So I had my mid-treatment PET scan on Tuesday. This time I had a harder time sitting still. Didn't help that halfway through my hour of silence and no stimulus that they had me get up and move to a much smaller closet and much more uncomfortable chair. So I kept stretching and then immediately saying "shoot!". The scan doesn't bother me at all any more. So they took my pictures and sent me on my way.
Thursday I had chemo and an appointment with Dr. Hancock to go over my results and determine the rest of the treatment plan. So we get to the doctors office and they pulled us (myself, Brandon, my father, and my mother) back and took my weight, blood pressure, and oxygen levels (which they made me sit for a while because it wasn't high enough, so I had to breath for a while to get the levels up...) and then took us to the pediatrics infusion room to meet with Dr. Hancock. He comes in and sits down and goes into how I did with this last round of treatment and so on and so forth... Then he asks if we want to look at my scans. He pulled up the first pet scan and showed us all the active cancer cells that were taking up the radioactive isotopes making them black like the brain, heart, liver, bladder, and kidneys. He then pulled up the second PET scan and the difference between the two was staggering. The second PET scan showed that I have no active cancer cells! HOORAY!
We then talked about my treatment plan. Two more cycles of chemo (4 more times) and because I am stage 2B I may need to do Isolated Radiation Therapy. This kind of radiation has a very low chance of hitting Brest tissue which could cause breast cancer down the road. But that is a very small chance. The doctors just want this to go away and not come back, and the best treatment plan for stage 2B is chemo and then radiation.
After all was said and done I went and got my port accessed and had me some chemotherapy. Fun, fun times. So good news! NO ACTIVE CANCER CELLS!! & HALFWAY THROUGH TREATMENT!!!!
Until I know more!
Emily
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Half Way Point?
Thursday has come and gone and boy am I glad. I am not loving Thursdays anymore. Before this whole cancer fiasco Thursdays were one of my favorite days because I got to go and sing with a bunch of ladies I absolutely adore. Now Thursdays are "Chemo Days" as my mom likes to call them. Anyways, this last chemotherapy treatment was my fourth time going and the end of the second cycle. Hopefully that means I am half way done! HUZZAH!
My father and my sister Jaclyn accompanied me to my appointment. It is very nice to have supportive and loving family who are willing to sit with me during my treatments. I would be so bored without them. My sister in law watched Paisley and Jude along with her 3 wonderful wild ones. I am not sure how she has the energy to do that because it is like having a 5 year old and two sets of twins! All I know is that I love her and I can never repay all of her kindnesses to me.
This chemo treatment seems to me to be the roughest of them all so far. It seemed to take the most out of me. After treatment we picked up my little ones and headed home. Once home my Dad sat with my for a while and played with Paisley and little Jude dude. My dear sweet friend Mackenzie was in town so she stopped by to see me(Man, can I say how loved I feel? I get phone calls, visits, treats, letters and a whole lot more from friends and loved ones. I sure do feel loved). Paisley went home with Grandpa Jones and the next day we had a baptism for me sweet niece Kali June Bug. It was beautiful and Kali June was glowing with the spirit.
April 5th & 6th was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints semi-annual general conference. It is where we all gather and listen to our Prophet and other leaders of the church give us guidance and direct council from the Lord. It was so amazing, like it always is, and I took away quite a bit to implement in my life. One talk has been sticking out to me as I am going through chemotherapy and having a really hard time with nausea and energy. This talk is by President Deiter F. Uchtdorf called "Grateful In Any Circumstance". Here are two videos of it. The top one is a highlight of the talk that is about a minute long and the bottom one it the full 17 minute one. If you have 17 minutes I encourage you to give it a try.
That's all!
Emily!
My father and my sister Jaclyn accompanied me to my appointment. It is very nice to have supportive and loving family who are willing to sit with me during my treatments. I would be so bored without them. My sister in law watched Paisley and Jude along with her 3 wonderful wild ones. I am not sure how she has the energy to do that because it is like having a 5 year old and two sets of twins! All I know is that I love her and I can never repay all of her kindnesses to me.
This chemo treatment seems to me to be the roughest of them all so far. It seemed to take the most out of me. After treatment we picked up my little ones and headed home. Once home my Dad sat with my for a while and played with Paisley and little Jude dude. My dear sweet friend Mackenzie was in town so she stopped by to see me(Man, can I say how loved I feel? I get phone calls, visits, treats, letters and a whole lot more from friends and loved ones. I sure do feel loved). Paisley went home with Grandpa Jones and the next day we had a baptism for me sweet niece Kali June Bug. It was beautiful and Kali June was glowing with the spirit.
April 5th & 6th was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints semi-annual general conference. It is where we all gather and listen to our Prophet and other leaders of the church give us guidance and direct council from the Lord. It was so amazing, like it always is, and I took away quite a bit to implement in my life. One talk has been sticking out to me as I am going through chemotherapy and having a really hard time with nausea and energy. This talk is by President Deiter F. Uchtdorf called "Grateful In Any Circumstance". Here are two videos of it. The top one is a highlight of the talk that is about a minute long and the bottom one it the full 17 minute one. If you have 17 minutes I encourage you to give it a try.
That's all!
Emily!
Saturday, March 29, 2014
In 2008
In 2008 I was asked to participate in my home stakes Relief Society's tribute to Marjorie Hinckley called "Letters". Anyways I had the privilege to sing "He Hears Me" by Hillary Weeks. Its been playing in my mind constantly lately. I thought I would share! Its a great song! I hope you enjoy!
Emily
Emily
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Nose Job? Temple, Chemo 2.0 and good news!
Last Thursday I had an appointment with my ENT Dr. Hinckley. It was a follow up from the biopsy to make sure that I was healing correctly. While I was there he looked at my scar and said it looked wonderful! Then he looked at the dissolvable stitches from installing the port and was so mad! There were two stitches that the surrounding skin was irritated and red. So he grabbed some sterile instruments and pulled them out. He was grouchy that they left them in so long, with them being irritated, and that it will cause more scaring. He is such a sweet man!
