I was scheduled for 20 total radiation treatments with 1 every weekday for 4 weeks. October was radiation month for me. Thankfully, the treatment doesn’t take long, and I typically didn’t have to wait long either. I also live about 10 – 15 minutes away from the hospital which was helpful.

The treatment itself was not painful. However, it was unpleasant. Imagine having to lie perfectly still, undressed from the waist up, holding on to 2 handles above your head in a freezing room for about 10-15 minutes. The set-up time is also uncomfortable as the technicians tug on the sheet you’re lying on trying to get you lined up just right. 90% of the time, one of my technicians was a man. I do wish there was a way that could have been avoided! Thankfully, I made it through the radiation treatments without significant side effects to my skin. I was happy to have one more portion of the treatment behind me!

One other aspect of my treatment is quarterly echocardiograms. Herceptin can cause reversible heart damage, so the doctors need to monitor the heart function. I had the first echocardiogram in May before any treatment to see my initial heart function. This was repeated in August. That showed a decline in ejection fraction, but it was still considered in the low normal range.

My next echocardiogram in November showed more significant changes. I was referred to a cardiologist who prescribed 2 medications for my heart. Having already done my research before going to see him, I asked if my heart could heal without them, and if I was in any sort of danger if I did not take the drugs. He said that my heart could heal and that my current heart function wasn’t a cause for alarm. However, I did need to discontinue the Herceptin until my heart function improved.

After considering and praying, we decided that there was not a good reason to continue the Herceptin even after my heart function improved. The research does not indicate a significant difference in cancer outcomes for those who take the drug for a year versus 6 months. I had a recheck of my heart function December 22, and it was already back to normal in 1 month and that was without taking any of the heart medication!

I do have a follow-up visit with my oncologist and I am sure there will be periodic testing, but this point, since I am not going to continue with the Herceptin, I am officially done with my cancer treatment! I have learned a great deal about cancer, myself, and have grown greatly in my faith during 2025. It’s been a hard year, but it’s been a good one too.

But I am ready for 2026!

My first session of chemotherapy was June 16. My husband went with me to the cancer center. It started with pre-meds of Tylenol, Pepcid, IV Benadryl and steroids. The Benadryl made me crazy woozy. I couldn’t speak clearly. The pre-meds were followed by an infusion of Herceptin (the targeted therapy for the HER2 receptors) then an hour long infusion of Taxol. I was still woozy when it was time to leave and I spent most of the rest of the day on the couch.

Other than fatigue, I didn’t have other side effects from my chemotherapy. I was thankfully never nauseous. I didn’t lose my appetite. I was able to walk every day! On chemo days, my husband and I would walk early in the morning before treatment. The oncologist reduced the amount of Benadryl in my premedication so I wasn’t quite so loopy for the future sessions. After the first week, I had my husband drop me off and pick me up. There was really no need for him to be cooped up in the Cancer Center with me. I could rest and read and wasn’t particularly good company anyway.

It took a while for my hair to start falling out. I was even beginning to hope that I was going to be one of the rare cases who wouldn’t lose my hair. Unfortunately, after about a month, I started losing hair at an alarming rate. That was possibly the most difficult part of all the treatment for me.

During the treatment, I also met with an Integrative Health specialist. He recommended an additional cancer protocol that included Vitamin C infusions, Ozone infusions, off-label drugs and many additional supplements. All the drugs were sent to my pharmacy, so I went ahead and picked them up. (Having already met my out of pocket maximum by this time, there was no charge.) This made for a rather uncomfortable conversation with my oncologist’s PA because they all showed up on my chart! She did not recommend doing anything extra while I was on chemotherapy because they didn’t know if it would change the effectiveness of the chemo. I had not started the additional drugs or supplements, so I ended up not starting them during treatment. I found it impossible for me to follow both traditional and integrative recommendations at the same time.

After 6 weeks of Monday treatments, we were able to travel to a family reunion for my husband’s extended family in Kansas. I skipped 1 Monday of chemo, then resumed on Friday after returning. Friday turned out to be a better day for treatment once school started back: both allowing my husband to take me and me to begin teaching my writing classes on Thursdays beginning August 21.

During all my treatments, I was blessed to have 2 meals provided per week: one from church and one from my husband’s school. That was so helpful to have less cooking to do when I was more easily tired. I finished my last chemotherapy on September 5th and chose to ring the bell at the end of that chapter.

