I'M CANCER FREE!!
But this journey is far from over...,
Hey Friends!
So if youve been following my socials, you know I was diagnosed with Stage 3 triple negative breast cancer in October of 2023. Literally a month before my 30th birthday. I haven't given y'all a detailed update since my 4th round of chemo... Which was well over 5 months ago... And that's not for lack of trying. But y'all, life is rough when going through chemo...
CHEMO: THE DEETS
The regime of chemo I was on is called KEYNOTE 522
This is the best option for people with triple negative breast cancer.
TRIPLE NEGATIVE
Okay, let me back up... The term triple-negative refers to the fact that the cancer cells don’t have estrogen or progesterone receptors (ER or PR) and also don’t make any or too much of the protein called HER2. (The cells test "negative" on all 3 tests.) These cancers tend to be more common in women younger than age 40, who are Black, or who have a BRCA1 mutation. Weird thing is, my BRCA1 gene mutation came back negative... I'm kind of a unicorn 🦄 lol
TNBC tends to grow quickly, is more likely to have spread at the time it’s found, and is more likely to come back after treatment than other types of breast cancer. Because of this, the survival rates for TNBC are generally not quite as high as they are for other types of breast cancer.
KEYNOTE 522
This regimen of chemo is really strong... it also consists of 2 different stages. The first stage (cycles 1-4) consisted of weekly chemo sessions for 12 weeks. These chemo meds were Keytruda, Carboplatin & Paclitaxel. I didn't have any side effects to this other than fatigue and some moodiness. Paclitaxel can cause neuropathy in the limbs, along with sores in the mouth, so I iced my hands and feet, and ate popsicles during every infusion. Thankfully I didn’t deal with any of those side effects and for that I am grateful.
On chemo days (Mondays), I'd go in at 7am, get blood drawn, then wait for my appointment at 8am. When I was done (usually around noon) I'd drive myself to work and wrap up the day there.
I had a really good response to this chemo. The tumor shrunk drastically, like to the point that I had to search to feel it. So it was really great to know the chemo was working & I wasn't putting my body through hell for no reason.
PART 2
The second stage of KEYNOTE 522 is what they call "AC" or "THE RED DEVIL"
This isn't just because the chemo is literally red, no... This is also because this chemo is know to "put you on your ass" per my nurses. This regimen consisted of Keyteuda, Doxorubicin (red devil) and Cyclophosphamide every three weeks for 4 visits (although I didn't finish the 4th round, we'll get to that in a bit)
I did have side effects to this stage. I was nauseous for about 2-4 days after infusion. I slept anywhere from 12-18 hours per day for the 4 days after infusion... I had temp spikes, sweats, and body aches daily, all food had a really gross taste, oh and my immune system was absolute trash!! The first round of the red devil didn’t hit me too hard, but my white blood cells decided they didn't want to exist come round 2...
So I got Covid and the flu all within 21 days of each other... I fell out of the shower at one point because I blew my nose so hard that it knocked my equilibrium out of wack... I grabbed for the shower curtain as if that was going to hold me up, and sure enough, SMACKED on the bathroom floor... It's a good thing I was so busy with rodeo that I hadn't done laundry and it was piled on the floor to break my fall. I laid there for a good 15 mins wondering if it was even worth getting up... That made me late to work...
RODEO
OH!! & Did I mention, I did all do this while WORKING ONE OF THE NATIONS BIGGEST RODEOS, no biggy 😂 But over all, rodeo was a great way for me to get my mind off of everything going on. I had a month (other than the days I was sick) to throw myself in to work and forget that cancer even existed. It was one of the best experiences and let me prove to myself that nothing can stop me.
February was an absolute mess, but in the best way possible.
I lost 25lbs in 18days, then gained 15 in 3... Water retention is real when it comes to chemo. There were so many days I could only wear stretchy pants because nothing else fit me. But out of all the weird symptoms I got from this second stage, I didn't lose all of my hair like expected. But my face was this huge at one point 😂 *IN COMING JUMP SCARE*
ROUND 3
I got an extra week off of chemo due to being sick, which I honestly needed... So there I was well rested and ready to get back to it, or so I thought 😂 ROUND 3 KNOCKED ME ON MY ASS! I had chemo on Monday, shot some bridals on Tuesday, got home and didn't wake up till Thursday morning... Come Saturday I felt pretty normal, like no chemo side effects normal...
BIG SCARE
I was getting in my car & putting my seatbelt on when I noticed that I could feel a firmness where my tumor was... A lump... NOT THIS BULLSHIT AGAIN!!! Of course I'm spiraling at this point. Just a few days ago, I was searching for this stupid thing, now it's the size it was when I started chemo...
I made an appointment with my Dr and they couldnt schedule me for almost 5 days. So of course every worst case scenario was running through my head. Things like
-I still have hair, so this chemo must not be working and now the tumor is back.
-I can feel the tumor again, this means is growing and will end up in my lymph nodes or worse.
