Memoirs of a Metastatic Midgett

Wanna get away?

2012-02-26T22:45:00.000-06:00

I've been away for a while...I guess it's been over a month since I posted. Lots has happened since my last post. Me and Clint went to Israel, I had my CT scan when I got back, I found out that my liver lesions progressed (got bigger), got kicked out of my Afinitor clinical trial, my liver resection was canceled, and now I get to move on to another clinical trial this week that includes a new drug in combo with chemo.

I have to be honest and say that the bad news CT scan really caught me off guard and was a bit of a sucker punch. I was all ready to have my liver resection. The liver resection isn't canceled forever, but we have to get my lesions back under control.

I have an appointment with Dr. Wheler on Tuesday. I will be entering a clinical trial with a new Aurora Kinase Inhibitor in combination with my very first original chemo...Taxol! So I will be back to getting weekly infusions, losing my hair, and having other strange side effects like a bloody nose, skin issues, etc. It took a couple of weeks, but I think I have my "game face" back on and ready for the next round. What other choice do I have? I will dearly miss Afinitor but I am so thankful for the wonderful year it gave me.

I got to go to New Orleans this weekend for a breast cancer conference. It was the C4YW (conference for Young Women). I decided to go because they had a good choice of breakouts/workshops for metastatic breast cancer and Dr. "Super-Litton" was also speaker at the conference. Me and my good BC buddy, Jessica, were roomies at the event. I really didn't know what to expect and was a little apprehensive. I'm not exactly a "rah-rah" cancer girl and didn't really know if I wanted to hold hands and sing kumbaya with other metastatic ladies. It turned out to be a great weekend. I got to spend a lot of time with Jessica on Bourbon street, I meet a few other metastatic ladies, hung out with Dr. Super-Litton, and got to go to a really amazing workshop on writing final words and/or legacy letters (I know it sounds kinda creepy but it was such a fantastic workshop). Most of all it was good to just hang out with other ladies going through the same issues I face day in and day out. I think it was really good timing for me to network and be around so many cancer gals since I am just about to go down that rabbit hole of chemo again. I feel ready...I feel like I can do it. Here's a couple of pics from this weekend on Bourbon Street.

This is a pic of fellow BC metster, Rhonda, and her sister Sherri and me! They are from Kentucky. Rhonda will be coming down to MD Anderson is a couple of weeks for a second opinion and will be staying at our house. YAY!!!

This is my Htown friend, Jessica, who is a single breast cancer survivor who CLAIMS that she has a hard time meeting men, dating, etc. Sure, Jess. This random guy at Krazy Korner latched on to her and wouldn't take a hint. We eventually had to leave because he was too smitten with her and she wasn't feeling it and got really annoyed with him. Jessica is such the HEARTBREAKER!

I will check in with you guys again later this week to let you know when I will be starting the infusions of Taxol again. I may be needing some chemo buddies, especially if I have to get my infusions in the dungeon of the first floor infusion area for the Center for Targeted Therapy. Ugh! No more Sugarland!

Worst Parade EVER and other happenings in Htown

2012-01-21T17:35:00.000-06:00

So what's up with the "worst parade ever" title? The Houston Marathon and Half marathon took place last weekend and that was the most talked about sign on the marathon route. Supposedly all the runners thought it was hilarious. Of course I had to take their word for it as I decided not to run this year even though I had signed up and ran the Vegas half back in December. Why? I just didn't have it in me! That and my reconstructed boob had been "squeaking" ever since Vegas when I ran my long runs. It turns out the "squeaking is no big deal...dehydration. That does make sense since the only time it would do it is when I ran more than 4 miles. Anyway, my friend and former co-worker from Austin, Braun Borman, came into town to run the half. I really enjoyed being a spectator this year and hanging out with his girlfriend, Heather. I didn't miss running it and to tell you the truth was a bit shocked! I know I'll be back running halfs, but for now I'm temporarily retired! Hopefully I'll be back next year to run in the "worst parade ever".

Cute pic of Braun and Heather at mile 8 Pink Ribbons Hoopla station! Way to go BRAUN!!

This last Tuesday I had my last surgical procedure regarding my reconstruction. I had the nipple/areola reconstruction. It was actually fascinating as they did this in the OR while I was AWAKE! Yes, I had only local anesthesia. It only took him 20-30 minutes to do it and I didn't feel a thing! I didn't even feel the injections to numb my skin. This was a nice surprise after doing the liver biopsy only a month ago. It all went well and I was back home by 9:30am that day. The worst part of it was not being able to take a shower for 2 days. So now, all I have left with all the reconstruction is to have my nipple and areola tattooed to match the color of the other one. That's all in office stuff that can be done very easily...so no more surgical procedures for my boobs. YAY!!

I am getting ready for my big liver resection surgery on February 16. I'm so excited that my sister and nephew are coming down for all the fun. In the meantime I am going to ISRAEL next Saturday the 28th thru February 4! This has been all last minute...Clint was asked to help out last minute on a project there and I decided to tag along for the end of trip (Clint left earlier this week). We are planning to go to the Sea of Galilee area, the Dead Sea and Ein Geti, and finish up the week in Jerusalem for a few days. I'm really excited to visit the Holy Land. Let me know if any of you have any suggestions out there on where to go and what to see!

Many of you keep asking about Suites of Hope, my non-profit. I contacted the IRS this last week to see where we stand in the process and they told me that I have been approved and should be getting my official paperwork any day now. I'm so excited. I know I haven't posted much on our progress, but we have been meeting, looking at a particular condo, and are in the process of getting our website up and running. Hopefully when I get the official paperwork, we can then move on buying the condo. We are so close! We plan on having a "registry" to furnish the condo and I will let you guys know when that is up and running. I still think we won't be up and running for business until April or May, but that's OK as I want to do this the right way!

In closing I just want to say that I'm very proud of the Houston Texans! It was a great year and such a long time coming. We should have beat the Ravens, but that's just the way the ball bounces especially off your face mask when trying to field a punt that you shouldn't have...ask Jacoby Jones about that! :(

It's been a REALLY GREAT WEEK!

2012-01-08T21:28:00.000-06:00

Being a die hard Houston sports fan I have to start out with the obvious. GREAT GAME, TEXANS! Woohoo! I also have to include a special pic of Arian Foster after his second touchdown in yesterday's game. He leapt into the crowd right into the arms of my former co-worker, Georgette Jacob. You can barely see her, but she is the blond girl holding on to Arian. CRAZY!

So jealous, Georgette! Now onto our next victory against the Ravens next Sunday. Go Texans!

It was also a great week because me and Clint got to spend Friday evening back in the 80's. We went to the Richard Marx and Peter Cetera concert at the Arena theater. Yes, that's right, I said the Arena Theater. That place has been around for some time. I even think it was built before I was born? Anyway, it's such a cool little theater. It's small, maybe 2000 seats and the stage is in the middle and rotates around like the stage at the rodeo. I'm a big Richard Marx fan. "Endless Summer Nights", "Hold on to the Night", "Should Have Known Better", etc. He sang it all on acoustic guitar! He was really good and a comedian as well. Peter Cetera sang with a band and was incredible. I didn't realize just how many songs he has written, sang, produced, etc. He sang not only his solo and duet hits, but he sang a lot of his Chicago tunes...mainly from Chicago 17! I was in heaven to say the least. Don't laugh...you know a lot of you out there just love his song "Glory of Love" from the Karate Kid movie - you just won't admit it. Here's a pic of Richard Marx sans the big, fluffy, long mullet from the 80's.

I got to go to a short district meeting with work in St. Louis. It was a really quick trip but really worth it. I've never been to St. Louis before. Just look at the view I had from my hotel window!

So now on to the REALLY big news of the week. As you remember, I had an appointment with Dr. Steven Curley, a liver surgeon at MD Anderson, earlier this week. It went really well. Dr. Curley thinks I am a great candidate for liver resection surgery. I am scheduled for surgery on February 16. I still have to have one more set of good scans in early February, but everything looks good. He will be taking out my entire right lobe and parts of the left (About 75% of my entire liver). The remainder of my left lobe will then grow to take the place of the right. It grows back completely in 1-2 months! Isn't that just crazy? We are hoping to get all the cancer lesions in my liver cut out. I have an opportunity to be NED - NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE! I asked him what's the longest one of his breast cancer patients has been NED after surgery. Drum roll please: he said 16 YEARS and she's still going strong (he just saw her 2 weeks before Christmas). WOW! I am so excited just to have the chance to be NED. The surgery only takes a couple of hours, but I will be in the hospital for 5-7 days. I then will be recovering at home for a couple of weeks.

I just ask that you guys all keep praying for me. I can't tell you how much I appreciate every single one of those prayers. I know God listens, I know he has a plan for me.

Happy New Year - 2012!!!

2012-01-01T21:57:00.000-06:00

Happy 2012 to you all! It's been a really good 2011 and looking to have an even better 2012. I've been off since the Thursday before Christmas and it's back to work tomorrow. I've had such a nice time off - really didn't do much except get a lot of rest and relaxation.

We did have a bit of sadness this Christmas. Clint's cousin, Sherilyn and her husband lost their 10 month old daughter Samantha on Christmas Day. Samantha was born with Trisomy 18. Sherilyn and her husband knew about Samantha's condition in the early months of her pregnancy and made the decision to not have an abortion and carry Samantha to term. The celebration service for her was New Year's Eve. I have to say that I left the service inspired by Samantha and her family. It's just amazing how so many people rallied around her in her 10 months of life and gave her so much love. It was said that she probably lived a richer, fuller life in her short time than many people do in a whole lifetime. I was just amazed at the courage, strength, and faith of the family. Samantha's life was not in vain...who knew that a 10 month old child could teach us all so much about what life is really about.

I also have some news to share with all of you. I am scheduled to see a liver surgeon at MD Anderson this Wednesday morning. My oncologists, Dr. Litton and Dr. Wheler want to see if I'm a candidate for a liver resection. You may be wondering, "What's a liver resection?" Basically it is a surgery where they can remove up to 75% of my liver. The liver will then regenerate itself over the next few weeks. It's a brutal surgery and I would be in the hospital 5-7 days with a few weeks at home recovering. They don't do this surgery all the time, you have to be the right patient. Mets have to be limited to just the liver, limited number of lesions, and small in size. The good news is that this is a chance to take out all the visible cancer in my liver and be NED which is "no evidence of disease". Again, as I have stated before, metastatic breast cancer is considered uncurable so even if I have a successful surgery I would still be on Afinitor and Arimidex after my surgery indefinitely. I will find out more details this Wednesday at my appointment. I know I wouldn't have the surgery until mid February since both oncologists want to wait until after my next round of CT scans which is February 13. CRAZY!!! This has all happened so fast so I guess its good I have a few weeks until the surgery would actually be done. I'm just so grateful that I am being considered for the surgery...options are always good, right?

I just want to leave you all with a pic of me and Clint at dinner on NY Eve! We appreciate all of your prayers, words of encouragement and friendship over the years. We wish you all a very happy and blessed 2012!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T21:33:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to take some time to wish you all a Merry Christmas as I sit here in my living room relaxing with Clint, Buddy and Preston while listening to Christmas music... specifically "Santa Baby" the Miss Piggy version! I just hope I can make it without having to hear the songs, "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" or "Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey" again. Note to XM/Sirius Holly station: Please for the LOVE OF GOD, take those two songs out of your rotation. They are really annoying!!!

It's been a very different Christmas this year. I think it all started when me and Clint were both out of town the first weekend of December. I've felt a little "behind" ever since. We missed our High Altitude Bible class party, we missed seeing "Celebration" at Houston's First Baptist even though we had good tickets. I even went home early from the Deep Trend Christmas party this year due to being extremely tired and run down from the Vegas Half Marathon. I missed a couple of gatherings and parties that friends had - I even missed out on my bunko friends' Christmas party. I think what was really strange is that my sister and her family stayed in North Carolina for Christmas this year. I'm really happy that they got to spend some much needed down time at home, but I missed them very much.

Even though it was a really "different" Christmas, it was still REALLY good. Sometimes quiet and relaxed isn't so bad. We still got to spend time with Clint's family on Friday evening...

This was the 12th Christmas without Clint's sister, Sheila. We still miss her very much, but we know that she is celebrating Christmas in Heaven with Christ himself.

We had Christmas lunch today with my mom and dad. We had a great time and it was nice not having to worry about doing the dishes!

