I have a tube coming out of my chest

by Jennifer | Nov 4, 2020 | Blog | 17 comments

Yes, you read that right.

The picture below is the bottom of my chest tube. The procedure to insert the chest tube was pretty uncomfortable, but it’s already working, so it was worth it!

Change of plans

by Jennifer | Nov 3, 2020 | Blog | 5 comments

Quick post…Im pretty out of it.

I was on the table all ready to go and the radiologist got the ultrasound and started looking for fluid. I didn’t have as much fluid as he thought I would, and it was only accessible through my back.

The tube that was going to be put in is permanent, and is not meant to be taken out. Having it in your back makes it extremely difficult to lay down or sit. So he recommended waiting until there was more fluid and they could access it from a different point so that my quality of life wouldn’t be so greatly affected. I agreed!

Busy week coming up

by Jennifer | Oct 30, 2020 | Blog | 7 comments

I’m looking forward to having a relaxing weekend as this next week is going to be busy!

Saturday, I get to have another COVID test. Hooray! Those are so much fun!!

Monday is chemo.

Just another problem

by Jennifer | Oct 28, 2020 | Blog | 10 comments

“Christy, can you get me to Valley in about 45 minutes?”

“Sure. When do you want me at your house?”

“In about 10 minutes.” (She lives about 7 minutes away.)

That conversation happened at 3:10 this afternoon because of a stat ultrasound Dr. Leung ordered to check on a possible blog clot in my leg. I had 50 minutes to get up to the appointment and Tom and Sage were on their way out the door for another appointment.

I’m glad we went, even though it was a little chaotic getting there.

Yesterday, I noticed my left ankle was swollen and I felt a large vein in my upper left calf. I messaged the Dr. this morning about that and about my breathing, which is getting more difficult already.

Test Results

by Jennifer | Oct 26, 2020 | Blog | 10 comments

Good news – the spots on my kidney appear to be cysts and not cancer at this time. The doctor would not say he’s 100% sure they are not cancer, but that they do not appear to be cancerous at this time. For now, that’s good news, so I’ll take it.

The other news I guess is good in some way. The fluid that keeps building up near my lung does have cancer cells in it. That’s good news because that we don’t have figure out what else is wrong and causing the fluid build up. It’s still just cancer causing problems. Hooray??

Thankful To Be Breathing Better

by Jennifer | Oct 24, 2020 | Blog | 8 comments

No, this is not chicken stock.

Yuck!

How is it possible that this fluid was in a cavity in my body below my right lung? This is what was making it hard to breathe because my lung couldn’t fully expand because the fluid was in the way. The nurse said this is the most fluid she has seen taken from that area. Great….

Another Cancerversary Has Passed

by Jennifer | Oct 22, 2020 | Blog | 15 comments

I passed my 5 year cancerversary last month.

I’ve survived over 5 years with Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer.

Only 27 out of 100 women live past 5 years with this disease.

I’m very thankful to be one of them!

Chemo, MRI, Fluid on Lungs….

by Jennifer | Oct 19, 2020 | Blog | 15 comments

I love this new quick chemo! My blood work came back quickly today and the chemo takes between 3-5 minutes to give. I love how quick that is! Today, I also got a bag of fluid as I waited for my labs to come back.

While I was there today, Dr. Leung stopped by. We talked about how my pain is much more under control and how I’m not having to use short acting pain pills during the day as often. He was pleased that I am less bloated. (I am pleased as well, although I think I still have a little bit more to go.)