He was finishing my exam when he looked up my nose. My nose apparently deviates to the right and that can cause major headaches and serious and constant sinus infections (welcome to my life). He suggested that after I beat cancer to have surgery to correct the deviation. He said "while I am in there we could do a nose job if you want" or something to that effect. I am not sure how I feel. I love my Jones nose. I may not have always and I may have just gotten over my large nose complex but I love it now. I have a obvious feature from my Grandpa and I am not sure if I want to part ways with it. But its a possibility? That's so weird. Haha
Yesterday I was feeling pretty great! My little sister texted me and asked if I wanted to go to the temple with her. I SO DID! I have been feeling like I needed to go and this was the perfect opportunity! My dear sweet sister in law and older brother watched Paisley and Jude so I could go. I love the Gospel. Its so wonderful to have the truth and the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation I have. I am so blessed to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You can find out more about LDS here: http://www.mormon.org/
Amy and Me at the TEMPLE! (she has the cutest baby bump of all time!!)
Today I had Chemotherapy round 2! I was scheduled to meet with my Dr. today, but because Dr. Dickson only comes down Mondays and Wednesdays I was scheduled to talk to Dr. Hancock. Which didn't happen either because they double booked him and I was the one who was bumped to the P.A. I Love the P.A. Jed, I was just expecting something different. He told us some good, NO, GREAT news today. I was under the impression that I would do 4 rounds of Chemo and then a PET scan to see if the cancer has gone away and if it has then we will do two more rounds just to make sure. Today Jed told us that we would have a PET scan after this round (#2) before the next (#3) and if it is gone we will only have to do 2 more (round #3 and #4)!!! That lessens my treatment by 2 entire months! Instead of being done in August we could be done in June if everything goes according to plan!!!! HOORAY! That would be wonderful! I would be such a happy camper! (k, I love camping, so I am always a happy camper unless I'm 9 months pregnant, like last summer..)
Chemo went fine today! It was not as busy as last time so I was out a lot quicker. There was this little old couple across from me and they looked just like a cartoon and I wanted to keep them. SO So cute!
That's All FOLKS!!!
Until I know more!
Emily!!!
He was finishing my exam when he looked up my nose. My nose apparently deviates to the right and that can cause major headaches and serious and constant sinus infections (welcome to my life). He suggested that after I beat cancer to have surgery to correct the deviation. He said "while I am in there we could do a nose job if you want" or something to that effect. I am not sure how I feel. I love my Jones nose. I may not have always and I may have just gotten over my large nose complex but I love it now. I have a obvious feature from my Grandpa and I am not sure if I want to part ways with it. But its a possibility? That's so weird. Haha
Yesterday I was feeling pretty great! My little sister texted me and asked if I wanted to go to the temple with her. I SO DID! I have been feeling like I needed to go and this was the perfect opportunity! My dear sweet sister in law and older brother watched Paisley and Jude so I could go. I love the Gospel. Its so wonderful to have the truth and the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation I have. I am so blessed to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You can find out more about LDS here: http://www.mormon.org/
Amy and Me at the TEMPLE! (she has the cutest baby bump of all time!!)
Today I had Chemotherapy round 2! I was scheduled to meet with my Dr. today, but because Dr. Dickson only comes down Mondays and Wednesdays I was scheduled to talk to Dr. Hancock. Which didn't happen either because they double booked him and I was the one who was bumped to the P.A. I Love the P.A. Jed, I was just expecting something different. He told us some good, NO, GREAT news today. I was under the impression that I would do 4 rounds of Chemo and then a PET scan to see if the cancer has gone away and if it has then we will do two more rounds just to make sure. Today Jed told us that we would have a PET scan after this round (#2) before the next (#3) and if it is gone we will only have to do 2 more (round #3 and #4)!!! That lessens my treatment by 2 entire months! Instead of being done in August we could be done in June if everything goes according to plan!!!! HOORAY! That would be wonderful! I would be such a happy camper! (k, I love camping, so I am always a happy camper unless I'm 9 months pregnant, like last summer..)
Chemo went fine today! It was not as busy as last time so I was out a lot quicker. There was this little old couple across from me and they looked just like a cartoon and I wanted to keep them. SO So cute!
That's All FOLKS!!!
Until I know more!
Emily!!!
Monday, March 17, 2014
Look Good Feel Better and Chemo 1.2
Last Tuesday I went to a class by the American Cancer Society called Look Good... Feel Better! It was way fun! The little lady who was teaching was so cute! She taught us all about how to put make up on without introducing germs and what not. There was just me and another little lady named Judy. Judy was so sweet and just had this glow about her. We received a bag of makeup (FANCY DANCEY MAKEUP) and got to play with it. We also learned how to use a t-shirt as a head covering. I have not lost my hair yet (knock on wood) so putting things on my head was super silly to me. We got to pick out a head covering ( I picked out a peachy turban) and a wig! So I picked out a wig. I knew it was the wig for me when my dear sweet mother (who came along) started to cry. I still feel silly wearing it but I also still have hair. Its a cute little bob and it is kind of a brownish blondish color. It was a fun class and if you ever find yourself in a cancerous position (I hope you don't) get signed up for that class! You can learn more about it at www.lookgoodfeelbetter.org
Here is just a peek of my fancy makeup! It is glorious.
That Thursday I had my second go at my first round of chemotherapy. There were a lot more people in the treatment room this time around. My mom went with me and when we got there they put us in the room to talk to Jed the P.A.. We did not need to talk to Jed but we waited in the room and after about a hour he came in and said "Why am I seeing you? I don't need to see you!" we agreed and then we got put in the treatment room and waited another hour or so to get started. There were so many cute little old ladies in there this time but there were two patients that just broke my heart. There was Lung Cancer Larry who doesn't believe in anything or have anybody except beer. And there was this little tiny girl walking around. She had to be like 4 or 5 years old. Oh, my heart was broken. Larry had his last chemo treatment today and last Radiation tomorrow so hopefully all is better with Larry. Larry was also hitting on my Mom. She is very beautiful so I don't blame him. I am just glad that Lung Cancer Larry didn't meet my Father Bart. That would have been Funny!