Like I said...my sister Rebecca and her family stayed in North Carolina, but I woke up this morning to a text picture from my nephew Chilton wishing me a Merry Christmas!

This is my 3rd Christmas in CancerLand. I still remember my very first one where I wondered how many more Christmas's I would get to enjoy. I was still in so much shock and everything was so new. I was just beginning my FAC combo of chemo after 12 weeks of Taxol. I still vividly remember New Year's Eve day when MD Anderson called to tell me my appointments with the stem cell transplant people were all canceled as the clinical trial was closed. I was so devastated. Here I am two Christmas's later and things are so much different...so much brighter and filled with so much hope. I'm looking forward to the next part of this CancerLand journey. Where will it take me next? It's all in God's hands which gives me plenty of reason to sleep at peace at night and have confidence that no matter what, he is taking care of me just like he takes care of each and everyone of you.

Merry Christmas! I hope you and your family had a blessed day!

Cancer rant about fellow Metastatic Survivors :(

2011-12-21T22:05:00.000-06:00

What a great day! I finished up work for the rest of the year and got to have dinner with Clint and my good friend, Joe Wheat. I have to brag on Joe before I get into my blog entry. We were celebrating Joe's newly aquired PhD status. Now he's a "double doctor"! LOL! Congrats, Joe. We are so proud of you.

Now we are back at home relaxing. I was hoping to catch a new episode of our new favorite TV show REVENGE, but no joy... no new episodes until January. It's killing me trying to figure out who Tyler shoots. I'm thinking it's faux Amanda (not the real one, aka Emily). Anyway, won't get an answer for 2 more weeks. Ugh!

So here I sit with my blog. I know I told you guys I would be back quickly to talk about financial controversy! So here it goes...

Every now and then I go peruse a breast cancer message board on breastcancer.org specifically for metastatic/stage IV BC survivors. I go there mainly to read about the various treatments women are on, etc. Many times there are threads regarding financial and work related issues. This is where I get a little frustrated with some of my fellow survivors. Many of them find out they are Stage IV and immediately want to go on disability at work. I'm not judging them, but I decided a long time ago that I would keep working until I just couldn't do it anymore. I don't have children and I just think that I would go insane hanging out here at the house day in and day out. I mean, what the heck would I do? Most people who go on disability can only count on getting around 50% of their wages and then have to get on COBRA and pay higher insurance premiums. That also doesn't sound very enticing to me. I have great insurance and really don't pay a lot for it. Yet another reason to keep working as long as I can. I also really like my job. Anyway, so keep in mind a lot of these ladies are on disability. Then many of them decided that the "deserve" to get accelerated life insurance benefits. Anyone familiar with this? I find it kinda creepy. Basically, if you have an illness deemed "terminal" and your doctor signs documents saying that you only have 6-12 months to live depending on the insurance, then you can collect your life insurance before you actually die. Many of these ladies do this so they can pay off debt, take their families on once in a life time trips and vacations, etc. What's weird is that these same ladies get really annoyed if people/doctors/friends of family say that they are dying, but yet turn around and make their doctors sign paperwork saying that they ARE dying!!! I don't know about you guys, but that's just WRONG in my opinion.

Anyway, many times I've felt like chiming in trying to convince these ladies not to go on disability until absolutely necessary or that taking accelerated life insurance benefits is just plain creepy and wrong, but I don't want to get into petty fights with them. Just this week, though, I saw a thread entitled something along the lines of crazy, wrong fantasies with cancer. I looked at this thread and became just so angry and sad at the same time. A stage IV woman was really mad and angry about her situation. She had been diagnosed Stage IV years ago and immediately decided to go on disability. She now makes 50% of what she once made and is now on Medicare since her Cobra ran out. She has high out of pocket costs with her medications, etc. She also took out accelerated benefits a while back and has gone THROUGH IT ALL! She is now broke and can't make ends meet. She now is thinking about taking out all kinds of credit cards running them up and buying a new car with no intensions of paying it back since she is Stage IV and may die soon. She also stated that if she continues to live and can't pay any of it back then she will just declare bankruptcy. REALLY???!!!!! I wonder if she realizes that even if she dies, someone has to pay that back. It may be taxpayers, but someone pays for all that. The lady is really angry and unhappy even though she went on trips and bought stuff with her accelerated benefit money, but still thinks that a new car and credit cards will bring her happiness. Never mind that she is still ALIVE! She even complained about that. AND get this...she has only been on anti hormonals for the last few years. That's right folks, she hasn't been on chemos in a long time but complains that the side effects from each and every anti hormonal has been so hard on her. WOW! I feel like I'm in heaven on an anti hormonal and Afinitor. Yes, I have joint pain and other side effects like this lady, but it's not that bad.

So there's my rant. I just want to know how some of you feel about this. Should people with "terminal" cancer get to go around and spend $ willy nilly and take out accelerated benefits? Do we "deserve" fabulous once in a lifetime trips even if we can't afford them? What do we "deserve" from this world or society? I guess I'm just a raging lunatic for thinking I deserve nothing and have been blessed with so much. Am I losing my mind? Is anyone else frustrated, angry and annoyed at this lady and others like her? I know I talk a lot about cancer bringing out the best in people, but I will say that it often brings out the worst as well. I really haven't talked much about that. I will talk about it more in future posts. I've been meaning to blog about "Competitive Cancer in CancerLand" too! That's a whole other topic that's pretty amusing.

By the way, I wanted to post a pic of me and my clinical trial oncologist, Dr. Jennifer Wheler. I have talked about my breast oncologist, Dr. Litton, but haven't written much about Wheler. She is pretty amazing just like Litton. I see her once a month in the main building...many times waiting 2 hours to be seen. She is super busy trying to save those of us who need answers and treatments sooner than later. Also, she is SINGLE (FYI for you eligible bachelors out there)!

Until next time!!!

I Have Finally Realized that I Have Been on an Emotional Spending Spree for Years and I am now Emotionally Bankrupt!

2011-12-18T21:55:00.000-06:00

My little furbaby, Buddy (aka Budmuffin). It's such an appropriate shirt for him, by the way! Preston has one too, but wouldn't sit still long enough to get a good pic.

My friends, Laurie Earls and her sister Charlene, came into town last week for Laurie's CT scans, MRI's, and 3 month visit with her oncologist here at MD Anderson. As some of you know, Laurie actually lives in California and I met her at a local restaurant back in February while she was here for treatments. I'm so happy that Laurie got to go back home finally but I have missed her. It was really great to hang out with them. They actually stayed with us at the house for a few days.

I have to tell you what dear, sweet Laurie and her sister pointed out to me during their visit...I am emotionally in debt, maybe even bankrupt, due to poor choices in spending emotional energy over the years. What? Did I really say that? Is there even such a thing as being emotionally in debt or bankrupt? As some of you know, I've always been pretty good at keeping out of debt financially. I don't go willy nilly spending $ on crazy things (OK, every now and then but nothing too crazy) and I have many good choices when it comes to finances. Not so much on the emotional side of things. Let me explain! Many of you have pointed out that I can be emotional...I have that figured out, but what I didn't know is that I need to be more selective on who and when I spend my emotional energy on. I'm not saying that some people, things, situations are not worth it, but I need to be more careful in the amount of emotional energy I expend and prioritize where I spend it. A lot of it has to do with timing as well. I may have a big CT scan coming up the following day... guess what, I may not have a lot of emotional energy for anyone that day. Why am I explaining any of this to you guys? I just need you all to know that I still care about my friends and family. I love you all so much. I just may not be able to emotionally invest in certain people, things or situations at certain times and THAT'S JUST GOING TO HAVE TO BE OK!!!!

Where it all seemed to dawn on me was when me, Clint, Laurie, and Charlene were at El Tiempo (where else would I be?) and Laurie was really trying to help me solve a problem. Laurie started doing the pros and cons thing with me with Equal packets being the pros and Splenda packets being the cons. I'm always pretty good at listing the pros and cons of situations, I think my dad started teaching me that the moment I came out of the womb. Unfortunately, there with Laurie I couldn't even get past one Equal packet to one Splenda packet...I couldn't even come up with the actual pros and cons! It was like I didn't care one way or the other. It's like it didn't matter but I know that it should have and I should have come up with way more sweetners either way. That's when it hit me. All these years I've been saying that I wish I had on "off" switch for me caring so much about things. That "off" switch is called being emotionally in debt, empty, or bankrupt. I've now decided that maybe an "off" switch isn't what I need, its more like I need one of those sliding dimmer switches. Am I making any sense what so ever? What do you guys think? This is probably common sense to many of you and I'm just late to the party on this one.

Anyway, I would like to give you guys a quick update on Laurie's visit to MD Anderson. She got some good news. All her tumors/lesions shrunk on Nexavar except for one. She has numerous tumors all over her body so having all but one respond is really GREAT! Her eye is doing a lot better (she was having problems because of the tumor on her brain stem). The radiation seemed to help. Her hair is growing back and she seems to be in good spirits. She is in a lot of pain so please keep her in your prayers, especially that God would lessen the pain in her leg. She is now in Tuscon, Arizona staying with Charlene and her husband. Yay! We are all excited that she will be celebrating a lot this Christmas.

I also want to update you guys on my friend Lindsey, the one decorating my house that I have talked about on previous blogs. She is my friend who has metastatic cervical cancer. Since I have last talked about her, she has been in the hospital dealing with horrible pain in her back. I was getting really worried about her since I had not heard from her in a week or so. She has had a surgical procedure to get a pain pump. That seems to be helping somewhat, but she still is in pain. It's all from her FOUR fractures in her pelvis. OUCH! I just saw her a couple of nights ago and she says she is getting her MOJO back. She looked amazing as always. Please keep her in your prayers.

I will actually be back blogging in a couple of days. I have something else I want to blog about that's been on my mind relating to cancer...but this time the financial side to cancer. Might be a little controversial.

I Survived Vegas and the Media Mayhem!

2011-12-11T22:32:00.000-06:00

Viva Las Vegas! Yes, I survived the Vegas Rock and Roll Half Marathon at night. It was fun running the strip at night, but it was an EXTREMELY crowded run the whole 13.1 miles. Nothing like running with 44,000 other crazy people. At least I got to run with a few of my friends. In the pic above is Heather Keister, Laura Kopytkiewicz, Ashley Paulsen, me and Martha Aguilar. Let's just say Ashley left all of us in the dust and finished in 2:12. I finished with a 2:34... I did really well until I got to mile 10 which was coming back to the strip at the Wynn Encore. Oh well, I still got the Houston Half coming up in January. I'm just glad we had a really fun girls weekend. I also need to give a shout out to my friend Ellie Bane who gave me the absolutely fabulous pink sequin skirt to wear in the race. I also started out wearing light-up glasses and necklace, but they weren't made for running. LOL! Here's a few other pics of us having fun in Vegas.

I came home late Monday night and barely had time to recover before my liver biopsy at MDA on Tuesday. This time, it wasn't as "fun" as the last time. They were running 3 hours behind due to difficult cases before me. We arrived at 10 am but didn't walk out the door until 7:15 pm. Don't feel bad for me...feel bad for Clint. I actually slept for an hour and a half before the procedure and then slept the entire 3 hours afterwards while Clint got to sit around and read a book. Again, just like last time, my blood pressure was low and the alarm kept going off on the monitor but I didn't notice since I was fast asleep. This biopsy was a little different than the one I had last year. They decided last minute to do it MRI guided instead of CT guided. They also went in at a different angle. It was definitely more painful than last time as well. However, this time they wouldn't give me more meds as my blood pressure was "too low". NEWS FLASH MDA: my blood pressure is low normally!!!! I was frustrated, but I survived. I hopefully will find out more information on the results of the biopsy next week at my next appointment with Dr. Wheler.

Now, on to all the media mayhem. Many of you noticed that I was on the news, in the paper, on the internet, etc last week. I found out about it all so last minute I didn't get to tell all of you about it. I had an interview with NBC nightly news which also was on the Today show, an interview with Channel 13 locally, an AP phone interview, an AP video interview, an AP photographer shadowing me at the Vegas Half Marathon. It was absolutely crazy. Let's just say that there was a lot of interviewing, filming, photographing and its hilarious to see what actually comes out of it. It was really fun, but I felt like a big GOOB doing a lot of it. Acting natural while there's a big camera in front of you is really hard. Anyway, if you did not see any of it, all this media excitement was due to some exciting Afinitor breast cancer data coming out of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium last week. MD Anderson got me and my friend Suzanne Hebert to talk to the press about our experience with the drug. I was really excited to tell everyone how great this drug has been for me. Dr. Jennifer Litton, my breast oncologist, was also featured in an interview with ABC nightly news and Channel 13 here locally. It was a big media week for us all. Here are some links to some of the news stories:

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/45590165#null

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/health&id=8458492

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Big-promise-is-seen-in-2-new-breast-cancer-drugs-2373366.php

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Therapy-combo-shows-promise-in-breast-cancer-cases-2376796.php

Thanks to all of you who have emailed, facebooked, texted, called, etc to let me know you saw me in the news.

