From the top...

So I've decided to start a blog to keep you guys current with what's going on with me. Most of you probably don't know a lot of the specifics, so I'll just start from the beginning.

In April of 1998, I found a lump in my left breast. I went to my doctor but wasn't diagnosed with breast cancer until June 15. On June 25 I had a radical mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. I then began six months of chemotherapy that was followed by 28 rounds of radiation. When that was completed, I began taking a daily hormone pill and continued with that treatment for five years. For the next twelve years, I saw my oncologist at least yearly and received great check-ups. However, in June of 2010 that changed.

When I saw my oncologist in June of 2010, I had recently lost about 30 pounds without trying. This concerned her so she ordered some additional tests. One of them showed a spot on my sacrum, which is a bone just above the tailbone. Additional tests showed a spot on my lungs and possibly my liver. A doctor at UAB tried to biopsy my lung but was unable to without major surgery. I didn't want that so another doctor biopsied my sacrum. On August 11 I received the call that no one wants to receive. I soon began seeing a breast cancer specialist at the Kirklin Clinic at UAB. She told me that I had stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. Although the cancer is not in my breast, since my original cancer was breast cancer this cancer is considered to be breast cancer that has spread to other tissues, or metastatic breast cancer. It is in my bone, lung, and possibly liver. My prognosis was 10-15 years. But hey, God is good and new treatments are always on the horizon. Ten-15 years? They'll find a cure before then! I'll probably have grandchildren to play with and I don't need to go anywhere!

However, to continue after my slight digression, I began chemotherapy treatments on September 2. I was tolerating the treatments fairly well, but I was getting more and more tired. In March of 2011, my doctor decided to change my chemotherapy to a daily pill. At that point I began taking five chemo pills per day and receiving herceptin and zometa infusions every three weeks. I have continued on that regimen since that time. I take zometa because the cancer spread to the bone and zometa can help reduce and delay bone complications. The herceptin works with the chemotherapy to fight the cancer.

Because the cancer is stage 4, I will need to be on some type of treatment for the rest of my life. Yes, I'm tired—physically and emotionally. I'm not able to do many of the things that I used to do. Neal does the majority of the cooking in our house now, which is quite a challenge for him since he has to drive to Nashville (four hours round trip) at least three times a week. I try to do some housework, but I usually run out of energy before it gets done. But God has sustained me. He's not through with me yet!

“The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” ~ Zephaniah 3:17. The LORD our God takes great delight in us! He even rejoices over us with singing! Can you even begin to imagine that! I may have my problems, but my God is with me and rejoicing over me. Hallelujah!