Happy Valentine's Day!!

Well I hope each and every one of you have spent the day with someone you love!  Jason and I spent the evening in the hot tub with a few drinks!  Nothing better than having a nice quiet evening with your honey :)

I can't even imagine my world without him!  He really helped to nurse me back to health.  He sat by me when I was at my lowest low and made sure that I was always comfortable.  He was my cheerleader when I was going through treatments and was my voice of reason when I thought I couldn't go on.  He is my best friend and I can't imagine not having him in my life.  We have been together for 26 years and love each other more now, then we ever thought possible. :)  So I hope you all have someone like Jason in your lives...someone who will be there when you need them most!

So I had my follow up appointment with Dr. Rajagopal (my Onc) and she said that I was doing wonderfully!  I thought that I would have some blood tests or something but no, it was just a check up...see how I was doing, feeling and tolerating my medication.  She looked me over, did a breast exam and sent me on my way!  I love appointments like that, although, I would have liked to have had some blood work done just to make sure that everything was the way that it should be.  So I don't see her again until November, unless something comes up in the meantime.  Like that's gonna happen :)

My next appointment (Feb 24) will be with the general surgeon at Woman's College Hospital.  He will discuss the operation to remove my "good" breast and prepare me for an implant.  Once I meet with him, my plastic surgeon will coordinate a surgery date.  I just can't believe how fast this is all happening!!  Seems like just yesterday I was going through treatment...well, maybe not yesterday...maybe more like last week ;)  It's just crazy looking back at it all! WOW...very proud and humble.

I have also had a few people asking me to post some more pictures of my progress from my last procedure.  There really isn't much to see.  My stomach is back to normal.  My breast area has changed slightly...the radiation burn is slowly going away, I am still a bit bruised and I have a little "pudge" from the fat injection.  I will take a picture this week and post it...but like I said...nothing much has changed.

I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend!!  Be positive, be strong and continue to pray...it does the soul good! :)

Lists!!

Are you one of those people who make lists?  Do you make lists for all the things you need to complete over the weekend or during the week?  I was one of those people too but then I realized that looking at that list of things to do, just added more stress to my life and made me feel overwhelmed.  Now, I only write down the important stuff (because my brain just doesn't work like it used to...combination of Chemo brain and age, I'm certain) :)  I have decided to only write down appointments, parties or other special occasions.  I avoid writing..."clean the house", "clean the garage", "mop the floors", "tidy the closets", etc...why write these things down when you know you have to do it...you know that it's not going to get done by itself!  Although, that would be nice ;)  But by putting it on a list, you are pressured to do it...because if you are like me, you can't stand a list that isn't checked off!  Crazy what we do to ourselves!!  So keep your lists to special occasions and the important things (because I know we all have to make lists) and keep the "regular" stuff off.  I realized that by doing this, I don't feel so overwhelmed and stressed, which in turn...keeps me healthy!!

Stress is such a debilitating action that we bring upon ourselves.  It's all how we deal with things and we need to learn how to control it.  Stress is a leading cause of heart disease, depression, digestive problems, sleep problems, weight problems, autoimmune problems...you get what I am saying?  Stress is a trigger for most problems in our lives and when you have too much stress these "bad things" can take over and make your body shut down.  Now don't get me wrong, it's definitely hard to manage stress in the world that we live in.  But I think if we can control or manage some of the unnecessary stress then we can learn to control the outward stress.  It's important that we take a step back from a situation and think, is there another way I can be dealing with this...and in the grand scheme of things, is it really that important to make me have a sleepless night or be depressed over?  That is where a positive attitude can play a very important role in your life.  Once again, I feel like I am rambling on but trying to get a very important point across....avoid stress and learn to cope with it so that it doesn't consume you!  There! Done! LOL

So, I had my follow up with my plastic surgeon and he is very impressed with my recovery!  He said that both donor and recipient sites look great and he feels that I will only require one more procedure before the big surgery!!  He is interested to see what the general surgeon will say on the 24th and hopes to keep this train running on track! :) 

I feel great...starting running again (everyday), sharing my mornings with Jillian Michaels, and I also started juicing every morning!  Jason and I both decided that we would try this "juicing" that everyone is talking about and see if we feel a difference.  I am feeling like I have more energy, my digestive system is loving me and my skin is looking better!  I feel full longer, which helps me control my weight and just the fact that I am getting my full serving of veggies and fruits in a day, makes me feel good!  I would recommend it to anyone!!  Studies have shown that juicing can help prevent certain types of cancer, anything I can do to prevent getting "any" type of cancer is good with me! :)

So next appointment is my 6 month check up with Dr. Rajagopal, my oncologist.  I am interested to see what she thinks of my progress.  I literally haven't seen her since August...not even a peek when I was at the hospital for tests!  I believe I will have blood work done and a full check up...looking forward to hearing those words "you are cancer free"!!! 

Be POSITIVE, continue to be STRONG and as always PRAY...because there is something bigger than all of us!!