On a final frivolous fun note, I do have to say congratulations to the Houston Texans on securing their first ever playoff berth as the AFC South Division Champs. It's been ten long years! YAY TEXANS!!!

Thanksgiving just FLEW by!!!

2011-12-01T22:42:00.000-06:00

Well, Thanksgiving came and went in the blink of an eye! I had such a great time visiting with friends and family and just enjoying my great scan results.

It all started with a fun dinner out with our friends Les and Ann at El Tiempo. I think that is my favorite place to celebrate good news!

Thanksgiving day started bright and early with me doing the Turkey Trot down in the Galleria and Clint coming along for moral support. I actually did the 10k this year in preparation for my half marathon. I did great and had a lot of fun.

After that, we packed up and headed to College Station for some good ole Aggie tailgating and the A&M/UT game. Let's just say the game was really a stinker, but we still had a really good time. I haven't been to a game in years and I almost forgot how amazing AggieLand is on game day. I really miss the good ole days! Here's some pics.

Parsons mounted Calvary - they were right next to where we tailgated!

Our hosts and Clint tailgating! Thanks to Cameron for the tailgate party.

The Aggie band marching in

Clint and friends!

Me and Clint - his orange shirt is so UGLY!!!

I had some pictures of Coach Sherman and the football team marching in but who wants to see pics of our ex coach. DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA!

The next day we drove down to our little ranch near Sequin for a quiet weekend. Clint's parents joined us out there for the day on Saturday. It was so nice to get some peace and quiet away from the hustle and bustle of Houston. We even heard coyotes howling at night. Yikes! One night me and Clint went out to a deer blind to hog hunt (we have tons of hogs on the property and they are tearing everything up). This was my first time to ever be in a deer stand! Woohoo! It was so exciting I actually fell asleep about 15 minutes after we got in it...and it was only about 9:30pm. I'm becoming such a snoozer. At least Clint couldn't complain about me being noisy and driving the hogs away.

So now I'm back here in Houston preparing to go to Vegas tomorrow for a fun filled weekend with some girlfriends and a little half marathon on Sunday night. Am I ready for 13.1 miles in the cold Vegas night? Ummmmmmm...not really but we will definitely have fun trying! We are booked for a couple of nice evenings at good restaurants and Friday night we have tickets to see the Jaberwakeez (go ahead and laugh, I know you want to). I just can't go to a Cirque de Soliel show. I will fall asleep in record time.

I come back home Monday night and get to have my liver biopsy on Tuesday at noon! Exciting! Before the biopsy, a camera crew and reporter from a local news station will be interviewing me for a news story. I can't tell you about it yet, but it's BIG...I think. We'll see what comes of it. Supposedly if all goes to plan, the story will air next Wednesday night. I will get back with you on Tuesday about the details. Don't want to spoil the surprise.

Well, I'm signing off for the evening. Wish me luck in VEGAS!

Good News...AGAIN!!!!

2011-11-22T22:25:00.000-06:00

So after my grumpy, crabby, down in the dumps pre-CT scan blog entry, I have good news to report! My large liver lesion is now down to around 2 cm!!! WOW! Remember back in March when I had my baseline scan to enter this trial it was around 7.5/8 cm. Such remarkable results. I still have one other small lesion that is barely detectable, but there's really nothing other than those two remaining that can be seen. My blood work all came back great again except for my WBC and ANC are a little low as usual...nothing that another shot of Neulasta couldn't fix (too bad I'm not a Neulasta rep!).

My clinical trial oncologist, Dr. Wheler, asked me today if I wouldn't mind getting another biopsy of my liver to do some more genomic mapping stuff and see what comes up - I'm all in for that for sure. Something really exciting is that she will be putting together some of the preliminary results from this trial to submit for a poster at ASCO. I would be so excited to be part of a clinical trial presented in a poster at ASCO (I've warned you guys about me being a big NERD!). Just a fantastic day at MD Anderson for sure. I even heard from my rock star breast oncologist, Dr. Litton, who just wanted to follow-up with me regarding my CT scan. She's so excited too!

Thank you all so much for your continued support and prayers! Please continue to pray for me, but most of all please continue to pray for all of us in CancerLand and especially Laurie Earls and Lindsey Apostolo.

As far as my last blog, I heard from a lot of you. Again, so appreciate all the support out there. I'm really struggling with going back and forth between days at MD Anderson where so many miracles happen but so many lives are hanging by a thread, and then the "real" world outside of MD Anderson where "normal" life goes on. Sometimes the faces I've seen at MDA haunt me...I think about the couple I saw a month ago where the wife had stomach cancer and looked like she was at the brink of death, I think about all the people with radiation burns I see there, the people with oxygen tanks, and the stem cell/bone marrow transplant patients. It haunts me, but then it also makes me feel so grateful for what I have. Which leads me to my list of things I'm thankful for:

1. God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit taking care of me and my family and blessing us!
2. Clint - he's been a ROCK!
3. My family (yes, this includes my furbabies Buddy and Preston)
4. My friends (old and new, near and far)... you guys keep sticking by my side through all the craziness.
5. MD Anderson - all the oncologists, nurses, staff, volunteers who are helping God perform miracles every day!
6. Houston's First Baptist - where else can someone go and hear a sermon that speaks to them right at that very moment they need it the most? It's like Pastor Gregg is reading my mind!!!
6. My job - I LOVE my job. Yes, it's a job and not perfect but its such a great job and UCB has been really good to me through all this as well as the many physicians and office staff I call on. Oh, and my health insurance has been AMAZING!
7. Memorial Park... such great therapy running there. Just so sad that all the trees are dying because of the drought. :(
8. Living in Houston. Yes, I'm probably the only person that has admitted that, but I can't tell you how convenient living here has been for me for many reasons!
9. My new boobs! Thanks, Dr. Schusterman. I really LOVE them.
10. El Tiempo. Where else can a couple of girls get fajitas and sit on the patio and solve the world's problems?
11. I'm thankful that A&M is leaving the Big 12 for the SEC. This will be so much better for my marriage!! (For those of you who don't know, I'm married to a Longhorn)
12. Finally, I'm thankful for a few men named Andre, Arian, Matt, Owen, Brian, DeMeco, etc! And thank you Dallas for firing Wade Phillips.

I wish all of you a safe and Happy Thanksgiving! I hope to be back in a few days to post some pics and highlights from the last A&M/UT game for a very long time. Gig em, Aggies!

OH NO SHE DIDN'T!!!!

2011-11-20T22:22:00.000-06:00

I'm having my next CT scan tomorrow. I report to MD Anderson at 7am for bloodwork and then to prepare for my scan at 9am. This happens every 3 months so I'm getting pretty used to it.

What I am not getting used to....people complaining about mundane stupid stuff,

"Oh no, I'm not gonna be able to breast feed for 6 months like I want to!"

"Raising a kid is a tough job, you'll understand one day when you have your own."

"My kid didn't make the A team for basketball. they are so devastated!"

"Team X should have won this college football game if it wasn't for lame XYZ reason"

"I'm the golden child at work but I still complain about stuff that doesn't go my way even when I don't deserve to be the golden child at work and what I complain about doesn't matter!"

Sorry, but this is what I deal with on a day to day basis...before you say anything, yes I know, I complain about mundane stupid stuff too. But if you guys have noticed me feeling a little down lately let me tell you why. I really don't have much patience left for those of us who have been given so many blessings and don't even realize it. Yes, some of my best friends are the worst ones and you probably don't even know it. I'm at my wits end with many of you. You don't even realize how good you have it. Meanwhile, back in CancerLand, some of my friends are really struggling.

Laurie had to go to the ER today, they thought she had a lung embolism but didn't, thank goodness. She has had to stop her cancer treatments back in California due to issues with her bloodwork. Her family is worried that the cancer will have its way while she has her treatment break. She isn't due back at MD Anderson for scans until December 7. Please pray, it is a difficult time for her and her family. Here lately I find myself trying to "wheel and deal" with God for a miracle where she is concerned. I'm not gonna go into details, but I feel very strongly that Laurie needs some good news and needs to be delivered from her cancer. That's just what I want...I want a "normal", wonderful life for Laurie. I want her to be married and have children and live happily ever after. That's what I want for her so desperately...

My friend Lindsey who has metastatic cervical cancer is having a difficult time too. She now has pelvic fractures and a new tumor. She is now on new chemos, but is in a lot of pain and looking to go on disability with work. She also needs to find a new place to live as her roommate situation is not working out. We have offered her a place to stay at our house - Clint's idea too! I love my wonderful and thoughtful husband. We hope she accepts our offer to stay at our house. She would bring so much life and love to our home!

I guess I have been a little worried about my CT scans coming up, but I have been reminded daily about how wonderful my life has been since cancer. I am so THANKFUL for meeting all my CancerLand friends and appreciate everything they have taught me about life. No matter what my results are on Tuesday, I know that I can face the results knowing that God is on my side and I have wonderful cancer friends to look up to like Laurie and Lindsey. So many of you have commented on my courage and strength, but it is nothing compared to my two sweet friends. They are the true heroes...not me.

So excuse me if I'm a little annoyed with our comfortable lives. WE HAVE IT SO GOOD and don't even realize it. I hope we all realize what we truly have and appreciate every minute of it before its too late.

I will let you all know how my scans go, but either way...does it really matter?

OK, so I've been really busy lately...

2011-11-15T22:03:00.000-06:00

Clint's been gone a little over three weeks now - he's been working in Africa. So I've been trying to keep myself busy while he's gone. It just makes time go faster! I've been so busy I just haven't gotten the chance to blog.

First of all, I'm happy to report that my good friend Amber, her husband Jack and their son Max haved finally moved here to Houston from Manchester, UK. Yay! So glad to have you back, Amber. Me and Amber got to have some girl time a couple of weeks ago over sushi - good times!

I also got to go to the Tour de Pink "Thank you" party. The Tour de Pink bike ride raised over $400,000 for Pink Ribbons Project. I raised $5300 individually and just under $10,000 for Team Bella Rachel. Thanks to all of you who supported me. I will be sending out thank you cards soon. Look for them in the mail. Those of you who forgot to donate...you will have other opportunities with Suites of Hope! ;)

Speaking of Suites of Hope, we have had 2 board meetings and have accomplished a few things. Dr. Namieta Janssen has a condo ready for us to look at to purchase. Maybe we can have a condo by the first of the year? Just waiting to hear back from the IRS.

I also got to go to Chicago for 5 days for the American College of Rheumatology Conference. I got to hang out with my UCB peeps and some Rheumatologists from the Houston area. This was the first time I've been to Chicago (other than the Chicago Airport Marriott with Wyeth years ago). It's a great city, but the cab drivers are really crabby and rude!! They are way worse than New York. Here's some pics.

Me, Dr. Martha Aguilar, Kurt Schoppe, Dr. Joan Appleyard

Me, Dr. Prashanth Sunkureddi, and Tiffany Moake at Dr. Sunkureddi's poster

Me, Tiffany Moake, Kierstin Cleary, and Shawn Dauber at a Chicago Pizza Place (I forgot the name)

Christin Croll Carlson and Dr. Sunkureddi before the REF 5k that started at Soldier field and made its way down to the Navy Pier and back along Lake Michigan. Such a fun 5k!!! Dr. Sunk left me and Christin in the dust.

Me and Christin Croll Carlson at dinner (had to put an awesome pic of Christin in to make up for the 5k pic sans makeup)

By the way, Christin rode 60 miles with me last year in the Tour de Pink if some of you think that she looks familiar. Christin, you are so awesome!!!!

When I got back, my cousin Kay had tickets for us to go to the Nutcracker Market Preview Party. Four hours of shopping...I was really exhausted but it was all worth it. I got some really cool Christmas decorations for the tree this year. Look out for an animal print decorated tree! :) Thanks for the tickets, Kay. I know I was cranky and hard to deal with, but I really appreciate you inviting me!