Here are some pictures of my crazy kids today just to brighten up this post a bit.
Paisley with her Band-aid nose.
Jude cuddling during his nap.
Well that's about as much as a post as I have in me. Since my chemo on Thursday I have basically only been sleeping. Fun Fun stuff!
Until I know more!
Emily!
That Thursday I had my second go at my first round of chemotherapy. There were a lot more people in the treatment room this time around. My mom went with me and when we got there they put us in the room to talk to Jed the P.A.. We did not need to talk to Jed but we waited in the room and after about a hour he came in and said "Why am I seeing you? I don't need to see you!" we agreed and then we got put in the treatment room and waited another hour or so to get started. There were so many cute little old ladies in there this time but there were two patients that just broke my heart. There was Lung Cancer Larry who doesn't believe in anything or have anybody except beer. And there was this little tiny girl walking around. She had to be like 4 or 5 years old. Oh, my heart was broken. Larry had his last chemo treatment today and last Radiation tomorrow so hopefully all is better with Larry. Larry was also hitting on my Mom. She is very beautiful so I don't blame him. I am just glad that Lung Cancer Larry didn't meet my Father Bart. That would have been Funny!
Here are some pictures of my crazy kids today just to brighten up this post a bit.
Paisley with her Band-aid nose.
Jude cuddling during his nap.
Well that's about as much as a post as I have in me. Since my chemo on Thursday I have basically only been sleeping. Fun Fun stuff!
Until I know more!
Emily!
Friday, March 7, 2014
Never Alone
Ever since I was diagnosed with cancer everyone has been worried about me. Worried about my health, my sanity, and my physical abilities. When I say everybody I include myself. There has rarely been a day when I have not had help for about 3 weeks. All the surgeries and the chemotherapy have left me feeling exhausted and achy. EVERY DAY I have to fight the urge to crawl in bed and stay there. But I have little ones who need me and I sure am thankful that they do.
Today has been a normal day. Normal is a relative term. Today I was Mom. I was not "Mom who is taking a nap" or "Mom who is too sick to hold you" or "Mom who can't raise her arms to get you a drink of milk". Today I was Mom. It was like every other day prior to my diagnosis. I braided Paisleys hair like Anna from Frozen. We built a "tower" out of blankets. I even vacuumed the floor and tidied up the house. We had a normal day. It was fantastic and quite an accomplishment.
But I did not do it alone or without help. Because if I do not have another adult helping me out I am not alone. I have help. I AM NEVER ALONE. My Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ never fail to give me a lending hand. I know that I achieved a normal day because I was blessed with a perfectly wonderful normal day with my children. I cannot and will not take that for granted. I have to give credit where credit is due. I am in awe at the presence of my Savior that I feel in my daily life. Maybe this is a blessing from the cancer. That I am seeing His hand in everything. That I am growing closer and becoming a better person because of the trials placed before me.
Until I know more!
Emily!
Today has been a normal day. Normal is a relative term. Today I was Mom. I was not "Mom who is taking a nap" or "Mom who is too sick to hold you" or "Mom who can't raise her arms to get you a drink of milk". Today I was Mom. It was like every other day prior to my diagnosis. I braided Paisleys hair like Anna from Frozen. We built a "tower" out of blankets. I even vacuumed the floor and tidied up the house. We had a normal day. It was fantastic and quite an accomplishment.
But I did not do it alone or without help. Because if I do not have another adult helping me out I am not alone. I have help. I AM NEVER ALONE. My Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ never fail to give me a lending hand. I know that I achieved a normal day because I was blessed with a perfectly wonderful normal day with my children. I cannot and will not take that for granted. I have to give credit where credit is due. I am in awe at the presence of my Savior that I feel in my daily life. Maybe this is a blessing from the cancer. That I am seeing His hand in everything. That I am growing closer and becoming a better person because of the trials placed before me.
Until I know more!
Emily!
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
And then there was a Pulmonary test...
Today I had a complete pulmonary function test. It was scheduled for 8 am and I could not sleep the night before. I don't know what is with me but when I know I have a test or something along those lines I just don't sleep. I was not nervous because I knew it was easy peasy lemon squeezy so seriously what is the deal, Emily?
Anyway, I should have known that my tester was a jokester from the call I received yesterday to confirm the appointment. Here is the conversation:
Emily: Hello?
Bob: Hi, this is Bob from Mountain View and I was just calling to confirm your pulmonary function test for tomorrow at 8am.
E: Perfect! Thanks!
B: Okay, see you then!
E: Okay, see you tomorrow! Bye!
B: Bye! .............. Wait! I should tell you that this will not hurt a bit!
E: Haha thanks, Bob! See you tomorrow!
B: Bye.
So he is a jokester. Today during the test he was cracking jokes like it was his job. I wish I could remember all of the jokes he said but I can't. You can blame that on my chemo brain. Which is a real thing! They told me! Kind of like pregnancy brain. Here is one of the jokes he said: "What does a cigarette and a gerbil have in common?" *crickets** crickets*(that's the sound of crickets P.s.)" They are both harmless until you stick them in your mouth and light them on fire!".. Oh Bob, you are so funny! You are killing me over here doing a breathing treatment with this fancy nebulizer.
So if you have never had a pulmonary function test, never fear! That is one of the easiest tests I have ever passed! And that's saying something because I have terrible test anxiety! Basically I sat in this box made out of plastic that looks like glass and do silly breathing techniques on this tube with nose plugs on. He was so impressed with my pants (like a dog panting not like my jeans.. although I forgot to ask if he was impressed with my blue jeans. That would have been a silly conversation) and told me that I should teach a panting class. So if anyone is interested leave me a comment and I will see what I can do.
That's all folks!
Until I know more!
Emily!
Anyway, I should have known that my tester was a jokester from the call I received yesterday to confirm the appointment. Here is the conversation:
Emily: Hello?
Bob: Hi, this is Bob from Mountain View and I was just calling to confirm your pulmonary function test for tomorrow at 8am.