-Im going to die because its growing so fast and I won't have surgery in time.
-What if it split up and now I have 2 tumors?
-What if the second stage of chemo hasn't been working the whole time and the tumor has been growing for 9 weeks and I'm just now noticing it. This must already be in my brain and lungs.
Y'all when I say things got dark, I really mean it.
When I finally got to see my Dr after what felt like forever, I let her know what was going on. How my anxiety was through the roof and how I FOR A FACT knew it was getting bigger.
She tried to tell me that it could be scared tissue or just a reaction to the chemo, but that wasn't enough peace of mind for me. She told me to keep an eye on it for the next 2 weeks and if it continues to grow, we would move surgery up sooner.
I told her I would. I saw her on a Thursday, but by Saturday morning I was a mental wreck. I couldn't just sit around and wait and see what would happen. I called her office and let them know that I wanted skip my last chemo and go ahead with an early surgery.
ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF!
The thing is, my cancer is very aggressive, like… grows 1% a day aggressive... The kind of cancer that if left untreated, I'd be dead in less than 2 years... So time and I are not friends.
I made a pros and cons list and having an early surgery had wayyyy more pros than cons.
Let me break this down…. So to have surgery, you have to be free of chemo for 4 weeks. This way your body builds up an immune system and isn't a weak string bean. My thought process was "if this chemo hasnt been working for the last 9 weeks, that means my tumor has grown 63%... If I finish my last chemo & it doesn't help, then my tumor will have grown another 35% before I can even be seen for surgery..." I'm not great at math but I know that's a hell of a lot of growth I'd rather avoid. "& If the chemo has been working, well they were going to cut this bad boy out of me anyway."
SURGERY SET FOR 4/23
So I now have a double mastectomy with DIEP Flap reconstruction surgery scheduled for April 23rd. Double mastectomy means that I will have both breasts amputated, & DIEP Flap reconstruction means that they will be taking the fat from my stomach to reconstruct my breasts. This was the best options for me given my age & health.
When you get implants, you're supposed to get them replaced every 7-10 years... I'm 30, so that could be another 4 major surgery in my lifetime I'd rather do without. I also have no other health issues other than the cancer, so I'm a great candidate for this combo surgery. Not to mention, my body doesn't seem to be okay with forien objects being implanted in it. I have a medal clip in the tumor area that throbs & my body tries to rid of my port implant daily... I'd rather not deal with the risk of rejection or infect... So DIEP Flap reconstruction was the right choice for me. Fingers crossed all goes well...
Anyway, back to the anxiety of it all...
ALLLL THE GOOD NEWS!
SOOOOO… Philip and I got engaged!! He got all of our family and friends together for this giant surprise. We usually go on a hike, to the river, or rock hunting of this birthday, so I thought this year was like any other. Well rock hunting and hiking turned in to my best friend giving me the best rock ever & he had all of our family and friends there to celebrate! Talk about THE BEST DAY EVER!!
After we scheduled the surgery, my surgical oncologist reached out and let me know I needed an MRI before surgery. They wanted to compare the size of my tumor to what it is now, also it would give her a better idea of what she’s working with so she isn’t going in blind... I had an MRI with contrast done on Thursday and was told I'd have results by the weekend... But of course they ran late, all the while I'm freaking out because I have no idea what's going on in my body. Had the cancer spread? Did chemo work? Have I put my body through 7 months of hell for no reason???
Wednesday rolls around and finally, I got a call from my Dr. First of all, I was nervous to even answer, then when I did I heard my actual surgeons voice (and if you know anything about health care providers, surgeons and Drs don’t call you themselves, they have people for that), so this FREAKED ME OUT! I thought alllll the negative thoughts. But she said “ I wanted to deliver the good news myself…”
I DON’T HAVE CANCER 🥳
My MRI came back and none of the contrast lit up, so if I do have it still, it's microscopic, but the tumor is gone! The thing I felt in my breast isn't a mass, it's scared tissue and the effects of chemo. So chemo worked, and ya girl is one step closer to being done with all of this crap!
I'm still having surgery, because it's preventative for future occurrence and I think it will help give me peace of mind. But this journey isnt over just yet.
RECOVERY
I will have a pretty tough recovery after surgery, anywhere from 6-8weeks. So I won't be working until Fall, which comes with its own struggles, but I can't complain. I'll also be doing immunotherapy for about a year, which I've heard has it's own side effects and weirdness, but I don't think it can be worst than chemo. I am grateful to have family and friends that will be staying with me to help me out during recovery because I HAVE NO IDEA how I would be able to get through all of what’s to come without them. All in all, I'm in really good spirits and looking forward to being one step closer to a semi-normal life again. Im really glad to be sharing some good news!
I'm also sharing this gofundme again... Although we hit our goal, it's nowhere near the cost of expenses when it comes to surgery, chemo, imaging, and bi-weekly visits. On top of this, I will not be working for a few months, which doesn’t help on the financial side of things. Anything is appreciated, and that includes good vibes and energy ❤️