Doesn't Kay look fabulous? Everyone was commenting on her beautiful blouse. WOW!

Finally, I got to have a girls night out and host a slumber party at my house. Amy Poland Preyer was back in town from Denver and we just had to all get together for dinner and drinks.

By the way, I wasn't wearing the fedora to be fashionable - I had a photo facial (IPL) and had dramatic results. Basically my whole face turned red and all my sunspots and sun damage really came to the surface so I had to hide all of the mess on my face that I could. No worries, all the dark brown sun spots are now flaking off and the redness has gone away. I thought the fedora looked pretty good regardless!

Sadly when we got back to my house I immediately feel asleep on the couch like an old geezer while the others sat around and had a good time catching up. The same thing happened the last time I had girls night/slumber party. I think I'm a 39 year old girl trapped in the body of a 70 year old!

I'm so ready for Clint to be home - he's supposed to be home in two days. It's been a hard 3 weeks without him, but I'm surviving.

I'll be back in a couple of days to let you guys know that he got back safely and to talk about some other stuff going on with me.

No Time to Waste!!!

2011-10-26T18:58:00.000-05:00

Ok people, I just sent in the IRS paperwork for Suites of Hope and my friend Laurie Earls has already found a metastatic breast cancer patient in California who desperately wants to come to MD Anderson but can't because she can't afford a place to stay. Laurie called me today to tell me about her and sweetly asked if there was anyway that she could be the first person to stay in the new condo once we get it. Of course I will agree to whatever Laurie wants since she is the inspiration for all this. Of course this woman's husband has a good job and she has insurance, but $2000 a month in just motel bills here in the medical center is too much for anyone to really handle. Good thing is that the woman is in the middle of chemo in Cali and it will be a few months until she gets her next scan results. We have time until she will be ready to come to Houston, but I feel like I need to get moving on this...NO TIME TO WASTE.

I had my monthly visit to MD Anderson for my phase 1 clinical trial. This time they added cholesterol and triglycerides to my usual crazy bloodwork - amusing thing is that I have NEVER had my cholesterol checked. Drum roll....I have GREAT cholesterol and triglyceride numbers. ALL my blood work came out fabulous except for, yes again, ANC and WBC which were really low. Maybe that was how I caught that nasty stomach bug this last weekend? So of course I got another Neulasta shot. They also want me to come in every 2 weeks now to follow my ANC and WBC better and maybe catch it before it gets too low again. Otherwise, great visit and my CT scans will be scheduled for the Monday before Thanksgiving.

Sometimes I feel really guilty about all the success with my clinical trial. I LOOK GOOD and FEEL GOOD. Many people just can't believe I have cancer. When I go to MD Anderson I see so many really sick people. Yesterday there was a wheelchair derby going on in the diagnostic center. They were everywhere - I think there were more people in wheelchairs than people walking on their own. When I got up to the 10th floor I saw this emaciated young woman who looked near death waiting to see a doctor. I asked her husband what type of cancer she has - stomach cancer. She looked like death - I sat there and silently prayed for her. I was just so sad and felt so humbled. It made me think...does anybody really care what's going on in CancerLand? I see so much going on about the whole Occupy Wall Street Movement. I really don't mean to be political, but I really feel like I'm caught in the middle. I don't agree with the Occupy Wall Street people and I don't agree with the "greedy wall street 1% people" either. I find myself somewhere in the middle. I'm not a "have not but want a lot" and I'm not a "have a lot and take a lot." I feel like I'm a "have a lot and don't really deserve it but work hard for it". I'm really having a hard time with all this student loan whining and crying though. I had student loans out of college and was expected to pay it back even though my first job out was a teaching job making $22,000. I doubled up and paid it off in 5 years. No one bailed me out. No one bailed my dad out when he was out of work for 18 months back in the 80's. No one is helping me or many others pay our medical out of pocket expenses annually for chronic diseases even when we have GOOD insurance (mine is over $3000 annually and I have AMAZING insurance). By the way, every cent I pay towards my medical care is TRULY worth it for what I am getting in return. Then again, why are we paying CEO's millions to leave a company when they do a horrible job? Why are banks being bailed out just to turn around and make bad loans again? When will we all just learn to live within our means and learn to find value and fulfillment in what really matters?

Here's a wonderful article I ripped off from my friend Bobby Cude's facebook status regarding the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Thanks Bobby! It has insightful scriptures. When I'm faced with a financial dilemma I have sometimes thought to myself, "What would Solomon do?"

http://www.irvingbible.org/blog/2011/10/26/on-occupy-wall-street/

Here's a thought, maybe we should be investing more in people! At least that's what I've been trying to do with Suites of Hope. I also have made the exciting decision to invest in a friend of mine. My friend, Lindsey Apostolo, is a metastatic cervical cancer survivor who I met at a MD Anderson event. I really liked Lindsey instantly. She is fighting a tough battle with cancer, but is still working as a school teacher and out trying to have a good time with her friends. Some of you may remember that I posted on facebook asking for names of interior decorators. Lindsey got in touch with me and asked if I would take her on as my designer. While she is a teacher, her real passion is in interior design and wants to try and start her own business. Would I help her get started? ABSOLUTELY!!! So far we are having a blast and I love every idea she has. Paint and wallpaper coming soon and faux alligator skin around the bar! Yay! I will keep you guys up to date on our progress.

What are some of you investing in these days? Let me know!!!

Oh, and I almost forgot...

The song of the week:

No Time to Waste

By: Beckwith, featuring Ineabell

Celebrate your Princess!

2011-10-23T21:00:00.000-05:00

Well, obviously it's that time of year...Breast cancer awareness month. I've been participating in various activities and parties, but one of my favorites is "Celebrate your Princess" walk out in Fulshear at Cross Creek Ranch. Last year I was an honoree and it was so much fun. This year my Aunt Mary who is a two time cancer survivor was honored. Yay! Unfortunately, I got hit with a really horrible stomach bug and couldn't make the event. I wanted to include a pic from the event anyway since I'm so proud of my aunt.

Earlier in the week, me and Clint got to go to dinner with our friends Laurie Earls and Charlene Hamburger before they flew back to Sacramento. Laurie finished up her radiation and was cleared to go back home for a nice break. Before they left, we got to celebrate that I finally mailed off the paperwork to the IRS for my non profit status for Suites of Hope - one step closer to getting this thing going. Hopefully I will hear back in about 6 weeks if I was approved. Laurie and Charlene's friend designed a logo for us too! I have already posted in on Facebook, but will post it here for those of you who aren't Facebook people.

I already miss Laurie and Charlene, but I'm so thrilled that she finally got to go home. Laurie has been here in Houston since January. Please pray that her new treatment works and shrinks her tumors, especially the one on her brain stem - she is having trouble with one of her eyes because of it.

I Still Believe!! It was a good week in CancerLand!!

2011-10-16T22:14:00.000-05:00

It's been a good week in Cancer Land!! Thank goodness, because the week before was not that great. Let me start by telling you guys the really good news. Some of you may remember my friend from Connecticut, Suzanne Hebert. I met her online in on breastcancer.org and got to meet her in person when she came down here to MD Anderson. She ended up in the same Phase I Afinitor trial I'm in. Her first CT scan since she started the clinical trial was this last week...GREAT news! Her liver lesion was 21% smaller! Yay!!! This is only after 3 months on therapy. Suzanne was really excited and I was so excited for her. She is like me, and had not had good scans for some time before Afinitor. I know we have not won the war on breast cancer yet, but we are winning some sweet little battles! Suzanne is going to celebrate next week with her sister out in LA. She even has tickets to the Ellen show. Have fun Suzanne, you deserve it. I forgot to tell many of you this...I figured out a couple of months ago that I had read about Suzanne in a NY Times article back in January of this year. It took me a while to put "2 and 2" together to realize it was the same Suzanne. What a small world. Her article really inspired me. I am glad that I can call her my friend. Here is the NY Times article from January 2011.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/health/18cancer.html?pagewanted=1&_r=3&hpw

I also got to spend time with my dear sweet friend, Laurie Earls, this week. Unfortunately it was in the MD Anderson hospital. I haven't told you guys this yet, but Laurie's angiosarcoma cancer has spread to her brain stem. She is currently getting daily radiation treatments. So far this and the Nexavar treatments seem to be working. After her radiation is over, Laurie and her sister Charlene will be flying home to California on Thursday. I am so excited Laurie is getting a break and will get to spend some much needed time back home. I will miss her terribly but she will be back in a few months. Please pray for Laurie!! While the current treatments seems to be working on her cancer, she has had such a tough time. I know God has a plan for Laurie. It's just so hard to watch her go through all this. It's been a cake walk for me compared to what her and her family have had to endure.

For me, things are good. I am working hard at my job, working out, running to prepare for my half marathons, and trying to enjoy breast cancer awareness month. My hair continues to grow and I just got it cut and colored and LOVE it. Here is a current pic of me and Clint. My hair is actually longer than it looks - I have it behind my ears. Good news is that the front of my hair is now even with the back...no more mullet! LOL!

Pic of me and Suzanne from this last summer

Congrats on the good news Suzanne! So happy for you, David and the kids!

In honor of all the good news, me being a music lover, and also a big dork, I am starting something new...a song of the week!! I will have a new song every Sunday night.

My first "Song of the Week" will be an oldie but goodie! "I Still Believe" by The Call. Download it people!!! It is a GREAT song. I always think of my Lamesa friend Ginna Treadwell when I hear it - I think she introduced me to The Call. Anyway, it was also in the movie "The Lost Boys" which is a favorite of mine. Just a good kick a$$ kind of song that will get you inspired if you are a little down.

Fun Week but Exhausted!!

2011-10-10T22:28:00.000-05:00

I took a bit of a break from the blog - I was in Orlando all last week for a national meeting with work. I know some of you are wondering why I would be gone for a whole week when I just sell one drug...we now have iPads with new software platforms, etc and had to be trained on all that good stuff. I have to say that while it was a long week, it was a really fun meeting. We even got an afternoon off to go to Universal Studios and had a company party at CityWalk on Thursday night. I think the best part was the Karaoke bar...it wasn't just any karaoke - there was a full band and back up singers!! It was really fun. Just in case you are wondering...yes, I did sing. Not by myself though. Me and Todd Wood, a manager from Indiana, sang Summer Nights from Grease. We weren't very good, but it was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed seeing my fellow co-workers perform. Hector Ramirez sang "Living on a Prayer" and was REALLY good - some of you may remember Hector from our days at BMS. We also had a great time at Universal and I got to ride the new Harry Potter ride. Let's just say that a lot of us got motion sickness from the ride. I think I like the SpiderMan and Mummy rides WAY BETTER!! Here's a few pics from the meeting...

A group of us at Universal Studios right outside the Harry Potter (aka Vomit Comet) ride.

Kurt, Shawn (my new co-worker at UCB/old co-worker from Icos), and Greg Duncan (US President of UCB) celebrating Shawn's birthday!

Me and Todd Wood trying to sing Summer Nights from Grease.

I finally got home Friday night just in time to see my sister and nephew who flew in from North Carolina for the ECU/UH game. I felt so bad...I was so exhausted from the meeting and had such a headache when I came home that I went to bed at 8:30 that night - didn't get to spend any time with my family until Saturday. I think I gave my family a bad scare Friday night. I think they thought I was sick from the cancer or something, but it was plain Jane exhaustion. OK, maybe I was so exhausted because of the long hours from the meeting AND the fact that my medication does make me a bit fatigued anyway. It's just frustrating that I'm not quite the girl I used to be just a couple of years ago before all the treatments. I haven't told a lot of you this, but I wake up every morning with a lot of joint pain and morning stiffness in my legs, ankles, feet. It's not because of my running either. It was happening even when I was recovering from my reconstruction surgery and wasn't working out at all. I'm trying not to complain too much, though. It's a side effect from my meds, but they are working on the cancer so I can definitely deal with it.

On another note, I was definitely hit with a heavy dose of Cancer Land reality this last week with the passing of Steve Jobs from pancreatic cancer and the passing of Clint's cousin, Peggy Duren, from ovarian cancer. I read an interesting article about Steve Job's last months. I also thought about Peggy and her final months as well. Steve and Peggy both spent their final months with their family and closest friends. What would you do if you knew you only had 6 months left?

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/With-Time-Running-Short-Jobs-nytimes-175542823.html?x=0

"No one wants to die and yet death is the destination we all share." Steve Jobs

Pink Pigeons!

