Scanxiety, a reexamination

Tomorrow is my first PET/CT at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville since we moved from Miami to Orlando last month. It’s not my first scan, more like the 20th or so since my de novo Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) in 2017, but it’s the second one after the cancer in my body spread … Continue reading Scanxiety, a reexamination →

Scanxiety

When I was initially diagnosed, I began seeing this term in many of my support groups. I’m sure it’s no surprise to anyone that cancer metsters/thrivers have their own jargon that helps to explain the shared experiences. It’s sometimes like learning a new language, especially the acronyms. I’ve also found that the jargon changes in … Continue reading Scanxiety →

Heading into Chemo

Tomorrow I will start the IV chemo, Taxotere, along with the oral medication, Xeloda. This combination is designed to work together and gives my medical oncologist some flexibility. While I get the need to get ahead of the cancer cells that were not materially affected by my last line of treatment, the knowledge that I … Continue reading Heading into Chemo →

Allostatic Load

I had a Twitter account for my business before I was diagnosed with Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) in 2017 but I didn’t “know” anyone on Twitter or really understand how Twitter works. Oh, how times have changed!! A few years ago, I started getting more active on Twitter, specifically in the cancer advocacy … Continue reading Allostatic Load →

PET/CT Results and the Pesky Met

Many of you are aware that I had a PET/CT last Friday and I really appreciate all the calls and texts and the lovely flowers I got in the mail — I’m so appreciative of the support that surrounds me, near and far! As many of you totally get, the lead up to scans is … Continue reading PET/CT Results and the Pesky Met →

BCAM: October 7th

Those of us with Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) live our lives in three (3), six (6) or twelve (12) month increments. What does that mean? We receive a scan in one of those increments, which tells us how our cancer is behaving. Traditionally, the first pattern is every three months. Adiba has this to say … Continue reading BCAM: October 7th →

A Guest Post: Jealousy

I’ve rather jealously guarded my platform on this blog and have eschewed opportunities to share a guest post for a while. But when a dear friend and I were talking about jealousy the other day, I knew I had to make an adjustment. She just articulated the issue so very well and we had such … Continue reading A Guest Post: Jealousy →

Breast Cancer Facts, 10/18

I spent some time writing a full blog post on this issue, which you can read here. Scanxiety is a real thing and it arises when the worst thing that’s ever happened to you came about because of a scan and could happen again, after another scan. It’s about knowing what could happen and knowing … Continue reading Breast Cancer Facts, 10/18 →

Breast Cancer Facts, 10/17

I was pretty excited when I graduated to 6 month scans in early 2019 after a stable year of being on Ibrance. Excited because that meant I was doing well and didn’t have to deal with the scanxiety every 3 months. I learned to hold my breath and only plan for the time between scans. … Continue reading Breast Cancer Facts, 10/17 →

Yoga

When I was pregnant, I went to a few pre-natal yoga classes and despite the fact that I’ve never been all that flexible, I found that it helped. Once my first baby came and I had to figure out how to fit in work, breastfeeding, pumping, being a mom, etc., yoga fell by the wayside. … Continue reading Yoga →