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 . . .
New Chemo Day 1
I started a new chemo plan today – Gemzar and Carboplatin. My oncologist said it will be a little bit harder on my body but it will attack the cancer a different way.
I feel fine so far, but what he said makes me nervous. He said it’s nothing like my body was hit with originally 5 years ago. But 5 years ago I was in fabulous shape. Today, I needed a wheelchair to get into the infusion center. My body is not quite the same now as it was then.
read more…Our Magical Trip – Part 1 – The Extra Magic
I am so very thankful for the 10 day trip we were able to take to Walt Disney World. It was always a dream of ours to take our girls there. The girls are the perfect age right now as they will all remember it. I just wish we could have gone on the trip for a different reason. I am, however, thankful that we did it now as it’s getting more difficult and painful to move around.
Lots of people have been asking how the trip was, so let me start off telling you the people behind the scenes that helped make it extra magical. I’ll do at least one more post about the trip telling about other things.
read more…We’re Home!
Sorry for the lack of posts when we were on our trip. We were either busy doing something, or resting!
We flew in late Monday night and were driven home in a limo (the same one that took us there). Tom was exhausted, so I am very thankful he did not have to drive us home.
Overall, the trip was amazing. It took us about 4 days to settle in. It had been a long time since some of us had done much because of COVID. But once we settled in, we had some great times together as a family. Sometimes it was all of us, and sometimes, just a few of us.
read more…The dreaded day 3 should not apply to vacations!
Day 3….what is it about day 3 that makes it harder? Day 3 of the school week, day 3 of the work week, day 3 after chemo, day 3 of VBS, day 3 of Camp……the list could go on and on.. Vacation must be part of the hard day 3 thing as well, and no one ever told me. Day 3 in a Disney Park….not the best day we’ve ever had.
Today ended well. Valley Girls and Guys hired a photographer for us. So we took some Disney family photos around 6. (More on that later.)
Then we entered Epcot for a late dinner from The Boardwalk side, which is such an amazing resort! We had time to look around a few countries and then had dinner at The Coral Reef restaurant. Everything we ordered was wonderful.
read more…We Made It!
Ready….Set….
Go! Well almost.
The girls now each have a few pairs of shorts that fit them so that’s encouraging. Hopefully it’s enough. I have packing lists ready for them to pack for themselves and they are doing laundry this afternoon.
It’s a lot to think about packing for 10 days. It’s pretty overwhelming and I haven’t been feeling good the past couple days. I’m very anxious about the trip, because I never know how I am going to feel.
read more…My Unexpected “Visit” to the ER Today
Today turned out nothing like we thought it would.
Originally, Tom was going to go up to Seattle for a couple meetings this morning. Those were rescheduled last night after I was in bed, so I didn’t know that until this morning. It was a nice surprise to find out he would be home all day.
The next unexpected thing was my “visit” to the ER. I put “visit” is quotation marks because I actually was never admitted to the ER.
read more…
Meet Jennifer
Breast Cancer Patient, Chef Wife and Mom
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