An update

11 days ago I had another craniotomy. During my last routine check up at the beginning of July it was discovered that the brain tumor had returned. This was disappointing, frustrating and unbelievable news to say the least. It was very small in comparison to the tumor in December, which was why I didn't really feel anything this time. I will have radiation in 2 more weeks, then we will go from there.  I've always enjoyed social media and being very open and public with my story. For now, it feels better to pull back and be more private. I have taken a break from Facebook and will most likely not be updating this blog very often. If you would like to contact me my email is b_rogers60@hotmail.com.

Breast MRI

My breast MRI was clear. There is no nodule!!! It is likely that the nodule seen on the pet ct was benign and has resolved on it's own. I'm so relieved! I will follow up in 6 months with another breast MRI just to make sure things still look good.

Brain MRI and breast nodule

I had a brain MRI on Wednesday and everything is stable. The MRI showed that everything is healing up nicely from the surgery. I saw my clinical trial doctor and talked to my neurosurgeon over the phone. The mild headaches I have been having are normal and the right side facial swelling is from the surgery and will eventually go away. I saw the breast doctor and she was unable to feel the nodule so I will need to have a breast MRI. So this means that I will be heading back down to Anderson next week or the week after. I have a chest CT scheduled for the last week in February. I am going to try to get the MRI and CT scheduled at the same time so I only have to make one trip.

Mammogram/Ultrasound/ Biopsy.

Mammogram, check. Ultrasound- check. Biopsy- not done!

 It seems everyone is having a hard time finding the nodule that showed up on the pet ct. My mammogram was negative. I had 3 US done today, one by a US tech and 2 others by doctors. I was told at the end that this test was negative too. They didn't see anything to biopsy. I was told with a smile I could go home.

 As much as I wanted too I knew better and went to the sarcoma center to get in contact with my doctor. He is going to have me see a breast doctor next week.

Sooo more waiting. But I do feel better that it is either still really tiny or went away.

Schedule, getting off Keppra and last day of my 20s!

It takes at lot longer to get a breast biopsy at Anderson than we first thought. I will have a mammogram and biopsy at the beginning of next week. I will then have to wait 7-10 days for the results. But at least within that week I have my first clinical trial brain MRI so I have more results to obsess about to take my mind of the other ones.

Today is the last day I will be taking the anti seizure medication Keppra. I have been having a skin reaction to it and since I have not had a seizure, doctor said that I could take a half dose for 3 days then stop. I am very happy about this because it made me quite sleepy.

Today is the last day in my twenties!!! It's been a crazy decade. Though I have been dealing with this illness since 2 months after turning 20, I have had many more good times these past 10 years than bad times. I do a lot when I am in remission and feeling well. I have had 7 major surgeries and 2 years of chemo. It sounds like a lot but it was over 10 years, leaving lots of time for fun. During my 20s I was able to:

-return to college and graduate with my Bachelors in Nursing. And when I was feeling well I had a great time in college, sometimes probably a little too much fun : )
-I was able to travel a lot, the farthest being Singapore
-I worked at a few jobs and finally in 2011 found my area of nursing, moved back to TX, and now have the best job EVER!
 - I became a mama to the most handsome little chihuahua of all time named Toby.
-I met and married the love of my life!!
-I lived in Rhode Island for a little over a year and had the opportunity to experience another part of the country.

I learned so much in my 20s. Sometimes they were painful lessons, but I needed them to grow. I sometimes think what life would be like if I had never gotten cancer. I for sure wouldn't be who I am today and I wouldn't be where I am today. Having cancer calmed me down and bit and slowed me down, 2 things that I really needed ten years ago. Do I wish I could have gotten those lessons a different way, of course, but knowing me I probably wouldn't have learned what I needed to. If I could go back in time and was given a delete cancer button, I wouldn't press it. Are there some things I would change, of course! I would have gone to a different doctor initially, I would have a freezer full of my eggs locked down somewhere and I would most definitely delete a recurrence or two, maybe 3. But other than that, as painful as it sometimes was, I wouldn't trade it. Life just wouldn't be what it is now if I had taken a different path. Even though I'm going through it again, I am still so very grateful for all that I have in my life.


So tomorrow will be the start of a new chapter. I look forward to see what it holds.

Pet CT results

UGH......Pet ct is clear except for a very small nodule in my right breast.

Like so small I can't feel it and my doctor and his mid level provider had trouble feeling it.

But big enough to where we could see that the ugly little thing lit up on the pet ct, which is very concerning that it lit up.

SO...I am going to need a biopsy and most likely it will need to be removed.

Here is the part that makes me want to scream. I just assumed it was rhabdo, but because of it's location the doctor said it could be primary breast cancer. He said there is a 1/3 chance it's primary breast cancer, 1/3 of a chance rhabdo, 1/3 of a chance it's benign.

We really didn't discuss chemo today because we need to figure out what this is first.

Since they won't be able to biopsy until Monday or Tuesday, I'm going to fly home tomorrow. I miss my husband and I need a few days to pretend like none of this is happening.

Back in Houston

I'm back at my parents. I flew in on Thursday, my first day completely off of steroids. I felt really off the whole day and still don't fell right but that is to be expected coming off 4 weeks of dexamethasone. Fortunately that weird fuzzy brain feeling is getting better each day. Still swollen....I am drinking a lot of dandelion tea (natural diuretic), plenty of fresh green juice, and restricting my salt intake. I'm doing all I can to help my body get this swelling and fat off.

Yesterday I had a full body pet ct. I had the most amazing nurse. She has been a nurse for 36 years and was so sweet. She started an IV at a common place that people try on me, they never get it. Even when I tell them this, I still let them try sometimes. She is the first one ever to get it. We didn't even talk about it. She saw it, went for it and it was done. I think that was the easiest IV start that I have had in 10 years. I am a hard stick, I usually need the IV team. I wasn't worried about the scan when I went I was worried how many times I was going to get poked, because sometimes it can get a little crazy. Very thankful I had her for my nurse.

I had labs drawn yesterday. Thought it was so weird that a type and cross was ordered. This is normally done right before you receive some type of blood product. Come to find out steroids drop your platelet count and mine have DROPPED. No transfusion needed now. I used to get a lot lower when I was on chemo before I needed a tranfusion and would be fine so I'm not worried.  I just need to have more labs Wednesday and  make sure they are the same or going up before I go back home.

I won't get PET results until Wednesday when I see my medical oncologist and we will also discuss chemo at that time.