tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359Tue, 29 Oct 2024 02:56:01 +0000http://carrie-d.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)Blogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-8301953621546205937Tue, 24 Jan 2012 07:18:00 +00002012-01-23T23:18:08.956-08:00Good news today. &nbsp;I saw my oncologist and he said I don't need to come back for 6 months - what a deal! &nbsp;This is longer than my standard 3 months and is another milestone in my mind. I'm a bit unsure what to write anymore as I don't have much important "cancer" info to share. &nbsp;I feel a bit like if I change topics and talk about this "great new band" or this "fun new thing," that http://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2012/01/what-deal.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-83732790833251122Mon, 11 Oct 2010 20:49:00 +00002010-10-11T13:49:16.855-07:00<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>http://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-last-treatment.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-7176154626034356021Tue, 06 Apr 2010 01:29:00 +00002010-04-05T20:11:41.755-07:00I am six weeks past my last chemo treatment and I feel awesome. I am getting my energy back and feel more like myself again. I didn't realize how wiped out I was until I started to feel better - what a difference! I can't believe the progress my body has made. Things that used to exhaust me - like going to the grocery store or, on a bad day, stairs - are back in their normal category of http://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2010/04/spring-has-sprung.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-6249638400751932414Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:54:00 +00002010-03-12T09:15:27.908-08:00I am back in the chemo room this morning, however this time it's only for Herceptin. They didn't even need to do a blood draw as it won't affect my bone marrow/blood count. As strange as it sounds, I like getting the results from my blood draws so that I know where I'm at each time. I have print outs of my stats for my file from each visit. They didn't even weigh me! (This is probably for http://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2010/03/first-herceptin-only-treatment.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-3420044505035708237Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:45:00 +00002010-02-19T10:50:10.303-08:00You read that right - my doc said today that he considers me to be cured!!! I am thrilled! I want to burst into tears and jump up and down, but I'm in the chemo room right now and it seems a bit inappropriate... but I did shed a few happy tears in the waiting room...I'm live-blogging my final chemo treatment (just kidding, only one submission. I'm not covering an Apple press conference or http://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2010/02/its-good-day-in-cancerland-cause-im.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-8689055731909185870Sat, 30 Jan 2010 06:40:00 +00002010-02-19T10:46:01.248-08:00So, Tuesday I went in for my MUGA scan, which checks out the blood flow through my heart, (I believe.) All was going well - they started an IV to inject my blood with radioactive dye as they don't use the port for this. I had this MUGA procedure done prior to my surgery to get a baseline for any changes that the Herceptin would impose. The nurse asked if I wanted to go to the busy waiting roomhttp://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-to-clear-out-waiting-room-and-other.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-3280308181016861195Tue, 26 Jan 2010 07:20:00 +00002010-01-29T21:44:31.662-08:00I turned 32 this week! According to pop culture and tv commercials, I am old. VH1 and MTV reality shows are no longer an option. I may have a shot at Lifetime or Bravo. I love commercials.I love birthdays - mine, yours, whomever. Love 'em. When I hear birthday, I think of sugar, birthday hats, and candles. People smiling and cheering. Why doesn't everyone feel a bit younger on their http://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2010/01/i-turned-32-this-week-according-to-pop.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-4612808714081791455Fri, 15 Jan 2010 04:21:00 +00002010-01-15T10:17:01.421-08:00I've been delaying this post, mostly because I wasn't sure how my tone would come across. I had my fourth treatment last Thursday and it went very well. I don't mind sitting in the room, hooked up to the IV pole, listening to the chatter, watching the people. It's interesting and I usually get something done as I sit. I look at my treatment time as time to sit in one spot and accomplish http://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2010/01/four-down-two-to-go.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-4565663290950055030Wed, 06 Jan 2010 00:58:00 +00002010-01-05T18:56:38.452-08:00I just re-read the last post - I get pretty crabby when I'm tired. I tried to pick fights with my dogs by growling at them, but they didn't get it. I vaguely remember growling at my mom too, but I don't think she bit either.I'm excited to go back to school tomorrow! Yay! I even tested out all my school pens to make sure they write right! What a dork!More so than the work load, I am excited http://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2010/01/back-to-school.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-3882818310993634970Sat, 02 Jan 2010 07:41:00 +00002010-01-02T00:13:41.077-08:00Three things are getting on my nerves these days... I am going to complain a bit - even though I am lucky to be complaining only about the following...Fatigue. I know that chemo is set up to wipe me out, but it gets on my nerves. When I get tired, I get really tired. It's frustrating and unpredictable. When I feel like I have energy, I take advantage of it and function normally and try to http://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2010/01/three-things.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-3762673521244542595Sun, 27 Dec 2009 04:59:00 +00002009-12-26T21:43:48.803-08:00Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! I have had a great week with friends and family and am again grateful for everyone and everything in my world. Not the least of which is that I am half-way done with my chemo treatments!You heard me right, folks... I am past the .5 mark, over the hump, the glass is half-empty, comin' around the bend, in the home stretch... I had my third http://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-2009.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-8086239440326319109Mon, 14 Dec 2009 03:42:00 +00002009-12-13T20:46:07.924-08:00It's been a quiet week on the health front - but that's better than loud, right? I was in and out of the office this week and working from home otherwise. It feels good to have structure back into my day - and raise my intelligence level back up from the reality daytime TV gutter in which its been wallowing for the past while. It was proven this week that interaction with real, live adults http://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2009/12/quiet-week.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-3299968310535502459Sun, 06 Dec 2009 01:03:00 +00002009-12-05T18:50:24.920-08:00Of all the hair I've lost, I miss my nose hair the most.They're so useful, those little nose hairs. I've never paid much attention to them - nor have I appreciated how nice mine were. I know there's a small grooming division geared at nose hair - hence nose hair trimmers and scissors - and I have appreciated the fact that I've never needed to groom mine. I guess I can say I thought about that http://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2009/12/of-all-hair-ive-lost.