At the Breast Center, a wire was inserted that would guide the surgeon on what tissue needed to be removed. That procedure involved a lot of being still. (This turned out to be a common requirement for many of the tests and much of the treatment!)We left there and went to the surgical center. The surgery went smoothly, and I was able to come home in the early afternoon.

Recovery was not too bad. In hindsight, I’m thankful that the plastic surgeon refused to operate that day, because having surgery on both breasts would have made for more pain and a more difficult recovery. The next day, I was able to take several short walks. Friends brought meals all week long.

On May 8, my pathology results came back. Surprisingly, in addition to the ductal carcinoma in situ, there was invasive micropapillary carcinoma in the sample. This type of cancer is not common. Googling it was frightening. However, the margins were still clear, so that was encouraging.

Further pathology results showed that the invasive cancer was triple positive. This means that it had estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, and high levels HER2 proteins. I knew what estrogen and progesterone were, but not HER2. HER2 positive breast cancers tend to spread more quickly and are more likely to recur than HER2 negative cancers.

With these new findings, I was scheduled to see a medical oncologist. She explained that with triple positive cancer, chemotherapy along with targeted therapy and radiation were recommended. She also recommended that I have a second surgery in order to remove a lymph node and make sure the margins were adequate. I had my husband with me at that appointment, and we both agreed that chemotherapy sounded like the wise choice.

My second surgery was June 2. Thankfully, the lymph node was free from cancer. This meant that my chemotherapy dosage could be milder. I was scheduled to start chemotherapy on June 9. However, I was unable to begin chemo that day due to severe hives from some substance used on my skin in the surgery.

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Wait? I thought this was a minor cancer, pre-cancer even. I can elect for a double mastectomy? The choice was completely up to me and it was presented as just a matter of preference. I thought that a mastectomy seemed a bit extreme, so I initially planned on a lumpectomy. Since my cancer was non-invasive, there was not any real rush. Even though it was February, it wouldn’t be a problem to wait to have the surgery in May after the busyness of the school year was done.

Next, I visited a plastic surgeon. Even though I wasn’t planning on a mastectomy, plastic surgery might be needed after a lumpectomy. My hope was to have a slight reduction so that I would “match” after the lumpectomy. I only wanted to have 1 surgery.

Unfortunately, the plastic surgeon I was assigned was not one that I felt at all comfortable with. He made me feel extremely insecure about my body. He wasn’t afraid to give his opinion and he stated that from his perspective, the double mastectomy was the best option. I remember thinking that was about the dumbest idea I’d ever heard. He also said that with a lumpectomy he could not do the surgery at the same time as the lumpectomy because I would have radiation and it would change the shape of my breast. I would need to wait until after that before having a second surgery.

I was feeling pretty discouraged by this point. I did not want to have radiation. I even began to seriously consider the single mastectomy in order to avoid radiation and so that I could have only 1 surgery. I just wanted this whole thing to be over.

My next appointment was with the radiation oncologist. She gave me information about radiation therapy and how it works. I really did not want radiation, but everywhere I turned, it seemed that would be the only option with a lumpectomy. However, when I met with doctor she said that there was no reason for radiation with DCIS. It did nothing to increase life expectancy in the case of DCIS (since it’s not a cancer that anyone dies from). I was shocked. And so very happy.

I went home so relieved and thankful. I saw God’s hand in the assignment of the radiation oncologist. I felt a clear path forward. Since I wouldn’t need radiation either way, I opted for the lumpectomy. I tried to get the plastic surgeon to operate at the same time, but he still insisted he wouldn’t know what to do at that time. Either way, I had a plan. Surgery was scheduled for May 6. Soon, this whole ordeal would be over!

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I finally agreed to go ahead and put the repeat biopsy on the schedule with the assurance that I would be allowed to cancel it if I decided against it. I went home and talked with my husband and neither of us thought it was necessary. I remember talking and praying with friends about it. I wanted to cancel it. But for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to cancel it.

Was I acting in fear? Shouldn’t I just trust God? Was there really a reason to go through with the second biopsy?

Praying in the face of difficult decisions is tough. I wanted a very clear answer. I can’t say that I ever felt a clear yes to go through with the repeat biopsy. But what I never felt was peace that I should walk away.