E: Perfect! Thanks!
B: Okay, see you then!
E: Okay, see you tomorrow! Bye!
B: Bye! .............. Wait! I should tell you that this will not hurt a bit!
E: Haha thanks, Bob! See you tomorrow!
B: Bye.
So he is a jokester. Today during the test he was cracking jokes like it was his job. I wish I could remember all of the jokes he said but I can't. You can blame that on my chemo brain. Which is a real thing! They told me! Kind of like pregnancy brain. Here is one of the jokes he said: "What does a cigarette and a gerbil have in common?" *crickets** crickets*(that's the sound of crickets P.s.)" They are both harmless until you stick them in your mouth and light them on fire!".. Oh Bob, you are so funny! You are killing me over here doing a breathing treatment with this fancy nebulizer.
So if you have never had a pulmonary function test, never fear! That is one of the easiest tests I have ever passed! And that's saying something because I have terrible test anxiety! Basically I sat in this box made out of plastic that looks like glass and do silly breathing techniques on this tube with nose plugs on. He was so impressed with my pants (like a dog panting not like my jeans.. although I forgot to ask if he was impressed with my blue jeans. That would have been a silly conversation) and told me that I should teach a panting class. So if anyone is interested leave me a comment and I will see what I can do.
That's all folks!
Until I know more!
Emily!
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Chemo- and all is well!
Today was another BIG day. Not just big but HUGE!!!!!!
We showed up to the center at 8:00 for my appointment. I was completely ready for my long day. I knew what basically was in store for the day. And I felt as ready as I could possibly be (which, lets be honest, was not super ready! Haha). So the nurse pulled me back and gets my vitals and tells me oh P.s. we are not doing chemo today. BAH!!!!!!! I got so so So grouchy, and then the nurse tried to talk to me for like 10 minutes later. I was a little bit of a jerk. I would not look at her and I just wanted her to leave. Don't worry, I saw the errors in my ways and apologized later in the day.
The PA comes in next to talk about what is going to happen in my Bone Marrow Biopsy. He started talking and went right into the risks of chemotherapy like we were going to do it today. So we asked and he said "to my knowledge that is what we are doing but let me go check with Dr. Dickson.". He comes back and tells me that we are doing it ALL IN ONE DAY! just as I thought, and just as planned. HOORAY! He told me there was never a patient to be excited to do chemo before. Haha. I was just prepared, my parents were going to be with me, and if they would have put it off for a week then my parental units would be in California at the happiest place in the world.
My mom came back with me to do the Bone Marrow Biopsy. They accessed my newly inserted port, drugged me up, and laid me down on the table. I have read blogs where when they inserted the port and did the biopsy of the bone marrow that the patient/blogger cannot remember a thing about the procedure. I was not that lucky. I can remember every sound and every silly thought that came into my head. But I was not in pain (I love modern medicine).
After that was finished we all headed back to the chemo room. I sat down and got comfy in my little cubicle. I got to cuddle in a breast cancer awareness blanket, so that was fun. I ate some pretzels and sun chips. Drank a coke. Ate some butterscotch candies as the chemo drugs where being pushed. It really was a good day. I have handled it like a champ.. like a sometimes crying champ.
When we got home my phone was blowing up with love (have I mentioned how incredibly blessed I am?) and my aunt made a surprise visit bearing gifts! She brought some paper plates and plastic utensils so we don't have to do dishes, some blue Gatorade (H2O) Gatorade, a Disney music player for my little princess, and some superman pjs. It had a sweet card and was signed by all of my dads sweet sisters (who I love dearly!).
I also received a package from my big sister from far away land of sparks. It was so sweet. In it was a water bottle that has a wide mouth that fits ice cubes and ice chips! It came really handy when chemo started. I love it. It also had the cutest cards I have ever seen AND gel pens. I freaking love GEL PENS! I think it may be something with my generation, something that I Don't quite understand but I still love love LOVE THEM!
Today was a good day. I am slightly nauseous and a little sleepy but I have drugs for that.
Heavenly Father has blessed me tremendously. I keep learning of new things that have been blessings. For example both my ENT and Oncologist have a forever waiting list and I just jumped right in. Jude has been a champ at taking a bottle! Those are some ways that I have been blessed. I know that if I keep my faith in Him and in my Savior I will be alright. I will be blessed immensely. The Gospel is great. I am so thankful for the knowledge I have. I love my Savior and my Heavenly Father.
P.s. my parents are fantastic. If you don't know them you are sorely missing out!
Until I know more!
Emily!
We showed up to the center at 8:00 for my appointment. I was completely ready for my long day. I knew what basically was in store for the day. And I felt as ready as I could possibly be (which, lets be honest, was not super ready! Haha). So the nurse pulled me back and gets my vitals and tells me oh P.s. we are not doing chemo today. BAH!!!!!!! I got so so So grouchy, and then the nurse tried to talk to me for like 10 minutes later. I was a little bit of a jerk. I would not look at her and I just wanted her to leave. Don't worry, I saw the errors in my ways and apologized later in the day.
The PA comes in next to talk about what is going to happen in my Bone Marrow Biopsy. He started talking and went right into the risks of chemotherapy like we were going to do it today. So we asked and he said "to my knowledge that is what we are doing but let me go check with Dr. Dickson.". He comes back and tells me that we are doing it ALL IN ONE DAY! just as I thought, and just as planned. HOORAY! He told me there was never a patient to be excited to do chemo before. Haha. I was just prepared, my parents were going to be with me, and if they would have put it off for a week then my parental units would be in California at the happiest place in the world.
My mom came back with me to do the Bone Marrow Biopsy. They accessed my newly inserted port, drugged me up, and laid me down on the table. I have read blogs where when they inserted the port and did the biopsy of the bone marrow that the patient/blogger cannot remember a thing about the procedure. I was not that lucky. I can remember every sound and every silly thought that came into my head. But I was not in pain (I love modern medicine).
