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?)

Jennifer

Here’s what’s going on with me right now . . .

Still figuring out medication…

Feb 8, 2021 | Blog | 11 Comments

I know I said I would post more about my emotions and how I’m feeling after my last scan, but I’m still not feeling great and that’s going to be a longer post. So here’s a quick update on how I’m feeling.

I’m still trying to figure out that constipation medicine. I need the full strength of it but my body can’t handle it all at once. So today I took half a pill this morning and I’m going to take half a pill right before I go to bed. Hopefully I will be able to sleep. If not, I will get through a lot of episodes of Heartland.

Scan Results

Feb 2, 2021 | Blog | 13 Comments

We just finished our doctor appointment and talking about my scan results and the decision we need to make. The current scan shows that everything is stable – nothing’s really better and nothing’s really worse. There was no indicator as to why my pain has gotten worse over the past few weeks, which was what led us to trying a different pain medication (the fentanyl patch) and the difficulty of finding the right dose, which is what caused my severe pain over the weekend.

We need to make the decision of whether to:

What would a good scan look like?

Jan 31, 2021 | Blog | 14 Comments

My pain is still relatively under control and the last time I took my oxy, I only took three and I’m doing okay. I am now on my second patch and I’m still praying for wisdom for the doctor as I talk to him about it tomorrow. Thank you God for a little bit of relief from pain.

While I’m sad that it is the end of the weekend because that means my husband has to go back to work and the girls have to go back to school tomorrow, I am thankful that it means I am closer to getting answers.

More Pain

Jan 30, 2021 | Blog | 19 Comments

My stomach is slowly settling down and feeling better today, which I’m thankful for. However, the pain all over my body has been horrible. I hardly slept at all last night. Right now I’m regretting switching over to the fentanyl patch as this pain is much worse than I was having before.

Pain update

Jan 29, 2021 | Blog | 20 Comments

Quick post tonight because this has been one of the hardest days I have had in a long time. I’ve had major stomach cramping and diarrhea from a new pill I started this morning for constipation. I’m definitely not constipated anymore! I’m very weak and can’t get out of bed right now. It’s been a really hard day.

Starting new pain patch tonight

Jan 27, 2021 | Blog | 12 Comments

The pharmacy got their shipment of my pain medicine in today, so I just put on my new pain medicine patch. It stays on for 3 days, and I take my current pain medicine for part of the next 24 hours while my body gets used to the new one and absorbs it.

Pain update

Jan 25, 2021 | Blog | 14 Comments

I was able to talk to my doctor while at the infusion center today. Here’s what’s new:

We are changing up the quantity of certain things I am taking for constipation. Hopefully that will help. If not, he has ordered a medicine I can take that specifically helps constipation from narcotics.