So I went for the biopsy again. I remember asking to talk to the radiologist before I went in for the procedure. I asked her to explain why I needed to do this again. Why was the first one not representative? I don’t remember exactly what she said, but I think she explained that the tiny little calcifications were often indicative of a pre-cancerous condition. I also remember her saying that she thought I should have the procedure and that if I were her sister or friend, that she would recommend I do it.

I didn’t like the procedure any more than the first time. I did at least know what to expect and I think that the nurses helped to position me more comfortably this time. I also knew what to expect for recovery.

A couple of days later I was alerted that my results were in. This time I was dismayed to see the word carcinoma included in the pathology report. I knew that didn’t sound benign.

The biopsy showed DCIS or ductal carcinoma in situ. This is the pre-cancerous condition that the radiologist explained might be there. Though whether it’s pre-cancerous or cancer kind of depends on who you talk to. My understanding is that it is cancer in the sense that the cells are dividing like cancer. But the in situ piece was what makes it not serious. It was considered Stage 0, because it was contained in the ducts and couldn’t have spread into the blood stream.

I found out that the typical treatment for DCIS is surgery followed by radiation. My next step was meeting with a breast surgeon.

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I left feeling mainly irritated. Biopsies are expensive, and I didn’t want to have to spend the money to be told that the tiny dots were nothing. I honestly felt like they wanted to get all the money they could out of my case since I wasn’t scheduled to have to come back for any more special mammograms after the most recent one. I talked to my husband, and we discussed canceling the biopsy. We were strongly leaning that direction.

But for some reason I didn’t. I can really only attribute it to the providence of God. I didn’t want the biopsy. I didn’t have the money to pay for the biopsy. But I never had peace about not doing it.

So January 11th came, and I dutifully went for my stereoscopic biopsy. I think it was the worst medical procedure I had ever had. I had to lie on my stomach on a table in a freezing room with my breast hanging through a hole. My arms were strangely positioned and my neck and head were twisted awkwardly. I was facing the wall and couldn’t see who was coming in and out of the room. They had to do a mammogram in that position, numb me, locate the right spot to biopsy, then extract the sample.

Following that, I went to another room for a mammogram to verify the location of the marker. Then I waited for the all clear to go home. When the doctor who performed the biopsy walked in, he said, “I have some bad news and some good news. The bad news is that we biopsied the wrong spot. The good news is that we can go right back in there and get the correct area right now.”

I did not take this news well. I lost my composure and assured him that I did not even know why I had needed the biopsy in the first place. After convincing him that I wasn’t against mammography in general, he left to look at all the previous mammograms for the previous 2 year period. He returned and said that while he didn’t biopsy the exact spot that was intended, it was similar to the intended area and he felt it would be a representative sample. I left and was relieved a couple of days later to find the results of the biopsy showed nothing of concern.

I was scheduled for a follow-up with a nurse navigator about a week after the biopsy. I expected the all clear, but was frustrated and confused when she said they thought I needed to repeat the biopsy.

To be continued…

Loss of Freedom

When you join a co-op, you’re giving away many of the freedoms that we homeschoolers love so much.

• You lose the freedom to set your own schedule. When you join a co-op, you’re giving up a day of the week to that co-op. You lose the ability to be make last minute changes to your plans. Obviously, you can miss an occasional week, but if you’re one who likes to travel at the last minute or be free to take a field trip when the weather is nice, a co-op might not be a good fit for you.
• You lose the freedom to choose our own curriculum. This was a biggie for me. I’ve always loved to research and choose my own curriculum based on the individual needs of my children and our educational philosophy. When you join a co-op, you will need to be willing to use the curriculum they have selected. Don’t kid yourself and think you’ll use the curriculum you want PLUS add on the one they use. It will not happen.

Expense

• Co-ops can be expensive. Depending on whether your co-op is one with dedicated teachers or one where everyone shares responsibility, there are likely to be some costs. For many co-ops, the costs are prohibitive for larger families on a single income. That was one of the reasons that we held back from joining a co-op for so long.

Personality Differences/Preferences

• You may not fit in with the co-op. Always visit a co-op before joining. Try to get a feel for the other moms and children there. Do you have similar educational and parenting philosophies? Sometimes even with a visit, you don’t realize that the group isn’t a good fit for your family until you have joined. In many cases, you will have to stick it out anyway.

