May 18, 2024

Well Well Well, HAPPY Saturday!! It’s been a week around here but let me tell you we are thriving now. (matter of fact we all stayed up outside by the pool until NINE PM last night Usually we’re sleeping by 8 lol.) And I say “we” because when one man’s down it’s A LOT of extra work for everyone else. I have not been able to give my updates per usual this week due to a couple of fevers that hit me hard and landed me in bed for what feels like the majority of the week. The good news is, the docs are pretty confident all of the fevers I have had are due to immune system activation- praise the Lord!  Despite the fevers, I was able to successfully get all of my scheduled therapies for the week!🙌

We also got my genetic testing back this week which allowed my doc to fine-tune my chemotherapies and adjunctive therapies. Only one chemo needed to be changed and we are adding what feels like A LOT of off-label adjunctive therapies that I’m still trying to wrap my brain around- probably more so my heart. The genetic testing shows mutations that are contributing to the cancer AND medications and nutraceuticals that turn off the genetic mutations- so super cool! It also gives percentages of how successful these agents are at killing cancer in MY body- see, no guesswork here! And there were many options that were in the highly effective category for every mutation!😭🥳

I’ve made a good friend here as our schedules are very similar weekly. She’s suffering pretty badly with pain, nausea, and weight loss- if all of my prayer warriors wouldn’t mind adding her to your prayers. I haven’t asked permission to write about her in my journal so I’m sure God will know who you’re talking about without a name. 😉 She was with me when I spiked a fever with a new med on Wednesday and was incredibly supportive through it💛 I’ve learned so much about humanity through this experience thus far. My very first friend I met with my first chemo treatment went home Thursday, I hadn’t seen her since that first day but majestically we had the same clinic time on Wednesday! She gifted me a book called, When God and Cancer Meet, and a key chain with Psalm 91:11 -For He will order His angels to protect you wherever you go.- It brought me to tears of course. Me, a group of 4 other ladies and a nurse had a beautiful prayer ceremony that afternoon- I don’t know how anyone can walk this journey without Him. 🙏

Another thing I’m learning is how grateful I am for my nursing and naturopathic background- like wow, maybe integrative care is in my future. I have not only been able to make informed, knowledgeable decisions regarding everything but I’m able to stay on top of my labs and question how different medications are working with my body. I don’t think most people can have this advocate role in their own health care which is scary, so like I said- very grateful!

I also wanted to add some clarity to this journey of mine as I know there is some confusion. Because I didn’t go the conventional route in “diagnosing” this cancer, the progress of it has always been questionable until I arrived in AZ and got my PET scan. Once I received my biopsy results we learned I had grade 2 ductal carcinoma, but grade has nothing to do with staging. The PET scan showed 3 involved lymph nodes and the 10-15 places of bone involvement. The good thing for my mind, body and soul is I believe staging is a scare tactic. So technically I have stage 4 breast cancer. What does that mean to me? My body has tucked mold away in different places of my body to protect itself- go body! Now I’m receiving therapies to help my body get rid of it. For those who don’t know how this all began with a pea size cyst in my right breast in Jan of ’23. After growth I decided to have a thermography scan in Dec of ’23, looked pretty good in relation to my lump. At this point I 100% thought it was my cyst, super squishy and oval and I could move it all around. By Jan/ Feb it grew and hardened. I had another thermography apt which didn’t look so good this time around, an US in Feb, a lot of alternative doc appointments in March, beautiful lab work with all negative tumor markers, followed by my MRI that really put me on this path on April 1. A biopsy was a hardddd NO for me, but this clinic required it, and if there was a possibility this went to my bones, I knew I needed the best treatment and LIFE options for me, my babies, my hubs, my parents, my siblings (and the rest of my family and friends). So after I had the biopsy my breast and tumor were MAD. It flared with inflammation of course, but my tumor grew and hardened, a lot. It was getting scary. All of this to say- I can tell my breast tumor is shrinking!!!! Additionally, after I got my HER-2 blockers yesterday I started having shoulder pain and left thigh pain again, which I haven’t had in weeks- my nurse said that’s a great sign, it meant the meds were going to those sites!!! And even better, the pains are gone again! 😇✝💛

Alright, farewell, my friends. And as the 3 little birds told Bob Marley, Don’t worry about a thing, cuz every little thing is gonna be alright. The birds here in AZ are constantly chirping this to us too! And it’s my new anthem thanks to Uncle Marc😘

Enjoy this magical Saturday. I know we will! Our friends are coming over and the adults and kids are super excited!

Xoxo

Stephanee