After that was finished we all headed back to the chemo room. I sat down and got comfy in my little cubicle. I got to cuddle in a breast cancer awareness blanket, so that was fun. I ate some pretzels and sun chips. Drank a coke. Ate some butterscotch candies as the chemo drugs where being pushed. It really was a good day. I have handled it like a champ.. like a sometimes crying champ.
When we got home my phone was blowing up with love (have I mentioned how incredibly blessed I am?) and my aunt made a surprise visit bearing gifts! She brought some paper plates and plastic utensils so we don't have to do dishes, some blue Gatorade (H2O) Gatorade, a Disney music player for my little princess, and some superman pjs. It had a sweet card and was signed by all of my dads sweet sisters (who I love dearly!).
I also received a package from my big sister from far away land of sparks. It was so sweet. In it was a water bottle that has a wide mouth that fits ice cubes and ice chips! It came really handy when chemo started. I love it. It also had the cutest cards I have ever seen AND gel pens. I freaking love GEL PENS! I think it may be something with my generation, something that I Don't quite understand but I still love love LOVE THEM!
Today was a good day. I am slightly nauseous and a little sleepy but I have drugs for that.
Heavenly Father has blessed me tremendously. I keep learning of new things that have been blessings. For example both my ENT and Oncologist have a forever waiting list and I just jumped right in. Jude has been a champ at taking a bottle! Those are some ways that I have been blessed. I know that if I keep my faith in Him and in my Savior I will be alright. I will be blessed immensely. The Gospel is great. I am so thankful for the knowledge I have. I love my Savior and my Heavenly Father.
P.s. my parents are fantastic. If you don't know them you are sorely missing out!
Until I know more!
Emily!
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
And So There Was A Port.
Today I went and got my port "installed". So now I am officially a CYBORG.
I woke up at 8:00am and got my house cleaned. I could not eat so I was doing about anything I could do to take my mind off the port. Because frankly I was a little scarred about the procedure. My parents arrived at 11:00am. They brought me some frozen easy meals that won't take but a minute to heat up and eat. At 11:30 Brandon came home and soon after my mother in law came to babysit my tiny children.
We arrive at the hospital and check in. Waited about for 5 minutes in the waiting room when my nurse Kristine comes out to get me. Brandon and I follow her back to the pre op/post op room. She hooks me up to an IV (the most hurty IV I have EVER had in all of my 25 years!) and goes over the procedure once more with me. After she was done we waited around for the Dr. who is doing the surgery. Took about an hour. My mom and Brandon switched places and after my mom arrived the Dr. arrived. He had me sign some consent forms and then they wheeled me into the procedure room..
Things went well. The medicine did its job. And now I have a port. And it is not comfy. I am in a little bit of pain. But all is great! I know that this is the best option to administer the chemo tomorrow and throughout my treatments.
Now TOMORROW CHEMOTHERAPY
Until I know more!
Emily!!
I woke up at 8:00am and got my house cleaned. I could not eat so I was doing about anything I could do to take my mind off the port. Because frankly I was a little scarred about the procedure. My parents arrived at 11:00am. They brought me some frozen easy meals that won't take but a minute to heat up and eat. At 11:30 Brandon came home and soon after my mother in law came to babysit my tiny children.
We arrive at the hospital and check in. Waited about for 5 minutes in the waiting room when my nurse Kristine comes out to get me. Brandon and I follow her back to the pre op/post op room. She hooks me up to an IV (the most hurty IV I have EVER had in all of my 25 years!) and goes over the procedure once more with me. After she was done we waited around for the Dr. who is doing the surgery. Took about an hour. My mom and Brandon switched places and after my mom arrived the Dr. arrived. He had me sign some consent forms and then they wheeled me into the procedure room..
Things went well. The medicine did its job. And now I have a port. And it is not comfy. I am in a little bit of pain. But all is great! I know that this is the best option to administer the chemo tomorrow and throughout my treatments.
Now TOMORROW CHEMOTHERAPY
Until I know more!
Emily!!
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Tomorrow a Port.
Today is essentially the last day of normalcy before my life flips upside down. I have had many phone calls today from the cancer institution telling me a whole lot of stuff. So my FIRST call from them was say that my insurance came through and I can start chemotherapy on Thursday.
The SECOND call I had today was to tell me what stage I am in. Dr. Dickson said "I have just been giddy since I saw the PET scan results! Its 2b!". HOORAY! This is great news. But now we also have to do a BONE MARROW NEEDLE DRAW to see if the cancer is in the bone marrow. If it is not then we will move on like planned. If it is we will have to change my course of treatment plan.
The THIRD phone call I received was asking me if I have yet had a port put in or a picc line placed. Which I have not. I have been WAITING to find out what to do.. Then she said she would work on getting me in to get a port placed and she would call me back.
Number FOUR phone call came in and she told me that she set me up at noon tomorrow to get my port placed. BAH! I am so nervous. But it will be pretty cool to be a little bit like a CYBORG!!
The FIFTH call came from a man who worked at the hospital and explained the whole procedure to me and told me that I could not eat anything solid after 6 am and no drinks after 11 am. That's going to be rough because I LOVE to eat. Its one of my most favorite pastimes.
Anyways. I feel as if I have been hit by a BUS of EMOTION and CANCER is the DRIVER.
The good thing about this all is that I am finally on the road to getting better. We will start with the port tomorrow and the chemo Thursday. The ball will be rolling. This girl will get better.
I have the most support that anyone could ever ask/hope for! I am one lucky girl!
Until I know more!
Emily!
The SECOND call I had today was to tell me what stage I am in. Dr. Dickson said "I have just been giddy since I saw the PET scan results! Its 2b!". HOORAY! This is great news. But now we also have to do a BONE MARROW NEEDLE DRAW to see if the cancer is in the bone marrow. If it is not then we will move on like planned. If it is we will have to change my course of treatment plan.
The THIRD phone call I received was asking me if I have yet had a port put in or a picc line placed. Which I have not. I have been WAITING to find out what to do.. Then she said she would work on getting me in to get a port placed and she would call me back.
