Round Two: The "M" Word

Metastasis.

It started with a little bit of pain.  I thought it was a pulled gluteal muscle (that's fancy-talk for my rear end.)  Then I got a nasty cold that hung around for weeks and traveled to my chest.  Some heavy-duty antibiotics knocked that out, but the lower back/butt pain remained.  I lost my appetite.  I felt drained.  Headaches.  Pain in my right ribcage.  I felt like I was living on ibuprofen (and anyone who knows me, knows I don't like taking pills, so that bothered me a lot.)

Blood work.  X-rays.  Chiropractic visits.  CT scan.  MRI. 

Then we received a phone call from my family doctor (who has been with us every step of the way, and who squeezed me into his incredibly tight schedule several times during the last month.)  A phone call that nobody, especially someone who has previously been through a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, wants to hear. 

My bone marrow is "lighting up." 

As are a bunch of lymph nodes. 

And my thoracic spine. 

And my lumbar spine. 

And my pelvis.

 I light up like a Christmas tree.

Shit.  (Shhh....don't tell my kids I swore, or I'll owe them a dollar!)

The pain was getting a little worse every day, so my Oncologist came in on his day off and put us through the ringer.  Massive blood work, a PET scan, an appointment to go over the PET scan results, and a CT-guided bone marrow biopsy.

After a couple of days of waiting for results we found out Monday evening that my "lighting up" is metastasized breast cancer that has settled in my bones.

Now, the official word on metastasized breast cancer is that it has no cure...just prolonging.  But I want you to know that I plan on being difficult, and out-of-the-norm.  Miracles happen.  And through it all, we have absolute faith in God. 

What's Next?

We find out today or tomorrow what the make-up of the metastasized cancer is and what is responds to.  Once we have that information, Brad and I will meet with my Oncologist on Thursday to come up with a plan of action.

How We're Doing

It's starting to sink in more and more.  Brad is doing a great job of taking care of me (who, honestly, can't do much of anything until we get the pain under control a little more) and taking care of our family.  He told Brendan and Megan last night (who up to that point just knew that my back had been hurting me.)  They were pretty upset, but mostly they just needed reassurance that I'm here, and I'm strong, and I am going to fight every single day for them.

Love to all.

The Future Looks Beautiful