Breast Cancer Journey

Good news overall and I'm feeling grateful. CT scan showed everything stable except there's two small lymph nodes in my abdomen that increased in size. Right now we'll just monitor those spots over time cause it could be inflammation or cancer. I also seem to have some inflammation in my lungs. The good news however is that all my vital organs are clear of cancer and looking good. The clinical trial I'm on with Zanidatamab and Xeloda is still working and I'm so thankful for t

Been a few weeks since my last post and just wanted to give an update. I am currently on cycle 8 of Zanidatamab and Xeloda, a cocktail of medication that is keeping me alive. Can’t believe I have been on this clinical trial since February 20th. Time seems to go by fast but the days often linger, thankfully, as living one day at a time has become something I am trying to focus on more so now. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the future, unsure if I will be around two

Been a few weeks so wanted to share an update of what’s been going on in my world. Lately I’ve been caught between two dimensions feeling grateful yet grieving. Having good scan results makes me feel that I’ll have more time to live, but now it’s opened the doors for me to figure out how to live my life with such heavy grief. I realize I’ve been in survival mode for so long, I have forgotten what it’s like to take time to feel all the emotions that come with grief. I am n

Sharing the results of my latest scan. I'm happy to report that it's great news! Things are stable, and I'm feeling grateful. Scans showed healing, decreasing tumors and stable spots. The clinical trial I'm on is controlling the cancer and healing is happening. We're not at a point yet where I'm No Evidence of Disease, but we're pretty darn close and stable is just as good as that. In fact, the oncologist had a hard time seeing the tiny tumors remaining. My oncologist said NE

Been a few weeks so I wanted to give an update of what’s been going on in my world. Lately I’ve been soaking up all the special little moments and events that continue to remind me that life is precious. Recently I participated in an event called Emerge, The Woman and the Warrior, where 19 survivors and thrivers walked the runway wearing a crafted warrior piece that is important to them on their cancer journey. It was an incredible event, and everyone was cheering as we wa

Sharing the results from my scan yesterday. It's great news! The trial is working! I'm so happy to share that my scans showed decreasing tumors in my lymph nodes, stable bone tumors and rest of the body is clear. My oncologist at Mayo said this was an outstanding response. It's hard to explain in words how I feel, but to receive news like this brings such a relief and peace I've been craving for so long. I know with metastatic disease things can take a turn for the worse at a

Thought I would share a quick update of how things have been going since starting the clinical trial. First off, I had an amazing trip to Costa Rica! I went with another stage 4 breast cancer thriver, and we did so many adventures together. We did ziplining, hanging bridges, sloth tour, river tubing, white water rafting, horseback riding, wildlife sanctuary tours and ATVing. The weather was perfect and our resort was so beautiful. We had about 22 natural hot spring pools

I wanted to give an update of where things are at with me. I mentioned last time that I was waiting to get into this clinical trial at the Mayo clinic which would randomize me into the Zanidatamab + Xeloda or Herceptin + Xeloda arm. I wanted to share that I was chosen for the newer drug, Zanidatamab arm!! I am so happy I got chosen for the drug I wanted. I start the clinical trial tomorrow on Friday, Feb. 20 th . It’s been a long waiting process including many appointment

Thought I would share an update since it’s been a while. I’ve been waiting for so many things, and finally have some answers as to my next steps. I mentioned last time that I was going to head down to the Mayo clinic to see if there was a clinical trial available. In that appointment, Dr. Goetz mentioned there was a trial testing the effectiveness of a drug called Zanidatamab compared to Trastuzumab for those who fail on Enhertu. Dr. Goetz then left the room for a bit and

Just giving a quick update after meeting with my oncologist this morning. Overall everything went ok. I will have to switch to my third line of therapy which would be Xeloda, Tucatinib and Herceptin. Xeloda is a chemo pill I would have to take twice daily for 2 weeks on, 1 week off. Tucatinib is another pill I would have to take daily, and Herceptin would be IV every three weeks. The plan is to start this new treatment on Jan. 27 th which would be my next infusion date,

Not the way I wanted to start this year off. Unfortunately, the news is bad this time around and I have progression in multiple areas. I’m in tears as I right this because I am scared. I am scared I am going to die soon, I am scared of starting a new treatment with unknown side effects and I am scared for what comes next. This is a lot for me to share as I am trying to process something so heavy, but writing it out seems to be healing for me in a way. I’ll share the key fi

It’s been about a month, so I wanted to share another update. Last time I shared that I am currently no evidence of active disease and have been enjoying the bliss that comes with news like this. I don’t take this win for granted, because I know what the other side of this coin feels like. Lately life has been good. People often ask me how I am feeling and doing, and I reply that I am doing well and feeling good. Lately I’ve had a ton of energy and haven’t been feeling

I got my results back and so excited to share that I am No Evidence of Active Disease!!!! I shared the results on my social media earlier today, but now sharing here as some of you don’t follow me on social media. Let’s just say that I am so happy to share this kind of news a second time! It’s been way too long since I have received good news. It feels like that’s what I continue striving for day in and day out. The hard work and feeling like I am doing all the right things

I wanted to post another update before my scan tomorrow, just to give a little update of how things have been going lately. Scanxiety is creeping in. I could feel my chest and throat tighten as I write this and time inches closer to my scan tomorrow. A feeling I have that comes every three months. Reality sets in that this will be my life from now on. After each scan I focus on just living, but then as we near the end of the three months, I feel anxiety for what’s to com

It’s the start of breast cancer awareness month and what better time to write an update than today. I have mixed feelings about this...

I wanted to update everyone as we have a game plan moving forward. After some pushing from my end, I was able to get an earlier...

Thought I would give an update of where things are at for me since I got my scan results. There has been a lot of appointments and...

Sharing the results of my PET scan. Unfortunately, it is not the news we had hoped for. I have progression yet again on my right breast...

Posting another update since it’s been about a month. I am going to try and keep up this cadence moving forward but may change just...

It’s been about a month since my last post, so thought I would share what’s been going on in my world. I just finished Enhertu Cycle #7,...