Number FOUR phone call came in and she told me that she set me up at noon tomorrow to get my port placed. BAH! I am so nervous. But it will be pretty cool to be a little bit like a CYBORG!!
The FIFTH call came from a man who worked at the hospital and explained the whole procedure to me and told me that I could not eat anything solid after 6 am and no drinks after 11 am. That's going to be rough because I LOVE to eat. Its one of my most favorite pastimes.
Anyways. I feel as if I have been hit by a BUS of EMOTION and CANCER is the DRIVER.
The good thing about this all is that I am finally on the road to getting better. We will start with the port tomorrow and the chemo Thursday. The ball will be rolling. This girl will get better.
I have the most support that anyone could ever ask/hope for! I am one lucky girl!
Until I know more!
Emily!
Dun, Dun, Dun...
So I got the call. My insurance came through. I have to be at the cancer institute at 8:45 am on Thursday the 27th for the "Chemo teach". That will last about an hour. Then I will spend "all day" there at the institute for the actual treatment. Hopefully they give me more answers about the stage then as well. They had to push it back because it took so long for it to be approved that Wednesday became booked full. So Thursday it is. And Thursday it will be!
That's all for now, folks!
Until I know more,
Emily!
That's all for now, folks!
Until I know more,
Emily!
Monday, February 24, 2014
Stages and Symptoms.
STAGES
There are in a sense 8 stages. There are stages One through Four. And in those four stages each has an A or a B along with it. A means with out symptoms. B means with symptoms. So for example stage 1A means the lymphoma is only in one concentrated area and there are no outwardly apparent symptoms. Stage 1B means the lymphoma is only in one concentrated area and there are outwardly apparent symptoms.
So Dr. Dickson believes I am either in Stage 2B (because I have them in my neck and chest) or 3B (that's why we did the PET scan to determine if I have any under my diaphragm) because I have been having very strong symptoms.
SO LETS TALK SYMPTOMS
First let me tell you about night sweats (or in my case I get them in the day as well). Most nights, multiple times a night, I wake up in a sweat. I am not talking about a light glisten as I like to call it. I'm talking full blown, look like I just hopped out of a swimming pool fully clothed kind of sweat.
Another one is Itching. Constant Itching. Want to rip my skin off because it itches so bad. Scratching so much I accidentally make myself bleed. Itching. YUCK. It stinks. I also get random rashes in random places that last 5-7 days and then disappear.
The next ones are Fatigue and Weakness. For heaven sake. Why would I realize that I was super tired and it wasn't normal? Oh yeah, I WOULDN'T. Give me a break, I have an almost 7 month old and an almost 3 year old. Of course I am tired. Fatigued is one that I noticed but though nothing of. By about 3 in the afternoon my body tells me it is done. It tells me this by body aches, can't lift things, feel like I might die if I don't self medicate soon (ibuprofen or Tylenol). Great right?
So I am definitely in Group B. Still waiting for the answer to see what stage I am in. 2 or 3. Hopefully find out more soon.
P.S. my insurance has not approved Chemo yet so I don't know for sure when or where that will happen. But you know, its just cancer, no big deal.
Until I know more!
Emily!
Sunday, February 23, 2014
So I have Hodgkin's Lymphoma... Warning way long.
After the holiday season wound to an end and all of our family members returned safely to their homes, I noticed two pea sized nodules at the base of my neck, on the right side, directly above my collar bone. I thought nothing of it and if I did it was something like I probably have a sinus infection. Well a few weeks went by and I found a third one on the left side that was about the size of a nickel. I didn't think this was normal so I asked my dear sweet MOTHER what she thought of them. She told me to immediately go to the doctor. I ended up going to women's clinic because I have never been to a regular doctor. They put me on antibiotics for ten days and then if they went away great if not call and make an appointment. Well the didn't go away. They didn't even shrink. So I went back in on Friday January 31 and they ran a blood test to check my thyroid, and sent me that day to get an ultra sound on my neck.
30 minutes of goobing up my neck and ultra-sounding it to the max. The women's clinic I went to set me up an appointment with a ENT (ears, nose, throat Dr.) for the next Wednesday the 5th. Dr. Hinckley is amazing. He said there was 7ish enlarged lymph nodes in my neck and ordered me a CT scan for Friday the 7th and surgery for the 14th for a biopsy. So I went to my CT scan and they made sure that I was not pregnant and just did a neck and soft tissue of my chest scan with contrast. Dr. Hinckley promised me that when he found out what was going on he would let me know. He also stated that he was an eternal optimist and would not believe it was cancer until they hit him on the head and say "ITS CANCER!".
He did not break his promise. Fast forward to February 9, 2014. After a lovely evening spent at my big brothers house sharing a fantastic diner made by his sweet wife and enjoying a fantastic conversation, we packed up the kids and hopped into the car. I checked my phone and noticed I had a missed call from a phone number that was not saved in my phone. I call my voice mail and get the number and the facts to call back. Dr. Hinckley answers in a heart-beat. He said "I just looked over the ct-scan and it is Lymphoma." My heart dropped. He was true to his word. He said that we would talk more about it on the 12th for the ct follow up appointment. That night was a lot of SADNESS and LOVE shared. I called my mom as Brandon called his. After that my siblings were sharing their CONCERNS and LOVE for me. My big brother Jacob came to my house and helped my dear sweet husband to give me a blessing. Can I just say how wonderful the gospel is? How amazing the priesthood is? How great it is to have a worthy priesthood holder in my home? Its FANTASTIC! THE LORD IS GREAT. After my blessing a calm fell over me. I knew the comforter was there. I know what he has gone through for me. He knows my pain, fears, and concerns. He knows how my body feels and the how it is going to feel during my treatments. I knew, in that moment, that I was aware that this was going to happen to me in my life time in the preexistence. That makes me so much stronger to know that I KNEW what I was getting myself into. Oh, how I LOVE my SAVIOR. And the PLAN OF SALVATION.
The day before I chopped all my hair off. Mackenzie and Me!
I chopped it all off after I found out it WAS cancer. I wanted to make the decision to loose my hair. I don't want cancer to take anything away from who I am. So I gave it up willingly. Jude and Mama!