Are you interested in starting a homeschool co-op? This guide on The Organized Homeschoolers has helpful information.

Many companies, including Compass Classroom has special group rates for co-ops using their materials.

What about your family? Do you co-op? What are the disadvantages of homeschool co-ops for you?

Dealing with anxiety is a problem that everyone faces at some time in their lives, but it affects some people to a much greater degree. I am not a mental health professional, nor have I been officially diagnosed with anxiety. This post should not be viewed as medical advice. I am sharing as a friend to others who may suffer from anxiety and are looking for ideas.

Dealing with Anxiety Physically

Although anxiety is viewed as a mental health condition, it most definitely has physical effects. That nervous feeling in your stomach, increased heart rate, shaking, inability to eat, and difficulty sleeping are just a few of the common manifestations of anxiety.

The first thing I do when I feel anxious is to focus on taking deep breaths. Breathing deeply can help me to begin to calm down the feelings of anxiety.

The next thing that I like to do is to get up and move. Go for a walk, do a plank, stretch, or whatever type of exercise is appropriate in the moment.

Dealing with Anxiety Mentally

Thinking true thoughts

While taking deep breaths, there are a couple of different things that I have found helpful in dealing with anxiety.

• Examine my thoughts – Are they true? Are they logical? Many times during anxious moments, they are not.

• Think Worst Case Scenario – Sometimes what I’m worrying about, may be something that may actually happen. I might not finish something in time. But what will be the worst that can happen? I might lose my job? OK, that wouldn’t be good. But is that likely? And if I did lose my job, then I could find a different job.

Dealing with Anxiety Spiritually

Essentially, anxiety signifies a lack of trust in God. I say this not to shame anyone, but point out the truth from scripture.

In Matthew, Jesus said,

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Matthew 6:25

The Apostle Paul told us in Philippians,

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Philippians 4:6

John MacArthur speaks briefly on Anxiety and God’s Sovereignty.

So the most important part of dealing with anxiety is confessing our anxious hearts to the Lord.

Here’s a devotion by John Piper on How to Fight Anxiety.

Pray.

Pray initially for help with your anxious heart, but then move on. In my experience, praying about anxiety leads to more worry. Although you started by praying about the thing you’re anxious about, you quickly digress into just worrying about the thing. I find it especially helpful to pray for the needs of others when I’m anxious.

Philippians also says we’re to present our requests with thanksgiving. Keeping a gratitude journal and reviewing it is a helpful tool for dealing with anxiety in the moment.

Read or recite scripture.

I especially love these verse cards from Not Consumed. They come with a stand so you can set one up where you can read it as you go about your daily work. Disclosure: This is an affiliate link. I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after visiting.

Here’s another great list of verses to read, copy, and meditate on during times of anxiety.

I hope implementing one or more of these ideas will help you the next time you’re feeling anxious.

How do you deal with anxiety? Please share helpful ideas you have in the comments!

This post was originally written 14 years ago, but I find that it still rings true.

GASP!!!

Could there be such a thing as too much planning? Who hasn’t heard the quote –

He who fails to plan, plans to fail.

I love to plan. I plan to plan. Homeschool planning is one of my favorite activities. But yesterday I started thinking about all my planning in a different light.

On Tuesday I gave my older children (11 and 9) a fun and creative history project. I assigned them to make a model of a Roman villa. I’m not talking about anything fancy. We have a great assortment of cardboard from our recent gas grill purchase, so I thought they could use that. We looked at a few drawings of a Roman villa, then I brought them downstairs and showed them the cardboard. I pointed out the piece that would make a good base, and then the assortment of boxes that could be used for different rooms in the villa.

Then I let them get to work. They started laying out boxes and thinking about their project. My daughter started thinking about how to decorate the inside of the completed villa and how to use Playmobil pieces as “accessories”. Then my son said, “I think we need to sketch a plan so we’ll know what we’re building.” (I wonder where he got that from???) So he disappeared and came back a while later with a nice sketch.

Fast forward to Wednesday. On Wednesday afternoon, I reminded them of the project and mentioned that I would like to see some cardboard cut and glued today. They got back to work laying out the project according to my son’s plan.  They even located the scissors, tape, and glue. Then I heard my son say, “We don’t have the right boxes to use this plan. I’d better make a new plan.”

WHAT??? Will you quit all this planning and BUILD something please?

