your needs. We as women sometimes don't realize how much we do at home but I am blessed to have a great support team to keep my home rolling at it's normal pace. My daughter has plenty of things to keep her occupied between cousins and friends by the time it's bath time she's tuckered out. I also know that it is the grace of God that keeps everything well.

Peace, love and blessings.

Lumpectomy vs Mastectomy

After getting the diagnosis there are some decisions to be made. What can I do to fix this situation in my life? that was a question that I immediately asked myself. I prayed and asked God to guide me in the right direction so that whatever decision I came to would be the best for my family. My husband and I talked about it and discussed my options. We had 2 choices:

1.  lumpectomy
2. Mastectomy 

With the lumpectomy you remove the tumor and some surrounding breast tissue so that the margins could be checked to make sure that all of the cancer cells were removed. Click the following link to get more information regarding a lumpectomy. http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/Lumpectomy.html With the mastectomy you remove all of the breast tissue and if desired have reconstructive surgery. Click the following link to get more information regarding a mastectomy.http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/Mastectomy.html With this information my husband asked me what I wanted and what I felt most comfortable with. I told him that I wanted a mastectomy, actually a bilateral (double) mastectomy because I wanted to lessen my chances of recurrence and it's not like I'm losing my womanhood. He completely agreed with my choice to have a bilateral mastectomy with reconstructive surgery.
So at the moment I am waiting on my surgery date so that we can move forward with getting the tumor out of my body and on the road to recovery. I don't expect that recovery will be a piece of cake but I am prepared for this battle for I intend to win this War. Psalm 140:7

O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle.

In the meantime I am making preparations for my recovery time. I won't be able to cook for my family so I plan on making some freezer meals that my hubby, mom or mother-in-law can just heat it up and voila homemade goodness to keep us going. Also planning things for my darling daughter to do until I am physically able to interact and play again.
I know that making this type of decision can be a struggle for some and that it's a decision that you don't have months to make. Knowing that whatever your decision is it's the right one for you and your family makes it easier. I did find a few websites that were helpful for giving me a better understanding of what's going on. I'll list them here.

• http://www.breastcancer.org/
• http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/cid/documents/webcontent/003284-pdf.pdf This is a list of questions you should ask your doctor if you are diagnosed with breast cancer.
• http://www.cancer.org/cancer/breastcancer/detailedguide/breast-cancer-diagnosis

I hope this information can help someone or if you know someone that this can help feel free to share. I'll be back when I have a surgery date and to talk about my treatment plan.

Peace, Love and Blessings
Caula