So then at the appointment on the 12th he said that there were 30ish lymph nodes in my neck and chest. One is the size of a soft ball compressing my left lung. He went over what they would do in surgery and how long it would take to heal up. He also set us up with my oncologist (also kinda so funny that I have an oncologist!). My surgery date approached. Which was Valentines day. My mother and my husband came with me while my dear sweet mother-in-law watched my silly little ones. They pulled me back to pre-op very fast and had me put on this paper gown that blew hot air in it so I stayed warm. As the time for my surgery slowly but surely came up on us I started to get nervous. It was my very first surgery after all. Then they gave me drugs and then I felt happy. My mom kissed my cheek and told me everything will be fine. My husband kissed me and then.....
I wake up. And I am GROUCHY. And I WANT A COKE. Mike, my nurse, kinda ignored that I was grouchy. He said that I was just tired. But I know that I was grouchy and mean. Ha ha ha. The rest was kind of a blur. I know they gave me a coke, and made me eat some apple sauce so I could take a pain pill. Then it was really blurry until I got home. Anyways they took out 3 lymph nodes to biopsy. I was told that I would hear what kind of lymphoma I had Tuesday or Wednesday. Tuesday came and went and no news. I did not sleep that night. The morning of the 19th, at 9:00 in the morning I receive a call. Dr. Hinckley was happy. He said "Emily, it is what we have been hoping for!" I said "HODGKIN'S?" he said yes and we had a mini happy party over the phone.
I had a dentist appointment that morning because apparently chemo and radiation can mess up your tissue in your mouth hard core. So I got prescribed a certain kind of mouth wash and toothpaste that will help to prevent/treat that. That after noon I had my oncology appointment to meet with my oncologist and converse about my options. My oncologists name is DR. Dickson. He is wonderful. I already love him. He answered all my questions and all of my parents questions (they both came with me) and my husbands questions. He asked me if I was having symptoms for long. Well I am always tired but have an almost 3 year old and a 7 month old baby. I am dry and itchy but it is winter. I have night sweats but I didn't think anything of them. He told me that I get such bad night sweats because of that softball sized lymph node that is pressing down on my lung. It was pretty neat. Not The Lung thing, but the whole appointment. He scheduled me a PET scan for the next day and an echo on Friday the 21st, and hopefully start chemo on the 26th.
I had a follow up appointment with my ENT on the 20th right before my PET scan just to remove the stitches out of my neck. Then I ran to my PET SCAN. They pulled me back almost right after I signed in. Brandon was with me and came back to the closet size room that they set me up in. When they started to put in the IV he decided it was time to leave and went back to work because he could not be with my while I did this test that took 1 1/2 hours! So he leaves. A few minutes later a girl comes hauling in a large IRON lunch box type deal. It is locked, so she pulls out a key and unlocks it (RIGHT NOW I AM NOT FEELING THE SAFEST). Inside the IRON lunch box was an IRON cylinder that kind of looks like a Campbell's soup can. They hook it up to my IV and push all the RADIOACTIVE isotopes inside my body. OH, and then they tell me that I cannot be next to children or babies for 10 hours because I could stunt their growth with all my radioactivity that is going on inside me (I wasn't feeling safe before, now I feel as if I might die.) The sit me in an easy chair a pull it up to a reclining position and tell me not to move for 1 whole hour. Nothing repetitive. Try to hold as still as possible. If you move the isotopes (which are sugars) will all move to that area and make it glow on the scan. The whole point of the scan is to see what stage I am in. Dr. Dickson says he thinks I am either in stage 2b or 3b but we had to do this scan to find out, to be ABSOLUTELY sure.
An hour or so later they made me pee and then put me into an MR-I machine. I don't know if you have ever been in one, but they are not for those who do not like tight and confined places. Oh, did I mention that I am very much claustrophobic? Oh yeah. I am . BUT I did not have a problem with the machine at ALL. There was a breeze on my face so I just shut my eyes and thought about anything and everything that would keep my mind off of small dark places. But then I had to spend the whole rest of the day by myself, until 11:00 at night that is. Because I was radioactive. What's the point of being radioactive if you don't even get powers like spider man? HONESTLY!
Yesterday I had an Echo. Basically just an ultra sound of my heart. I don't think I told you that up until the 14th I was breastfeeding Jude. So everywhere I went and almost every test I did I lactated EVERYWHERE? I did this here as well. Haha. Kinda embarrassing but also so funny.
So Dr. Dickson should have all these tests results tomorrow and hopefully I will hear back as to what stage I am, because that will determine what treatments to do.
Until I know more!
Emily!
30 minutes of goobing up my neck and ultra-sounding it to the max. The women's clinic I went to set me up an appointment with a ENT (ears, nose, throat Dr.) for the next Wednesday the 5th. Dr. Hinckley is amazing. He said there was 7ish enlarged lymph nodes in my neck and ordered me a CT scan for Friday the 7th and surgery for the 14th for a biopsy. So I went to my CT scan and they made sure that I was not pregnant and just did a neck and soft tissue of my chest scan with contrast. Dr. Hinckley promised me that when he found out what was going on he would let me know. He also stated that he was an eternal optimist and would not believe it was cancer until they hit him on the head and say "ITS CANCER!".
He did not break his promise. Fast forward to February 9, 2014. After a lovely evening spent at my big brothers house sharing a fantastic diner made by his sweet wife and enjoying a fantastic conversation, we packed up the kids and hopped into the car. I checked my phone and noticed I had a missed call from a phone number that was not saved in my phone. I call my voice mail and get the number and the facts to call back. Dr. Hinckley answers in a heart-beat. He said "I just looked over the ct-scan and it is Lymphoma." My heart dropped. He was true to his word. He said that we would talk more about it on the 12th for the ct follow up appointment. That night was a lot of SADNESS and LOVE shared. I called my mom as Brandon called his. After that my siblings were sharing their CONCERNS and LOVE for me. My big brother Jacob came to my house and helped my dear sweet husband to give me a blessing. Can I just say how wonderful the gospel is? How amazing the priesthood is? How great it is to have a worthy priesthood holder in my home? Its FANTASTIC! THE LORD IS GREAT. After my blessing a calm fell over me. I knew the comforter was there. I know what he has gone through for me. He knows my pain, fears, and concerns. He knows how my body feels and the how it is going to feel during my treatments. I knew, in that moment, that I was aware that this was going to happen to me in my life time in the preexistence. That makes me so much stronger to know that I KNEW what I was getting myself into. Oh, how I LOVE my SAVIOR. And the PLAN OF SALVATION.