2011-10-02T23:46:00.000-05:00

The first annual Pink Pigeons Sporting Clay Tournament supporting Pink Ribbons Project was a HUGE success! We had about 160 shooters/32 teams for the day and ended up raising $55,000 (not including the "in kind" donations!). WOW! I was so amazed by all the hard work that my husband Clint, Nathan Bane, and the rest of the Pink Pigeons Committee did to make it such a huge success. We actually had people asking how they could be sponsors next year! Clint's already said his goal next year is to surpass $100,000. I'm thinking that's an attainable goal. We had absolutely perfect weather for the shoot and the whole event went very smoothly. I was just so bummed that I couldn't shoot because of my port on the ride side of my chest/shoulder. Maybe I can practice left handed and shoot next year.

Here's some pics from the event:

Me, Susan Rafte, and Babs

My friend, Melanie, taking aim at a pink pigeon!

The really cool pink sporting clays! Thanks Nathan for getting them!

Melanie and her husband

My friend, Michelle, and her husband, John

John shooting at a pink pigeon. I think he missed this one.

Our friends, Tobin and Joey, shooting their guns

Clint and Matt Doan. Thanks, Matt for being a sponsor!

If some of you think Clint looks a little different...he has lost 35 lbs in the last few months! He looks so amazing. He has five more pounds to lose to reach his goal and he wants to do it by his birthday - October 26. I'm just so proud of him. P90X and "My Fitness Pal" app for the iphone.

Well, I gotta cut this short. I had so much more to talk about but I'm exhausted from a busy weekend - Komen walk yesterday and I ran 7 miles today at the park! I'm also leaving town early tomorrow morning for the UCB National Meeting in Orlando. Woohoo! As long as we don't have to make a flag or shoot a video at Universal, I'll be fine (remember that crazy meeting, my BMS peeps?). Looking forward to seeing my UCB friends in Orlando.

Baby showers, Babies, and a Houston Texan sighting!

2011-09-24T14:18:00.001-05:00

This past week was dubbed "Baby Week" for me. I hosted a baby shower at my house last Saturday for my friend, Kayla, and then her sister, Sherri, had her baby just yesterday.

The shower was really fun! There were about 25 women (and a couple of little guys) show up for the festivities. Since I was running the show, there were two things that were most important...not playing any silly baby games and having the event over on time so people can leave if they want or stay longer to visit if they have time. Both things were accomplished! We played one icebreaker since a lot of the ladies didn't know each other...we had celebrity baby names and celebrity couples on notecards. Each lady got a notecard and you had to find your match - if you had a baby name, you had to find the person that had the celebrity mom/dad to match. Of course I used the couples who had CRAZY baby names like Daisy Poppy or Moonblood. What's gotten into these celebrities anyway?

The shower hostesses with Kayla: Shannon, Angi, Melanie, Kayla, Ashley, me

Kayla with her cake:

Katie Knight with her 3 daughters Sherri, Natalie, and Kayla who are ALL pregnant at the same time!

Like I said, Sherri had her baby yesterday (Friday) and I went to the hospital to visit her and the new little guy, Samuel. Before I went up there, I just had to get her a gift. I went to Doodles in the Village. I almost had a meltdown in the store. I just have a really hard time in baby stores. I'm always happy for my friends who have babies and I just adore kids, but something about a baby store just wants me to hyperventilate. I guess its just that everything is just so darn cute and it just makes me realize how I will NEVER get to experience having a baby. It's like having a dream that just gets demolished and you keep having to have it in your face that its just never gonna happen to you, but it will have to everyone else. What was worse is that it took them forever to get the gift wrapped!! It was all worth it though. Little Samuel was just so darn cute and looked like he was more like a week old instead of 12 hours.
Congrats Sherri and Todd!!

Baby Samuel!!

On the way up to see Sherri and Samuel, I ran into Matt Schaub, the Texans quarterback, coming out of the elevator I was getting into. Before everyone freaks out, this is a WOMEN'S hospital. There is nothing wrong with Matt Schaub, unless he is having a baby or having his ovaries take out - LOL! Anyway, when I told Sherri that I saw him on the way up Sherri says, "What's up with you and sports celebrity sightings all the time?" When I texted Clint about it he said the same thing!! So, I decided to end this entry today with a list of sports figures that I have seen around town. This is in no particular order.

1. Matt Schaub at Texas Women's Hospital

2. Shane Battier at Benjy's Lounge and Vic and Anthony's

3. Hakeem Olijawon at Houston's

4. John Lucas at Houston's

5. Patrick Ewing at Houston's

6. Charles Barkley at Chili's

7. Matt Maloney at Houston's

8. Lance Berkman at Scurlock Tower in the Medical Center

9. Clyde Drexler at Smith Tower in the Medical Center

10. Owen Daniels at Bikram Yoga

11. Steve Slaton or Vonte Leach (can't remember which it was) at Bikram Yoga

12. Raj from the men's Olympic Gymnastics Team at Bikram Yoga

13. Chris Brown the former field goal kicker of the Texans at Randalls

14. Moses Malone at 2nd Baptist gym

15. Warren Moon at 1st Baptist gym watching his daugher play club volleyball

16. Jeff Van Gundy at The Next Level gym and watched him coach our friends kids pee wee basketball game.

17. Carl Lewis at Ruggles

18. Some other old time Rockets at Ruggles with Carl Lewis

That's all I can remember right now, but that's a LOT!! None of these sightings were at scheduled events. They were all out having dinner or lunch, etc.

Just Keep Spinning...Just Keep Spinning!

2011-09-20T22:34:00.000-05:00

Whew! Tour de Pink 2011 is officially over and I survived!!!

Team Bella Rachel had a blast. Of course most of the team biked the 12 mile route - me, Babs Eaker, Heather Durst (my coworker at UCB), and Grace (Heather's friend) all biked the 47 mile route. We rocked it!

Yes, it did rain down on us at mile 20, but only for about 5 minutes and the rest of the race was sunny and nice. In all, we biked 47 miles, burned over 2000 calories each, ate and drank a lot at the Pink Pit Stops (including pickle juice shots, PBJ sandwiches, and DP!), and saw a lot of road kill along the way (3 armadillos, 2 large snakes, different types of birds, a skunk, and a possum). Heather and Grace's husbands and kids cheered us on as we came out of Hempstead and headed back towards Prairie View. We made great time and finished at 11 am - 4 hours after we started. Not bad considering we stopped at all the pit stops along the way and spent on average 10-15 minutes at each one. We averaged about 18 mph and at times got up to 21 mph...not too bad for a group of girls who didn't really train for various reasons. Everyone stayed on their bikes throughout the course and there were no accidents or big falls...well, at least until we crossed the finish line. I fell over on my bike after we crossed the finish line and we were coming to a stop. I was so excited I forgot to get out of my clips when I braked and fell right over. I bruised my left knee, both palms and right thigh pretty good. I also some how spiked myself on my right calf with my bike chain - its bruised up too. Ugh! Oh well, it was worth it all. Surprisingly I'm not sore otherwise. Kind of strange!

Here are some pics of the TDP bike ride!

Grace, Babs, me and Heather at Pink Pit Stop #1 (mile 8)

Babs taking a pickle juice shot at Pink Pit Stop #7 (mile 35). Go BABS!! Babs is a breast cancer survivor.

Me having a DP, pickles, and grapes at Pink Pit Stop #7 (I also had a pickle juice shot).

Grace, me, and Heather after we crossed the finish line!

Heather and Grace's husbands and kids! They had a great time!

So, I am still fundraising for my bike ride until October 18 if you have not had a chance to donate to the cause. There is still TIME! No donation too small! Pink Ribbons Project is an incredible non-profit dedicated to breast cancer awareness in the Houston area. It is a local charity and my good friend Susan Rafte is the survivor founder! Thanks to all of you who have already donated to the cause - I truly appreciate your support. I love you all!

Here is the link to my personal page once again:

http://www.tourdepink.org/site/TR?px=1236724&pg=personal&fr_id=1100

I have an appointment with Dr. Litton, my breast oncologist, this Friday. I have not seen her in a few months and I'm looking forward to catching up with her. This is just a follow-up appointment and I don't have any scans or tests to go over. I'll let you guys know if anything earth shattering happens. Otherwise, I am still feeling really well and sometimes even forget that I have cancer. It's wonderful!!!

Work & Wildfires

2011-09-14T22:56:00.000-05:00

I've been a little busy with work lately...I guess some people would complain about it, but I really like my job and the people I work with. I'm not saying it's a perfect place or that I don't have days where I wonder what the heck I'm doing and why I'm doing it - that's why it's called work and not vacation, right? Anyway, I have to say that I work with not only really good people, but really FUN people. I also have the benefit of working with people who actually seem genuinely concerned about my well being and understand that there is more to life than just work. I thought I would share a few pics and shout outs to my fellow UCB'ers. My National Sales Director, Brad, came into town a couple of weeks ago to take some of our Htown physicians out to dinner. My Regional Manager, Kurt, also joined him for the festivities. One of my docs going to the dinner surprised Brad and Kurt with Tshirts - the shirts have to do with inside jokes from some ACR 5k fun run that I wasn't around for last year, but got woke up at 6:30 am in the morning to hear all about it.

Basically, Kurt got left behind at the 5k (because he said he had bad shoes) and made fun of Martha for being a bad wingman and advised her to watch Top Gun again. So, that's why Kurt has the Wingman shirt and Martha has the "Worst Wingman Ever" shirt. Brad has the "Stud Muffin" cartoon shirt because of some game that they played at Rheumatology at the Beach meeting in Destin. I'm displaying the "Do you know the Muffin Man?" shirt as Martha couldn't hold up both of them. Of course, she got me my own "Do you Know the Muffin Man?" shirt as well. So from now on, Kurt is know as the Wingman and Brad as Stud Muffin. It was all fun and games until later when Brad told me to turn in my keys. Ugh! Good thing he was just kidding!! Note: if anyone is attending ACR this fall they will be at the 5k once again, but this time Kurt will be leading a group of WALKERS. I guess he hasn't found the perfect running shoes yet.

I also have to say that I LOVE my district. We have a great manager and we all have fun together at the meetings. Unfortunately, we just found out that we are going through a reorganization (again) and some of us will have a different manager, etc. We don't know the specifics yet, but the reorganization is definitely for the best - don't worry, none of us are losing our jobs. I'm just really sad because I thought we had such a wonderful little district - we all got along and helped each other out. I know I have posted this pic before in my Caringbridge but I thought I would post it again in honor of my peeps. Don't freak out about my hair - the pic was taken last March.

By the way, I would like to note that my co-worker, Heather, will be riding with me this Sunday in the Tour de Pink. She's the 2nd girl on the left, in the front row of pic.

As I've mentioned before, many people ask me why I'm working while I'm battling cancer. I have to say that my everyone I work for and work with has made such a big difference - they have been so helpful and kind about what I'm going through. I can't imagine not working!! I know so many other people with cancer don't have the huge blessing of having a great work environment - many times I even hear of employers trying to get rid of employees with cancer or not being very understanding of appointments and not willing to make accommodations for treatments and doctor visits. I just don't understand the human race sometimes... how can we turn our backs on people when they need us the most? I also have to add that my medical insurance through UCB is paying for my clinical trial medication - it's an MD Anderson trial so the drugs aren't free. Afinitor costs $10,000 a month ($70,000 total so far) and I only have a $20 copay. I was told I was the first person in the trial that had insurance that was willing to pay for the Afinitor. All the others that had tried to get in had been denied by their insurance. Can you imagine if I couldn't have been on Afinitor? Who else out there didn't even get the chance to try this drug? These are the things I just don't like to think about but is cold hard reality.

Moving on from cold reality to "hot" reality. When is this drought and heat wave going to go away once and for all? All these wildfires are crazy. I can't believe how many people have lost their homes, farmland, animals, etc. Not to mention how much smoke we have all been inhaling the past two weeks. I've really been struggling with constant sinus headaches since Labor Day weekend and keep wondering if I have a sinus infection or if it's because of all the smoke in the air. I think I have felt worse the last two weeks than any day I was on chemo. That's saying a lot!!

Finally, my next blog will be about the big Tour de Pink ride which is this Sunday. Team Bella Rachel has 16 team members ready to ride for breast cancer. I've raised about $2000 so far. It's not too late to make a donation and no donation is too small! Here's the link to my personal page:

http://www.tourdepink.org/site/TR?px=1236724&pg=personal&fr_id=1100

Hats off to Tina and Pink Petals for Pat!