Did I just think what I think I thought? Thankfully, I did not say my thought out loud, but I was immediately struck by my thought. How often do I spend MORE TIME PLANNING than DOING?

I’m not advocating just “flying by the seat of your pants” so to speak. After all, Jesus said in Luke 14:28

For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

We are building towers in a way. We pour out much of our lives into teaching our children. We absolutely need to have both long-term and short-term plans for “building” our children. We need to make sure we have a plan for teaching our children math and reading for example. We need to make sure that we’ve got the materials on hand to do our science experiment on Friday.

But I think those of us who are “planners” need to be sure that we’re not PLANNING so much that we miss out on actually DOING things with our kids. Ask yourself some questions.

• Are my plans so rigid that I can’t tolerate any deviations?
• Have I spent so much time getting my plans “perfect” that I don’t want to change them?
• Have I made so many plans that I never get around to doing them all?

Just make sure that your homeschool plans are serving a purpose and really helping you to accomplish your goals. I especially like this quote:

“Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.”—A.A. Milne

Need help homeschool planning?

Here are a few free homeschool planners –

• Printable Homeschool and Household Planner Pages at The HomeSchoolMom
• Colorful Homeschool Planner from Homeschool of 1
• The Ultimate Free Homeschool Planner from Shining Mom

Homeschool Planners to purchase

Not Consumed Homeschool Planner

I don’t remember where I got the idea. I think it was an aside in an article about goals for the New Year. But for some reason, I decided that I wanted to complete a daily game challenge in January. There were a few rules to this challenge. Single-player games would not count. Neither would anything played on a screen. These had to be touch with your hands, physical games.

I didn’t originally have any requirement as to whom I would complete the daily game challenge with, but I very quickly found that the only willing partner I had for this challenge was my 12 year old son, Andrew.

1. We have a lot of games.

Though I’m kind of a wannabe minimalist, I haven’t let my decluttering touch the game cabinet. With the youngest of my 5 children now 12 and the oldest 24, we’ve had a long time to collect games. While we do own many of the classic board games, many of our favorites are newer.

By about January 5, we had decided that not only were we going to play a game daily for 31 days, but it had to be a different game. I initially questioned whether we had enough games to do it, but it turns out we do with some to spare.

2. I have more time than I thought.

When I started this challenge, we were still on Christmas break. We also had a gradual start back to our full schedule with our co-op not resuming until January 13. I knew we could do it for the first week or two, but what about when things got busy?

It turns out all the conventional wisdom was true. You do make time for what’s important to you, and it helps to have an accountability partner. On weeknights, we typically played right after the dinner dishes were cleared and loaded in the dishwasher. One Sunday I knew that I had to leave for a short road trip immediately after church, so we made time for a game in the morning before church.

3. There are many short games.

In the past, I tended to think that we didn’t have time to play a game right now, so we’d better wait until tomorrow. However, I found that almost all of the games we played could be played in less than 30 minutes with many taking only 15 minutes. Obviously, you could play multiple rounds, but games like Spot It, Set, Skipbo, Rat a Tat Cat, and many more are fun and quick.

We did have one family night playing Ticket to Ride Europe, but other than that, our games were fairly short.

4. Spending time together is fun.

OK, so I guess I already knew that, but as a homeschool mom sometimes it seems like I’m always having to be the bad guy – making sure assignments are complete and chores are done. This allowed me to spend time just having fun with my son. Of course, you and your gaming buddy do need to like games for this to be a viable option for fun. If games are not fun, then you could come up with a different challenge to spend time together.

5. We might be able to part with some games.

When you’ve completed a daily game challenge for a month and find that there are a few games that you never wanted to play, it’s probably OK to let those go. Or you could try to play them one more time before making the final decision. Maybe it’s more fun than you remember.

6. Games don’t need to be educational.

I used to be more concerned about the educational value of games. But actually, I’m sorry to say that if a game is designed to be educational, it’s more likely to be boring. There is value in games as games. Some require strategy. Some visual acuity. Some quickness. Some memory. Pretty much every game can help improve some part of your brain, so you don’t have to look hard for specifically educational games. I actually wrote an article a very long time ago on our favorite thinking games on The Curriculum Choice.

What do you think?

What’s your favorite game?

Are you up for a 31 day game playing challenge?

Do challenges inspire you?