So then at the appointment on the 12th he said that there were 30ish lymph nodes in my neck and chest. One is the size of a soft ball compressing my left lung. He went over what they would do in surgery and how long it would take to heal up. He also set us up with my oncologist (also kinda so funny that I have an oncologist!). My surgery date approached. Which was Valentines day. My mother and my husband came with me while my dear sweet mother-in-law watched my silly little ones. They pulled me back to pre-op very fast and had me put on this paper gown that blew hot air in it so I stayed warm. As the time for my surgery slowly but surely came up on us I started to get nervous. It was my very first surgery after all. Then they gave me drugs and then I felt happy. My mom kissed my cheek and told me everything will be fine. My husband kissed me and then.....
I wake up. And I am GROUCHY. And I WANT A COKE. Mike, my nurse, kinda ignored that I was grouchy. He said that I was just tired. But I know that I was grouchy and mean. Ha ha ha. The rest was kind of a blur. I know they gave me a coke, and made me eat some apple sauce so I could take a pain pill. Then it was really blurry until I got home. Anyways they took out 3 lymph nodes to biopsy. I was told that I would hear what kind of lymphoma I had Tuesday or Wednesday. Tuesday came and went and no news. I did not sleep that night. The morning of the 19th, at 9:00 in the morning I receive a call. Dr. Hinckley was happy. He said "Emily, it is what we have been hoping for!" I said "HODGKIN'S?" he said yes and we had a mini happy party over the phone.
I had a dentist appointment that morning because apparently chemo and radiation can mess up your tissue in your mouth hard core. So I got prescribed a certain kind of mouth wash and toothpaste that will help to prevent/treat that. That after noon I had my oncology appointment to meet with my oncologist and converse about my options. My oncologists name is DR. Dickson. He is wonderful. I already love him. He answered all my questions and all of my parents questions (they both came with me) and my husbands questions. He asked me if I was having symptoms for long. Well I am always tired but have an almost 3 year old and a 7 month old baby. I am dry and itchy but it is winter. I have night sweats but I didn't think anything of them. He told me that I get such bad night sweats because of that softball sized lymph node that is pressing down on my lung. It was pretty neat. Not The Lung thing, but the whole appointment. He scheduled me a PET scan for the next day and an echo on Friday the 21st, and hopefully start chemo on the 26th.
I had a follow up appointment with my ENT on the 20th right before my PET scan just to remove the stitches out of my neck. Then I ran to my PET SCAN. They pulled me back almost right after I signed in. Brandon was with me and came back to the closet size room that they set me up in. When they started to put in the IV he decided it was time to leave and went back to work because he could not be with my while I did this test that took 1 1/2 hours! So he leaves. A few minutes later a girl comes hauling in a large IRON lunch box type deal. It is locked, so she pulls out a key and unlocks it (RIGHT NOW I AM NOT FEELING THE SAFEST). Inside the IRON lunch box was an IRON cylinder that kind of looks like a Campbell's soup can. They hook it up to my IV and push all the RADIOACTIVE isotopes inside my body. OH, and then they tell me that I cannot be next to children or babies for 10 hours because I could stunt their growth with all my radioactivity that is going on inside me (I wasn't feeling safe before, now I feel as if I might die.) The sit me in an easy chair a pull it up to a reclining position and tell me not to move for 1 whole hour. Nothing repetitive. Try to hold as still as possible. If you move the isotopes (which are sugars) will all move to that area and make it glow on the scan. The whole point of the scan is to see what stage I am in. Dr. Dickson says he thinks I am either in stage 2b or 3b but we had to do this scan to find out, to be ABSOLUTELY sure.
An hour or so later they made me pee and then put me into an MR-I machine. I don't know if you have ever been in one, but they are not for those who do not like tight and confined places. Oh, did I mention that I am very much claustrophobic? Oh yeah. I am . BUT I did not have a problem with the machine at ALL. There was a breeze on my face so I just shut my eyes and thought about anything and everything that would keep my mind off of small dark places. But then I had to spend the whole rest of the day by myself, until 11:00 at night that is. Because I was radioactive. What's the point of being radioactive if you don't even get powers like spider man? HONESTLY!
Yesterday I had an Echo. Basically just an ultra sound of my heart. I don't think I told you that up until the 14th I was breastfeeding Jude. So everywhere I went and almost every test I did I lactated EVERYWHERE? I did this here as well. Haha. Kinda embarrassing but also so funny.
So Dr. Dickson should have all these tests results tomorrow and hopefully I will hear back as to what stage I am, because that will determine what treatments to do.
Until I know more!
Emily!
Introduction of sorts..
I guess I should start with an introduction of sorts. My name is Emily Hansen and I am 25 years old. I am 5'7 and in my BMI for weight. I have always considered myself a healthy person. In high school I participated in cross country and track and I have always been very active. I love to sing and for the last 2 1/2 years have been a member in the local women's choir in our town. I am a wife to an amazing husband who is hilarious and always keeps me on my toes. We have been married for 4 1/2 years. 
Isn't he so handsome? I think so! I am a mother of two incredible children. I became a Mom on April 10, 2011 to our beautiful baby girl Paisley Dawn Hansen.
She is my Princess. And possibly the most beautiful, smart, and silly girl ever to exist. Jude Brandon Hansen was born July 26, 2013. He has brought nothing but joy, happiness, screams and poop into our lives.
Jude is a mamas boy and is always putting a smile on my face with his bright blue eyes and silly kisses.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)