2011-09-05T21:12:00.000-05:00

Hey all! I hope you have enjoyed your labor day weekend. I'm loving the cooler weather. I can actually sit out on my balcony and type my blog out without sweating my rear off. I'm also looking forward to starting up my half marathon training this week with the morning temps in the 60's!

I'm kind of behind with my blogging so forgive me for writing about something that happened last weekend. I got the privilege of speaking at a special brunch called "Hats off for the Cure" that is put on by my friend Tina Grimstead-Campbell's non-profit, Pink Petals for Pat. Tina's sister is Pat. Pat was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer a few years ago and sadly passed away only 3 months after her diagnosis. Pink Petals for Pat honors Pat's memory by educating and bringing breast cancer awareness to underserved women in Houston. It was such a beautiful brunch with about 100 women and men in attendance. I met so many wonderful, strong breast cancer survivors and also one emotional woman who was diagnosed earlier THAT WEEK! Again I was so honored to be invited to speak about my breast cancer and my experience living with Stage IV cancer, but I really think that it was more of a learning experience for myself. It left me even more inspired to get out there and help other cancer patients and to keep pushing for Suites of Hope. What a legacy for Tina and Pat's love for each other as sisters. Here are some pictures from the event.

Me and Tina beside a picture of her late sister, Pat.

Me and my new friend, Michelle, who is also a breast cancer survivor and was also a speaker at the event.

Me and my friend, Jasmine! Educating them at a young age. Such a big heart for such a little girl!

I also got to attend a Komen networking event a couple of weeks ago. It was for organizations that were interested in submitting grant proposals to the Komen. It was really fun meeting so many people that are dedicated to the same cause. While I was there, someone asked the American Cancer Society representative if they still take donations of slightly used breast prosthesis. I was excited because I have a really nice, expensive one that I obviously don't need since I had my reconstruction surgeries. Just so everyone knows, mine is made of really cool gel-like material that is easy to clean and looks brand new. It cost around $350-$400 and I got it at the cute little store at MD Anderson. Of course mine was paid for by insurance, but many women aren't so lucky. I'm really eager to donate it as soon as possible! But I have to admit, I was a little annoyed when I heard that donated used prosthesis are shipped overseas to other countries. I asked why, of course. I was told that women here only want brand new prosthesis...WHAT?!!!!!! So let me get this straight, women will go to stores or online and buy slightly used purses, clothing, furniture from complete strangers but no thank you to a really nice breast prosthesis? Especially when insurance won't cover the cost or you don't have insurance and can't afford one? These women expect someone to buy them brand new ones and are too good for used ones? I don't know, maybe I grew up on hand-me downs and have a different perspective? What do you guys think, does that bother you as much as it bothers me? I'm still gonna donate it... I guess some woman in Honduras or Russia will be really excited!!!

Liver Lesions Take Another Beating!!!

2011-08-30T17:58:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited! My CT scan results are in and Dr. Wheler got to give me the good news today...all my liver lesions are still shrinking and there are no new lesions or tumors anywhere else. My blood work looked really good as well. All my tumor markers were in the normal range and my liver enzymes are normal too. YAY! I get to continue taking the Afinitor and Arimidex daily. I will get CT scans again in 3 months.

I was a little nervous today going into my appointment. I went by myself because Clint had a really, really, really important meeting. This was basically my very first appointment by myself when I was getting test/scan results. I really had no expectations going in today. All I know is that I am feeling great and had no reason to worry. After, Dr. Wheler gave me the big news I just kind of sat there for a few seconds saying or thinking nothing at all. Just didn't know how to process it...this is the longest I have been on a treatment regimen for breast cancer. Taxol (3 months), FAC (3 months), Tamoxifen (4 months), Abraxane (2 months), Xeloda (4 months), nothing for 2 months due to surgery and washout period, and now I have been on Arimidex and Afinitor for 6 months. 6 WHOLE MONTHS with 3 more to go! Woohoo!! So much to celebrate...Praise GOD!

So, I guess you guys have figured out that I get CT scans every 3 months. I thought I would take a couple of pics of the experience.

The lovely barium smoothie! I chose Banana this time. Other flavors include Apple, Berry, Mocha, and plain. I have to drink 2 of them over 2 hour time period.

After 2 hours of prepping, I get to go in for the CT scan. So, I drink barium, get a iodine contrast IV through my power port, and a barium enema...yes, you read that right, barium enema for the lower GI scan. I am going to discuss skipping the lower GI scan next time.

It's a pretty quick scan - maybe 15 minutes at the most. I love the "pac man" that lights up and tells me when to breathe in and breathe out. He has such a nice soothing voice.

Anyway, good times!

My new boobs are healing just fine. I saw Dr. Schusterman for my 2 week check up. I hope to start working out again next week. It's just killing me not to be able to run at the park. I feel so lethargic. I go back to see Dr. Schu in another month. Then we will discuss when I get to have my procedure to make a areola and nipple for my left breast - that's the final part to the whole crazy reconstruction process (other than getting the new areola and nipple tattooed in his office for color to match the right side).

Me, Melanie, and Dr. Schusterman at this office last week.

I'm so thankful that the clinical trial I'm in allowed me to have my surgery without missing a single dose of treatment!! It's really amazing to get the results I'm getting with my liver lesions while not decimating my blood and immune system.

Thanks again for all your prayers and words of encouragement. I couldn't do any of this without my friends and family!!

The Wildlife Preserve in My Backyard!

2011-08-22T21:44:00.000-05:00

Just recently I posted, on Facebook, a picture of a some "wildlife" found in my backyard here in Bellaire and got quite a reaction from several people so I decided to dedicate a blog entry to the critters. Some of you may not know this but me and Clint live in a house in Bellaire which is right in the middle of HOUSTON! We do not live in the country or the "burbs", we actually live 3 houses outside the 610 Loop. Anyway, so far we have seen many animals running around our house in the front and backyard. These animals have included raccoons, possums, squirrels, strange birds, baby snakes, geckos, and my all time favorite RATS!! Clint and our neighbor, Mark, are in the midst of what they call "The Great Rat Wars." We've seen rats run across our power lines in the backyard over the past couple of years, but nothing like we have seen lately. Our dog, Preston, has even brought a couple of dead baby rats into the house. YUCK. So Clint and Mark are putting out traps, poison, etc. to downsize the rat population pronto. While Clint has been in Africa the last week, I even found a large rat swimming in our pool. I didn't want to let it drown and have a rat corpse in the pool, so I used the long handled net to help it get out of the pool and let it run away. I can't believe I let it live to see another day. Anyway, here are some pictures of wild life seen in our back yard the past year. Oh, and could someone tell me exactly what type of birds these are. I think they are some type of crane or heron?

Birds!

Possums!

My favorite, the RATS! (all three different rats!)

Anyway, kinda crazy since we live in the middle of Htown.

Something really exciting happened last night at church - Houston's First Baptist. Pastor Gregg announced that the church is purchasing a condo around the corner to provide a place to stay for cancer patients coming to Houston for treatments. They are calling it "House of Hope!" I was really excited! First thing I thought was that my non-profit Suites of Hope is definitely a great idea since HFBC is doing the same thing - it was a confirmation from God that I am on the right track and there's a huge need for housing for cancer patients. Second, we need all the condos we can get - I don't think there could ever be enough people or organizations buying up condos for this reason. Just so everyone knows, I did go up to Pastor Gregg after church was over and talked briefly about it all. He gave me the Mission Pastors info and told me that we need to network, discuss, etc how we can work together and help each other out. YAY! So excited about it. I will continue to keep you guys updated.

Keep praying for me, my next CT scan is a week from today. Praying its all good news!!!

Got Harpooned Today and Almost Eaten by a Giant Armadillo Last NIght!

2011-08-18T21:56:00.001-05:00

Today was my day to go get my monthly "harpooning" at MD Anderson. No, it's not a new sport! It's my monthly Zoladex shot. I've often mentioned my monthly Zoladex shot in my Caringbridge postings but have never really gone into detail about it. All I have to say is that you know it's gonna be a bad shot when MDA won't give you the shot until you have had lidocane cream on for at least 15 minutes and if you didn't happen to bring any cream with you they are more than happy to give you a sample. What? I thought MDA DOESN'T DO SAMPLES!!! I guess they make an exception for Zoladex shots. I have to have these shots every month to put me into menopause. Why do I have to be in menopause? One of the drugs I am on in the clinical trial (Arimidex) is an aromatase inhibitor and can only be given to post menopausal women...this is where the Zoladex come in handy. Anyway, it's not really a shot but more like an implant. Think of the movie Matrix, people. The Zoladex comes in a handy dandy spring-action, pre-filled syringe and has an 18 gauge needle, which is a huge needle! The funny thing is that I've had many different nurses give me the shot and they ALL (with the exception of 1) tell me how they don't really like to give Zoladex injections. GREAT!!!! Just what a girl wants to hear! They probably see me on the schedule and have a rock, paper, scissors contest to see who gets the honor of "harpooning" me. Here's some pics of the lovely syringe! Oh, and it's given sub-q in my stomach. Thank God not in my a$$!

Last night I got to take my Connecticut friends, Suzanne and her husband David, out to eat BBQ at Goode Company. They were in town for Suzanne's monthly MDA clinical trial visit and for a LIVER BIOPSY! Suzanne was really nervous about the biopsy - she had already had one done at Sloan Kettering last year. Thankfully, it went very well with no pain... just a little soreness afterwards. Things are going well for her so far on Arimidex and Afinitor. She has two more months before her first CT scan. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. We had a great time hanging out at Goode Company and afterwards we just had to walk across the street to Armadillo Palace for a photo op with the giant red-eyed armadillo!!! Sorry, Seger - next time I'll get a photo with you and the armadillo too!

Finally, I want to leave you all with a quote that I picked up at a store... yes, it's one of those quotable magnets. I'm a little late to the game.

Happiness is like a butterfly;
the more you chase it, the more it will elude you,
but if you turn your attention to other things,
it will come and sit softly on your shoulder...
(Thoureau)

Christin, I know we always talk about happiness and it made me think of you!!

It also made me think of an old friend that I heard from this week, that I haven't heard from in what seems like forever. Friend, I'm dedicating this quote to you. I hope you find happiness that seems to elude you or is just out of your reach. Actually, I think happiness is all around you, but you are just too busy to enjoy or even notice it. I wish you so much happiness, my friend!

I wish you ALL much happiness!

2 Year Anniversary of my Breast Cancer Diagnosis!

2011-08-15T21:33:00.000-05:00

That's right, it's been 2 years since I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It's such a strange thing, when I found out that my breast cancer had spread to my liver and I was Stage IV I asked my wonderful oncologist at MD Anderson what was my prognosis. Remember folks, I asked...she responded by saying that with cases like mine a textbook answer is 2 years. Here I am 2 years later! Me and Dr. Litton have had a good laugh about it. I count myself very blessed to have her, Dr. Wheler, and Dr. Schusterman looking after me. As I have told many of you, it is by the GRACE of GOD that I am still here today living my life.

So how did I celebrate 2 years of being a cancer survivor other than getting a boob job and sitting at my house all last week recovering? Me and my good friends got together for Saturday brunch on the 13th. Thanks to Kayla and Sherri for putting it together and also Natalie who couldn't be there, but made an incredible collage for me with memorable pics from the last few years. Here are some of the pics from the big day!

I also got to celebrate with my good friend Martha (aka Dynamo stalker) at the Dynamo game on Sunday night. I actually caught a t-shirt that the Dynamo cheerleaders were throwing into the stands. It's actually quite comical considering my recent surgery.

So now it's back to work, back to reality. I feel like I've accomplished so much in just two short years. I've spent a little time this weekend thinking about what the near future may hold for me.

1. Of course I have CT scans again on Monday, August 29 to determine if I will continue in my clinical trial. My doc is expecting great results - keep praying for God's will.

2. I've finally sent all my info to my attorney to file my non-profit with the IRS. Again, the name will be Suites of Hope. I already own the domain names of suitesofhope.org and suitesofhope.com. Nothing is up yet, by the way. Laurie (my MDA friend who inspired me to start all this madness) is designing the logo with a graphic designer friend of hers. There are 3 of us that will serve on the board: myself, Clint Coker, and Laura Kalokowski. There will be more people added later, but just 3 for now. My next project is opening up a checking account for the charity and liquidating my stock-nest egg that will start funding the charity. I will post more as time goes on. Hopefully we will be legitimate with the IRS by October 1.

