I’m sorry you found my blog.
HA! What a funny thing to say on a blog!! But seriously, if you landed here, you either know me, or know someone that has cancer. That’s why I’m sorry!
Cancer.
I hate that word.
I remember sitting in the oncologist’s office in my early 20’s listening to the Dr. tell me that while it was not likely I would get Ocular Melanoma like my Mom, 3 out of 4 people would be diagnosed with some sort of cancer in their life. Since all of my Grandparents and my Mom have died of some type of cancer, I knew my day would come. I just never thought my diagnosis would be the day after my 41st birthday and as a mother of a 10, 7 and 6 year old.
Fast forward 4 years (October 2019) and the cancer has returned in other bones. So here we are, ready to fight again…and looking to be on some sort of treatment for the rest of my life.
This blog is my journey as I fight to leave cancer behind and move on in my life.
I should probably back up and introduce myself . . . my name is Jennifer. I’m a Christ follower, married to an amazing man (who happens to be a chef turned Co-CEO of a restaurant), have 3 beautiful daughters and I’ve been diagnosed with Stage IV Breast Cancer which originally spread to my sternum, but has now spread to quite a few other bones and one of my lungs as well.
I know it can be confusing when you stumble upon a new blog, so let me help you get started.
- I have a blog to keep track of my thoughts and to let friends and family know what’s going on.
- You can get to know our family or read my personal testimony here.
- As I’ve been going through different procedures, I’ve written down what it was like. You can find a list of those over in the side bar (or down at the bottom if you are on a mobile device).
- Click here to receive an email when I publish new posts.
- And finally, if you noticed above that I’m married to a chef and think that must be the MOST AMAZING THING EVER, click here and browse through my blog about what it’s really like to be married to a chef. (I love blogging. Can you tell?)
Here’s what’s going on with me right now . . .
Radiation Week 1 is Over!
I survived the first week of radiation. It was a hard week getting used to the routine and the girls being some place different each morning, but we survived. (It was also VBS each evening, which is always a very fun, but tiring week!)
I decided to take a picture each day, so here’s my week of radiation with captions that show where I am as well as how I’m feeling each day. read more…
Radiation Day 1
Uneventful.
That one word pretty much sums up radiation day 1.
I was in the room less than 15 minutes. We waiting around to talk to the Dr. (who I meet with every week). He was in the room for about 30 seconds since we didn’t have any questions. Haha! He greeted us, logged into the computer and glanced at it for a second. Then he asked us if we had any questions. We said no. That was it. Seriously, 30 seconds.
Backing up a few hours…I slept horrible last night. I kept waking up. I finally got up around 5:20 and tears starting flowing as I thought about what was coming. Not tears of fear, but of sadness that I had to go through it, even if it is easier than chemo and surgery. It’s still something and it’s an every day something for what seems like a very long time.
As I spent time in God’s Word early this morning, Isaiah 26:3 was an encouragement to me. “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You because he trust in You.”
A note card with this verse on it is sitting on my kitchen counter as a reminder to keep my thoughts on the Lord and not on the machine that will be zapping me 33 more times.
The Night Before Radiation…
I am getting a nice collection of “The Night Before…” posts.
Tomorrow is my first of 34 radiation treatments. I just printed a calendar for the week with what’s going on and I hate seeing treatment and Dr. appointments on 5 of the 7 days. 🙁 But ready or not, it all starts tomorrow.
Cancer May Have Robbed Me of the School Year, But it Will Not Rob Me of My Summer!
Wasn’t it just yesterday we were taking pictures of the girls getting ready to start 1st, 2nd and 5th grades?
How is it that in about a half an hour, the girls will get off the bus and the year will be over? read more…
My New Hair Style
Woohoo!! I have enough hair to actually do something with it! Yay!!
Also in the vlog below are updates about my back (ouch!), reconstruction, radiation and my Zometa infusion tomorrow. All this plus regular life stuff…sigh…
Oh, and I got another tattoo today. That makes 3. 🙂 read more…
Weekend Update
Quick update to ask for prayer this weekend. Recovery from surgery is fine. No pain any more. However, from not being able to exercise my core muscles over the past couple months, I pulled a muscle in my back and have been stuck in bed since Friday morning. I’ll leave it at that since anything more would be grumbling. I’m very discouraged. read more…
I’m tired of recovering
I guess it’s better to be recovering, than waiting for a procedure, but I feel like surgery and recover (x3) is all I’ve done the past 2 months.
This recovery is by far the easiest of the 3. I was able to go to both church and the girls’ piano recital on Sunday. (The rest of the day I rested.)
Meet Jennifer
Breast Cancer Patient, Chef Wife and Mom
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