Enhertu Cycle #8 and #9 Update - 7/5/25

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 depending on what’s going on.  Sharing updates of my life over time and capturing my cancer journey on paper has been healing for me.  I always appreciate the outpouring of love and support from these posts; it helps me feel less alone in a way.  And thank you for reading, even if some of what I post may be duplicative to what is seen on my social media 😊.

Anyways, I can’t believe that it is already July! Happy day after 4^th of July.  The highlight over the last month was my trip to Lake Tahoe with the Send It Foundation.  I mentioned that this was outside my comfort zone as I didn’t know anyone on the trip prior to joining and would be staying in a cabin with 10 random strangers for 6 days and 5 nights.  Here I am nervously excited for a trip that would make me feel alive and boy did this trip exceed my expectations.  The moment I met everyone and stepped into that cabin, I instantly felt comfortable and right at home.  There were 5 other women who had some type of cancer, and the group of girls I met felt like long lost friends where I couldn’t have joined a better group!  There was a girl who even looked just like me, as she had a shaved head and was going through treatment.  It was nice connecting with her and the other women.  Most of the women were also single and none of them had kids, which made me feel less lonely as we all could relate to each other.  We got to know each other on a deeper level, we sang in the car, had a dance party, and took on the adventures of rock climbing and mountain biking together.  It was so fun. These girls felt like my tribe, and I’m so grateful to have met some new friends.  We will all be keeping in touch.

The leaders and guides were also great.  We had a private chef that made us meals every day and the guides made sure we always had an abundance of snacks and water.  That was one thing I was initially worried about was 1. Having enough water and 2. Having access to a restroom to pee from said water haha.  Thankfully there was more than enough water to go around as the guides brought big jugs with them on our adventures and the places we went always had a restroom nearby.  The things we may take for granted back home!  

The rock climbing and mountain biking were incredible.  We also had a professional photographer on the trip with us and I’m sharing some of the photos he took.  Rock climbing was challenging as I am scared of heights, but I took on the challenge and faced my fear by climbing and repelling down the mountain!  We had the best rock-climbing experts to help us and the best views.  It was an amazing experience.  We did two days rock climbing and two days mountain biking.  While climbing the mountains was a once in lifetime experience, I must say that I fell in love with mountain biking.  We had nice e-bikes that we rode through the trails in the woods, and I instantly felt at home.  Growing up I would play in the New Mexico mountains with my sister.  We would ride ATVs up the mountains, play house in the woods, catch lizards, watch birds, look for animal prints, etc.  I love the mountains so much.  Being in Lake Tahoe woods just brought back so many memories for me.  Riding up and down the rocky trails just brought me into a flow state.  My favorite part was riding down this narrow and rocky trail where you had to watch every move you make on the bike.  It was so fun! Then at the bottom, I decided to go over the biggest ramp (unbeknownst to me that I went over the biggest one haha), and landed that sucker.  When I got to the bottom the head lead was surprised I took that ramp as there were two other smaller ones that everyone else took.  I had no idea they were different! We all laughed of course.

I honestly could go on and on about this trip.  Everything was perfect and it was a trip that I didn’t know I needed.  It warmed my heart.  I can’t thank the Send It Foundation and all the trip guides and leaders enough.  It was a once in a lifetime opportunity.  I now want to find other organizations that host trips like this.

That was the big highlight over the last month and been coming down from the trip.  After being back home a few days after Lake Tahoe I got into a funk.  It’s tough coming down from a trip like that with people that lift your spirits.  I made new friends, and it was tough leaving them all.  I am so grateful we can still stay in touch, but coming home and spending more alone time was tough for me (which is a lot for me to say because I love my alone time).  But I crave connection and community, both of which I value in my life.   Me going on this trip just reiterated how important these are to me.  Lately I’ve been figuring out how I can continually be fulfilled in these areas, especially since I live alone and don’t have family here.  Even though I feel this way, I am also super grateful for the people I do have in my life here in MN.  I’ve been getting together with some coworkers and friends when I can and always hold these as bright spots in my day. 

Speaking of friends, I am planning a two-week trip to Norway with my best friends Kelsey and Kevin in early Sept!   A lot of logistics to figure out for two weeks but planning has been fun, and this is going to be a once in a lifetime trip.  I also decided recently that I will be going to Michigan to visit my mom’s side of the family July 19^th to the 24^th.  I am excited to see my Michigan family and have fun together.  That and I’m excited to see my mom as she comes back to MN July 12^th, going to Michigan with me, then coming back to MN and staying until mid-August.  My dad will also be driving out in early August, and my sister and her boyfriend are coming for the documentary premiere.  I am happy that my family will be with me for that upcoming event!  If you’re local and you haven’t bought tickets to the Aug 10^th premiere, you can still do so at this link! https://vranicure.org/pages/documentary

Prior to the premiere, I will also be hosting a Kendra Scott grand opening event on Friday July 25^th from 4-6pm to benefit VraniCURE – 20% of proceeds will go towards stage 4 breast cancer research.  We will be doing a drawing for a red carpet look and tickets to the premiere on Aug 10^th as well.  You can RSVP for this event at this link! https://kendrascottedinasouthdale.splashthat.com/

There’s been a lot of cool things going on that I am so grateful for. 

As far as my health is concerned, I seem to be managing the side effects.  I was able to stay active and awake on my Lake Tahoe trip which I was happy about.  I had my 8^th and 9^th infusion of Enhertu already.  Can’t believe time is flying by on Enhertu.  My doctor thinks I will get about another 6 months or so on Enhertu before progression, although I believe I will be on this treatment for a long time.  The trials say that the majority have progression after about a year on Enhertu, but everyone is different and since I have had a complete response, I believe I can be the 5% that goes into a deep remission.  So, I will be on Enhertu if it continues to work and if the side effects are minimal.  The biggest side effects I still get are fatigue and brain fog.  A couple days this week I ended up taking a 3-hour nap in the afternoon each day.  I was just exhausted.  But it also could be that I pushed myself hard at the gym the other day too and my body was recovering.  I think it was all of that combined. 

My blood work at my appointments all looked good and my liver enzymes have been in normal ranges.  My red blood cells are normal but on the lower end, which could explain some fatigue I have.  I also had an Echo of my heart recently and that came back normal.  The drugs I am on have the potential to damage the heart, so it’s always a win when the heart is working properly. 

I have my next PET Scan scheduled for August 4^th so I will be sure to share an update afterwards on the results.  Praying and hoping for good news again this time around.

Thank you all for the continued love and support. It means a lot.

Love, Stacy