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-8060334667264563429Sat, 28 Nov 2009 05:27:00 +00002009-11-27T22:16:59.995-08:00It's been a pretty interesting past week and alot has happened. First and foremost, though, I want to talk a bit about Thanksgiving and get a little bit sappy.Thanksgiving comes and goes annually with family, food, football, friends, and all the rest. Each year, we go through the exercise of listing out that for which we are thankful and appreciating all that we have within our world. This http://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2009/11/giving-thanks.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-3193683918592836344Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:43:00 +00002009-11-19T22:54:07.695-08:00I'm back. I'm eating again as well. My mouth is healing quickly as my neutrophil count increases and I swear that I will never take my mouth for granted again. Wow - that was amazingly painful and unnerving.I was doing great until after dinner on Friday night when I started to have some stomach issues, then started to get a fever, which went away a few hours later. Saturday I stayed in bed as http://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2009/11/morphine-and-ice-cream.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-1260937112988797962Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:51:00 +00002009-11-19T08:58:27.325-08:00Carrie was able to come home from the hospital yesterday. Her white blood cell count was still low at 1.9, but her neutrophils were up to 300/1000. This is still low, so she is not able to leave her house and can't be around anyone that has been sick. Her mouth is starting to feel better and she has antibiotics to take to continue to help fight any infection. She is happy to be back home &amphttp://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2009/11/home-from-hospital.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-8633679522194326931Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:48:00 +00002009-11-16T15:19:17.921-08:00Unfortunately the chemo side effects have caught up with Carrie. She had a rough weekend and was in quite a bit of pain from throat, mouth, tongue &amp; gum sores. Her fever spiked a few times this weekend and she was having trouble eating and swallowing, so the on-call doctor on Sunday told her to go to the emergency room. She found out her counts was extremely low, and they admitted her into http://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2009/11/chemo-rears-its-ugly-head.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-1445800117935680135Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:30:00 +00002009-11-12T21:50:02.614-08:00I have been trying for the past week to pinpoint what drug/treatment/hormone issues are causing various results without success. Things are definitely happening throughout my body, however, and I'm creepily fascinated with the weirdness.So, to quickly recap. Within a 7 day time frame I had a shot to shut down my ovaries and push me into hot flashes, a surgery to implant a port, a boob fill, andhttp://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2009/11/week-after-my-first-go-round.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-7641548931371219785Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:48:00 +00002009-11-05T23:18:42.285-08:00This was a busy week.On Monday, I met with a personal trainer for help with ideas for stretching out my upper body and catching my lower body up after sitting on my a#^ for a month. She was very kind. My reconstructive surgeon stressed last week that I take 3 more weeks to heal and my trainer ("L" we'll call her) was great about working with what I could do. How sick is this - I didn't even http://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2009/11/busy-week.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-3508041870148439524Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:03:00 +00002009-11-02T00:08:36.399-08:00I had a few interesting appointments last week, so I'll start at the beginning...Monday I went in for my EKG (which took less than a minute - crazy) and then in for another radioactive injection to dye my bones for the bone scan, of which turned out just fine. According to my doc, all the tests that were done turned out great and there are no concerning spots or enhancements. I was glad to hearhttp://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2009/11/and-here-we-go.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-6436904451417579840Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:22:00 +00002009-10-23T20:23:24.855-07:00I met with my oncologist on Wednesday and he is awesome. He has a ton of energy and a tendency to swear alot, which makes us kindred spirits. I was there for about 4 hours and learned a great deal in addition to a few tests and scheduling for the following days. He wrote out a quick synopsis:Carrie,Shit! You have breast cancer.The good news is that Dr. B removed all the cancer we know about.http://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2009/10/so-heres-deal.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-102272005736184435Mon, 19 Oct 2009 02:28:00 +00002009-10-18T20:19:00.909-07:00It's been two weeks since surgery and I am feeling better each day. My range of motion is improving and I am decreasing my dosage of pain medication as I can. Some days are great, other days I don't feel like I am making much progress, but overall I am doing well. I had my first appointment with the reconstructive surgeon on Thursday and was able to have one of the recovery tube-things removedhttp://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2009/10/two-weeks-out.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-6538221491961736824Tue, 13 Oct 2009 05:42:00 +00002009-10-13T10:27:02.024-07:00I've been tossing around the idea of starting a blog about travel, food, books, and other random information for awhile now... and here it is! First travel stop is Abbot Northwestern Hospital - which isn't exactly Shanghai, but hey - it's new to me! First, a huge thank you to Kelly Cruz for updating my progress through the surgery and keeping everyone up to speed on my progress. I really http://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2009/10/welcome-to-blog-and-bit-of-background.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-4711484615649754204Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:41:00 +00002009-10-09T08:46:25.584-07:00Carrie is at home and doing well. She is happy to be in her own bed and is now able to get some uninterrupted sleep. Her oncology appointment is October 21st, which is when she will find out more about her chemo treatments. Thank you for all of the kind messages and prayers! She really appreciates it!http://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2009/10/home.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730772687594532359.post-422941480885975783Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:46:00 +00002009-10-07T09:13:31.965-07:00The surgeon called today with the pathology reports. The 2-day lab tests confirmed that she only has Stage 1 cancer and there is no cancer in her lymph nodes! We are extremely excited to hear that news today. The surgeon still thought she would have to go through chemo, but she will most likely not have to have radiation. The doctors are sending in an acupuncturist and massage therapist to http://carrie-d.blogspot.com/2009/10/pathololgy-results.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)11