3. I will be riding 47 miles in the Tour de Pink on September 18 with Team Bella Rachel!

4. I'm looking forward to Clint and Nathan's fundraiser - Pink Pigeons on September 30 as well as the Komen Walk on October 1. I've got other breast cancer awareness stuff going on in October and will talk about it as things get closer.

5. I got the VEGAS Half Marathon December 4 with the girls and HOUSTON Half Marathon with my buddy Braun in January.

Obviously I will be keeping busy for at least the next 6 months.

Finally, I want to remind everybody about others in my life who are just starting their battle with cancer or winding it down. My childhood friend, Jackie (Blahuta) Garcia-Rameau will be having her mastectomy for Stage I Breast Cancer this coming Friday. Good luck, Jackie - we will be praying. It will all be good...trust me! Clint's cousin, Peggy Duren, has been battling metastatic ovarian cancer for the last few months and has decided a couple of weeks ago to stop chemotherapy that wasn't working and enter hospice at home. Please pray that Peggy has peaceful time with her family as her journey here on earth comes to an end.

Houston, We Have Boobs!

2011-08-10T13:07:00.000-05:00

It's been 48 hours since my Reconstruction surgery and all I have to say is WOW! Over the last 6 months, I've looked at a lot of before and after reconstruction images online - I wasn't expecting much because of what I saw. I am just amazed at what Dr. Schusterman did for me. It's beyond what I ever imagined - woohoo! Many of you have asked what size I got. He placed a 700cc silicone implant in my left mastectomy breast (no breast tissue left on that side) and a 350 cc silicone implant in my right breast. I'm not in very much pain. I have been taking pain medication but stopped taking it this morning because I have been feeling so good. I'm a little sore this afternoon, but nothing I can't handle. I'm just going to take it easy for the rest of the week and make sure I heal up really well. Otherwise, I really will be rocking my rack with "Team Rock your Rack" at the Komen walk this October 1. LOL!

My parents came into town to help Clint look after me. Mom even got to give me a ride to the Komen Survivor Party last night at the Houstonian. I was determined to go since I was a model in the Western Wear Fashion Show. Me and mom had a really good time. I got to introduce her to many of my breast cancer survivor friends and she met other ladies her age that were survivors. I have included a few pictures below of the Survivor Party. I also have included a pic of a HUGE rat that Clint caught on our backyard fence. A old dilapidated house two doors down was torn down about a month ago and we have had a problem with rats ever since. They haven't gotten in the house that we know of, but they have been traveling back and forth across the fences and power lines in the back yard. YUCK!!!

You Can't Keep a Good Man Down!

2011-08-04T22:43:00.000-05:00

Wow! Sorry guys, it's been over a week since my last post. I've been a busy little bee having lots of fun with my friends while Clint was in Singapore. He got back safely this past Monday. Yay! Here's a few updates on my cancer and surgery status:

I'm still on for my 2nd Reconstruction surgery on Monday, August 8. So excited! I'm still just getting my tissue expander swapped out for a permanent silicon implant and then getting an implant in my right breast so they are symmetrical. I will not be having a mastectomy on my right breast - total false alarm last week. Thank God.
I saw my clinical trial oncologist this past Tuesday for my monthly follow up. My bloodwork continues to look GREAT. Everything is in the normal range except a couple of things like WBC and ANC which were just barely out of the normal range. Things are looking good.
I will be "restaged" in four weeks (probably the end of August) which means another CT scan to see how I'm responding. No progression or stable means I continue on therapy. Progression means that I have to move on to something else. Please be praying that I continue on therapy.

Now, on to what I really wanted to write about today. This last Tuesday, I got to catch up with my old manager from my days at ICOS, Steve Seger, while he was here in Htown for business. We keep in touch fairly often, but I haven't seen him in 3 years. We had such a good time talking about old times, showing off pictures of our families (he's got the most beautiful wife and kids!), and talking about breast cancer as Steve's wife Melanie is a breast cancer survivor, too. At one point in the evening, Steve told me how proud he is of me. He went on and on about how strong I am, etc, etc. I have to say I was just dumbfounded - I just didn't know what to say. Life hasn't been all roses for Steve the last few years. It all started back in 2006 (I think). Steve's father passed away during heart surgery. If that wasn't bad enough, it wasn't very long after that his wife, Melanie, was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a double mastectomy, chemo, and radiation. While she was going through treatments, Steve was laid off from a job he absolutely loved because the FDA didn't approve the company's drug and basically went under. OK folks, just ONE of those three things would be TRAUMATIC, but to actually have all three of those happen within a year is insane. I think I joked with him the other night that if it would have been me, I may have just went ahead and slit my wrists.

Anyway, I kind of dropped the ball and didn't say what I really needed to say to him. I know when I was diagnosed with breast cancer and was looking at a mastectomy, chemo, etc, I just kept telling myself "if Steve and Melanie can get through it and be strong, so can me and Clint". Of course, one of the first people I called after my diagnosis to get advice was Steve. He and Melanie have been so helpful through all of this and made things so much easier. It's the reason why I have been so open to talk about my experience with breast cancer and why I always have time to talk to other women who have just been diagnosed. It's just too scary to do it alone.

Anyway, the really cool part about catching up with Steve is to see where he is today compared to that crazy year that started when his dad passed away. He took a chance and took a job in Memphis outside of pharma sales. He commuted from Dallas to Memphis for 18 months. He finally moved his family there last year and just recently got promoted to Vice President of something or another (Sorry Steve, I forgot the rest of your title!) and seems to be really loving his new job. His wife Melanie is just 6 months away from being a 5 year breast cancer survivor which is a HUGE deal - she has beautiful long blond hair which I'm very jealous of, by the way. His two daughters are growing up so fast and are doing really well in school and tennis. Life is good for Steve - it's good to see so many blessings come out of such a dark time in someone's life. I'm just glad to have such a wonderful role model to look up to - he never gave up and just kept fighting, all the while making it look so easy and staying so positive. Congratulations, Steve! You, my friend, are the strong one and I am so proud of YOU! :)

Finally, I just wanted to post some pics from last week's various activities!

I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends!

2011-07-26T21:06:00.000-05:00

I'm not exactly thrilled when my husband is out of town for business, but the good thing about it is that I get to hang out with my friends A LOT! So this entry is dedicated to my wonderful friends who over the years have looked after me through thick and thin and also many of my new friends that I am just getting to know.

I'll start with my good friend from my high school days in Lamesa, Joe Wheat. We haven't seen each other in about 10 years until we litterly bumped into each other at the Hole concert last year. Who knew Courtney Love could bring old friends together again? I hang out with Joe and his wonderful friends when Clint is in town, but I usually hang out with them longer/later when Clint's not around. We always have a good time! Thanks for Sunday brunch, Joe!

I also usually get to spend time with the Knight sisters who by the way are ALL THREE PREGNANT! Wow! I thought about going to the Sade concert on Saturday night, but opted instead to hang out with Natalie who is on bed rest for the rest of her pregnancy (she's only at week 23). We had a great time watching HLN shows (not as good as the Investigation Discovery Channel, but close 2nd).

I got to spend time with an old co-worker who may very well become my co-worker again. YAY! AND we got to spend time at dinner with my new friend Michelle Denton who is an AWESOME co-worker here at UCB. Good friends, good wine, good times!

I'm looking forward to having a girls night out at the Komen party at Hotel Za Za on Thursday night (always looking for more girls to join us!) and going to see Katy Perry at the Toyota Center (luxury suite, baby!) with my friend Kayla on Friday night. TGIF...TGIF! Also can't wait to go to the Alley Theater with my new MD Anderson friend, Laurie, Saturday afternoon, and going to my next door neighbor's girls night out party that night.

What would I seriously do without all my wonderful friends keeping me busy while my husband's out of town? I haven't even mentioned all the phones calls, facebook comments, and emails I've received from my friends out of town! Thanks to all of you for all you do to make me a little more sane and sometimes even forget that I have cancer - it's a tough job, but someone's got to do it, right?

On a more serious note, I had a long time friend call me this weekend to tell me that she has been diagnosed with Stage I breast cancer. I won't say who as I don't know if she wants me broadcasting it on world wide web. Praise God that she caught it early! It still makes me sad that she has to go through surgeries and treatments. I must say that she was extremely calm and matter of fact about it - you are so brave, my dear friend! I also found out that a breast cancer sister of mine from my support group may have bone metastasis and may be like me - Stage IV. It's still up in the air as the doctors at MDA don't know for sure that's its malignant lesions and they can't biopsy due to the location. She is starting new treatments for bone mets regardless and will be rescanned in 3 months. Pray for both of my friends as they are dealing with their news.

Otherwise, I am counting down the days until my 2nd reconstruction surgery on Monday, August 8. My plastic surgeon's office called me today and my surgeon want to see me in his office tomorrow - I have a feeling that he is going to want to do a mastectomy on my right breast since I may have had cancer there before I started this clinical trial. I'm hoping if that's the case, he can do an immediate reconstruction with a permanent implant. Maybe I'm just jumping to conclusions. I'll let you guys know what happens.

Newflash: My Marriage Isn't Perfect!

2011-07-22T22:51:00.000-05:00

It's kinda quiet here at the house tonight. A few hours ago I dropped my husband, Clint, off at the airport for his flight to Singapore. He's somewhere out over the Pacific right about now. Before I dropped him off at the airport I asked if he was OK with me blogging about our marriage. He said he has no problem with it - so he knows about tonight's topic. I also want to say we are struggling - I think we all have times in our marriage that are harder than others. But we are working through it, so don't get all worried about us.

I have to start out by saying that I love my husband very much and he loves me very much as well. We've been married over 13 years. As many of you know, we have no children - we have 2 furbabies, but no children of the human kind. Those of you who have spent a lot of time around us know that we aren't the kind of couple that fights, yells, or screams. We don't have any financial troubles at this time. We really like each others extended families. We are both Christians and grew up in small towns. We are the best of friends.

I think over the years our careers maybe have gotten in the way and we have spent a lot of time apart - I'm talking extended time apart. Back a few years ago, Clint would sometimes be off-shore for 3-4 weeks at a time. Sometimes he would be gone for weeks then come home just as I would be leaving for a week long business meeting. Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is that we have felt disconnected/distant from one another many times in our marriage.

Well, I think my cancer diagnosis has just put more distance/disconnection between us. Let me just say that Clint takes really good care of me - too good at times. I have to remind him that he has become too much of my caregiver and I need him to be my husband again. Then there's me - my problem is that I am not very emotionally available these days. I find myself scared of investing myself emotionally in anything at all anymore. I'm sure many of you have noticed that I may be a bit distant or distracted. It's like we both have our walls up and are protecting ourselves from what has happened and what is to come.

This last Sunday night was a rough one for us and we tried to talk all this out. Will we ever get back to where we used to be? Can we let our guard down and be open to all the emotional hurt and pain that my cancer is causing and will continue to cause? Will Clint be OK with my future being so unclear? Don't get me wrong - our marriage in many ways is stronger than ever, but as time goes on, the stress of day to day life with cancer wears us both down.

I already miss Clint very much, but I think this time apart may be good for both of us. Maybe we just need some time to ourselves to reflect and think about things. This is the part of cancer that really sucks - the toll it takes on a marriage.

Thanks for letting me vent!

Running for a Reason

2011-07-17T15:03:00.000-05:00

My friend, Martha (aka Dynamo Stalker), talked me into running the Dynamo 5k yesterday. For those who don't know, the Dynamo is Houston's professional soccer team. I thought, why the heck not - I need to run this weekend so I might as well do it for a good cause and a nice tech running shirt.

It was stinking HOT out there. It started at 7:30 am but that still wasn't early enough to avoid the overpowering humidity. Of course I run at Memorial Park during the summer, but at least it's mostly shaded, there's a cool breeze, and it's a nice comfy dirt path. This was downtown on the concrete roads which are definitely NOT shaded. To top it all off, Martha's 13 year old daughter, Isabelle, ran with us. Yes, it does hurt my ego when a six year old kid leaves me in the dust in these little fun runs, but it's way worse to get your a## handed to you by a kid you know and hasn't even run one before!! So I had to get my game face on and get serious about this "fun run" - LOL. We had a really good time - me, Martha, and Isabelle stayed at the same pace the entire race and finished together. I still have my pride intact!

I guess you can say that me and Martha are officially in training for our big half marathon in Vegas, December 4. Yay! I'm already thinking of crazy outfits, glow sticks and light up earrings, sunglasses, etc since it's at night on the strip. As I have said before, anyone interested in doing this with us is welcome to sign up. Me and Martha's friend, Ashley, is officially in and my friends Melanie, Tami, and Mary are thinking about it.

Speaking of running outfits, I got a "Team Sparkle" pink sequined skirt in the mail last week. It didn't say who it was from or have any sort of note in it. So, whoever sent it to me if you are reading this: THANK YOU! I LOVE IT AND CAN'T WAIT TO WEAR IT IN A RACE!

So many of you always ask me why I still run and wonder how I do it. I'm just not ready to give up something I love so much - especially to cancer. I know at some point my body may have the final decision, but not now - not yet. Running is something I still have control over. I can decide what races I want to sign up for, how I want to train, when and where I want to run, etc. The training part still gives me a chance to set goals and challenge myself. If I want to just run for fun (like Vegas) I can also leave my watch at home and just have fun with my friends. It also gives me a chance to be outdoors and enjoy the scenery where ever it is I'm running.

Besides, it's still really important that I keep in shape mentally and physically - which is exactly what running does for me. I don't think I've found another activity that can keep me in such great shape, kick my butt, and at the same time be such an amazing stress reliever. Yes, I am fatigued from many of my medications and treatments. Yes, my bones, joints and muscles ache probably from the medications as well. It also doesn't help that I'm in Zoladex induced menopause which may be the culprit behind a few migraines I've had the last few months. But I still try and run when I am able.

What passion, hobby, physical activity would you fight to keep no matter what?

Doctors are regular people like me and you!

2011-07-13T23:19:00.001-05:00

Last week I found out from my clinical trial oncologist at MDA that my breast oncologist would be the featured speaker at this month's MDA Grand Rounds - which took place yesterday. Of course I just had to attend. Remember folks, I am a pharmaceutical sales rep and have gone to a few Grand Rounds over the past 13 years of my career, so this isn't really such a strange or rare event for me. Anyway, what is rare is that Dr. Litton was invited to speak - she is an associate professor and usually the speakers are department chairs, visiting professors from outside, etc. This was a huge honor for my doc so I had to go and support her. Her presentation was regarding Breast Cancer diagnosis during preganancy and fertility after cancer treatments. Such an interesting topic - did you know that the first infant born after chemo treatments for BC at MDA is now 21 years of age? They've been using chemo on pregnant women for that many years? After the hour long presentation I went down to the front of the auditorium to say hi. Dr. Litton invited me to go get coffee with her. Really? I've always wanted to take her out for a beer and ask some really crazy questions about cancer, but I guess coffee is the next best thing, right? We had a great time hanging out for about an hour or so down in the lobby. But to my surprise, we didn't really talk much about cancer - we talked about vacations, her kids, cooking, shopping, and what we like to do in our down time. Did you know that she likes to watch mindless TV just like me!! Her favorite is the Bachlorette while mine is Housewives of the OC or Jersey (that's right, I've finally moved on from reruns of the Golden Girls since we don't get the Hallmark channel anymore). She also likes People magazine, who knew? I thought she spent all her down time reading the newest BC articles on PubMed or preparing for her next big lecture or clinical trial - I mean, she doesn't work 24 hours a day?

On a serious note, I did ask her how many hours a week she works - it would be 60. That's crazy, especially for a high stress job like cancer. I shook my head, called her "Dr. Death" (or was it Dr. Doom and Gloom?) and asked her how she emotionally does this job day in and day out. Sadly, she looked at me like I was the first person to actually ask her this question. She said it's really difficult, she's lost so many patients over the years and it never gets any easier.

Which brings me to my next point - I think we expect way too much out of our physicians. Not only are they supposed to know exactly what's wrong with us and how to make it go away at our convenience with the least amount of pain and side effects, but they are supposed to be our therapist, spiritual guide, fortune teller, financial advisor, and best friend with an amazing sense of humor. Ummmmm, I don't think this is possible for any human being much less physicians who are over worked, under appreciated, and underpaid. Never mind they have lives of their own to worry about. I imagine many physicians leave work everyday feeling like every ounce of life has been sucked out of them.

So next time you are out and about and see your physician at a restaurant, out doing some retail therapy, running at the park, hanging out at their kids school, doing their laundry at your house (who could that be?) or somewhere putting their bare feet on the table (I'm not naming any names) just remember that they are regular people too - just like me and you, but just so happen to have MD behind their name and just may have the cure for cancer. I hope we all realize how valuable they are to us and how we appreciate everything they do!!

Just another day at MDA!

2011-07-08T22:37:00.000-05:00

I had a pretty interesting day at MD Anderson this Thursday. Actually everyday that I go up to that amazing place is pretty interesting, but this Thursday was extra special. As some of you know, I occasionally go to a message board for Stage IV metastatic breast cancer survivors on breastcancer.org. I only post or reply to threads once in a blue moon. I go there mostly to see what other women are on treatment wise and to see if there is anything new or exciting out there for liver mets. Anyway, earlier in the week a woman named Suzanne posted that she and her husband were coming to MDA from Connecticut to see what is available for clinical trials, etc. She also wanted to know about things to do, places to eat, etc while they are in Houston. I responded and offered to meet up with her and her husband at MDA on Thursday since I had a 2 hour window between my blood draw and my appointment in the Center for Targeted Therapy where I see my clinical trial oncologist. We met up in the Rotary House and had a great visit. Her cancer experience is a lot like mine - even the fertility issues before the diagnosis. She also has liver mets like me. We talked for a while and she told me that she was also being referred to the same Center for Targeted Therapy by her breast oncologist at MDA that she saw earlier in the week, but was just waiting to be scheduled for her appointment. While we were visiting, her scheduler called and told her that she arranged an appointment for her...at the same time as mine and with the same oncologist! Wow! So we all went up to the 10th floor together for our appointments - she ended up being in the patient room next to me. She even ended up in the same clinical trial as me - Arimidex and Afinitor! It was just an amazing day - she was so happy to not be going on another chemo and she was excited that she may have a shot at having amazing results like me (we both have a lot in common as far as cancer type, treatment failures, etc).

What's more amazing is seeing MD Anderson through the eyes of someone who has never been there before. I have to say, I take it for granted that it is in my backyard here in Htown. Here are some of the things I want to say about the place:

1. If you ever have a bad day and need to get a grip on reality - go walk the halls of MDA and you will realize how small your problems really are and how life can be so unfair and cruel for others.

2. The place can really be intimidating. Suzanne couldn't get over the fact that it was such a huge institution...that just specializes in cancer! She has been treated at Dana Farber and says it is nothing compared to the size and magnitude of MDA.

3. If you have cancer, you can be with your peeps! So many people come to MDA from other areas of the country where they may be the only person in their town with cancer, or the only person at that institution being treated for a certain type of cancer. That my friends, can be kinda lonely. At MDA, even people with the most rare of cancers have others they can reach out to at MDA who have the same type of cancer.

4. "Everyone here has ports and wigs. It's wonderful!" Suzanne couldn't believe so many people at MDA were wearing wigs and sporting ports, especially the "power ports." I laughed and told her that those of us who have had the port placed by Dr. Brown are even held in higher regard - he just celebrated his 5000th port placement at MDA - he has only been doing this at MDA for the last 5 years!

5. It's been said that God and his angels walk the halls of MD Anderson. Go and listen to people on the shuttle buses, in the waiting rooms, cafeteria, etc. You may just catch some of the stories of God working miracles through the physicians and staff. I can tell you so many stories I've overheard of wonderful and unbelievable happenings, but I don't have time and energy to write them all down. They are all amazing stories and I love to hear all of them. So much hope! So much hope in a place that sometimes, that's the only thing you really have left to cling to.

6. I've never understood what it means to have peace and joy even in times of trial. You see people that look like they are on the brink of death, but yet seem to be at peace with what awaits them. I've come to the conclusion that no matter what, that is most important - having hope and faith of what's beyond this life and cancer, that you are secure in whatever life gives you. I see others who are on the brink of death at MDA who don't have this - they look extremely tired, distressed, and lost. I find myself saying prayers for these people...that they may find peace. I also say a prayer for myself that when I may be faced with the same finality that I have that peace that the others have shown.

Otherwise, I can't tell you how nice it was for me and Clint to meet another couple who share a lot of the same trials, uncertainty, fear, and just day in day out life of metastatic breast cancer crap. We have so many wonderful friends who have been so wonderful and supportive throughout my time in CancerLand, but its just nice to know that there's someone else out there that shares the same life in CancerLand...what I call the "new normal" for me and Clint. Suzanne and her husband, David will be back in a couple of weeks to get her started on the Arimidex and Afinitor trial. We look forward to seeing them again when they return. In the meantime, I realize how blessed I truly am living here in Houston only 4.5 miles away for the #1 cancer institution in the world and that they have found a new treatment for me that seems to be giving me FANTASTIC results for now. One final word, Afinitor may be really close to being approved by the FDA for metastatic breast cancer - maybe by 2012. I'm in a phase 1 trial based on the combination, dosing regimens, and structure of this trial. Afinitor has already finished phase 3 trials for breast cancer and will be up for regulatory review soon. Here's a link to one of the many articles that made headlines this last week. EXCITING STUFF!

http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/new-breast-cancer-data-bolsters-novartis-afinitor/2011-07-05

Until next time!!!

Let's get to know each other, shall we?

2011-07-04T17:15:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th of July! I thought I would start my new blog on Independence Day - my first blog or journal was on Caringbridge which I will still continue to update, though not as frequently.

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Rachel Midgett and I have metastatic breast cancer that has spread to my liver. Some of you may not know this, but metastatic breast cancer is deemed "uncurable" or "terminal". I was diagnosed in August of 2009 and have been living in CancerLand ever since. Please do not confuse CancerLand with CandyLand - two complete different places! CancerLand has way more highs and lows than CandyLand. I guess it's more like Chutes & Ladders? All kidding aside, I have been in some pretty dark places in the last two years, but have also had so many bright, sunny days that I probably wouldn't have even experienced without my diagnosis. Yes, I'm one of those goofy people that don't wish cancer on their worst enemy, but think that cancer has made their life so much better. Not that I enjoy cancer, I guess I just needed a big time wake up call to show me what life is really about. I'm still learning of course, I'm no Obi Wan of Cancer...yet.

So let me give you a quick run down of the last two/two and a half years of my life:

1. Started IVF (in-vitro fertilization) - January 2009
2. Got pregnant - February 2009
3. Miscarriage - April 2009 (weekend of my birthday - that sucked!)
4. Noticed a lump on my left breast days before my 2nd round of IVF was to start - August 2009
5. Diagnosed with breast cancer and had a unilateral mastectomy on left breast - August 2009
6. Self referred to MD Anderson Cancer Center - September 2009
7. CT scans showed metastasis in liver. Staged at Stage IV - September 2009
8. Taxol chemotherapy weekly for 3 months, lost hair for first time (went well, cancer regressed) - September - November 2009
9. FAC chemotherapy combination every 3 weeks for 3 months (went well, cancer regressed) - December - March 2010
10. Liver lesion still there, moved on to oral Tamoxifen for 3 months (didn't work) - April - June 2010
11. Abraxane chemotherapy every 3 weeks for 2 months, lost hair 2nd time (mixed results and had to change treatments) - July to September 2010
12. Xeloda chemotherapy, daily oral therapy for 4 months (worked, but not for long) - September to January 2011
13. Two months of being on nothing to washout for clinical trial and 1st Reconstruction surgery - January - March 2011
14. Phase I Clinical trial of Arimidex and Affinitor, both oral drugs taken daily (working amazingly well with minimal side effects) March 2011 - present
15. Scheduled for 2nd Reconstruction surgery - August 8, 2011 (Yay, Dr. Schusterman!)

Whew! That's a lot of surgeries, treatments, etc! As I said earlier, lots of highs and lows. But through it all I've lived a pretty exciting life. I still work full time, hang out with my friends, run half marathons, ride in 60 mile bike rides, travel to exciting places like Hawaii, Paris and the BVI, and just plain love my life!!!!

How do I do it? I couldn't have done it one minute without my faith in God, my husband, my family, my friends, my oncologists at MD Anderson, and my stubbornness to not let cancer take my life away without a fight.

So join me in my journey. I hope to post here maybe twice a week. I won't always talk about cancer. What I will talk about is my life WITH cancer and how it is in my world of CancerLand. You may be surprised how good it can be!