Dear Family and Friends,
I’m doing well. Lee’s going to help me start a blog so I don’t keep bugging you all with email. You can be updated at your convenience. Hopefully, that will be helpful.
Well, I’m kind of in denial right now. I’m feeling pretty good. I’ve been running to choir concerts, car pooling etc. It’s been a busy week. We celebrated Austin’s 11th b-day on the 29th and then I threw a big party for Jason’s 8th b-day Sat. He gets baptized June 6th around 2:30 I think. It’s hard to believe! He was three weeks old when Danny graduated from High School! Anyway, I almost have full mobility back in my arm and a lot less pain. We saw the Oncologist last Wed. and I start chemo on May 20th. The kids will almost be done with school so that will be a blessing in a way. No more car pooling and school schedules to try to keep up with. I will be able to attend all of the end of the year stuff! There’s always a ton! I have to finish all of my dental work and best of all we’re going to try to pull off a family picture before Danny and Shalon take off with their little families!
I will do chemo all summer. Chemo consists of going into a clinic at Utah Valley one day a week for a few hours and receiving it intravenously. I will do that for two consecutive weeks and then have two weeks off. I have a port near my neck that should make all the needles less of a hassle. I will start losing my hair about three weeks into it! Yuck!
People usually do OK for a few days and then crash on the third or fourth. They have a lot to help with nausea so that is good news! Many people hold down jobs and still keep their lives going as much as possible which is encouraging.
After a summer of chemo I will do about six weeks of radiation and then a recovery period. I will then face reconstructive surgery, possibly another mastectomy if my genetic test comes back positive. (If positive, there’s a 50% chance of getting it in the other breast). They will also probably remove my ovaries because I am estrogen positive which can feed the cancer. It’s most likely that chemo will throw me into menopause and all the side effects of that. Bummer! Fun stuff! But hey, it beats the alternatives! lol I do feel like I’m being stripped of all my womanhood in one whack! Thank heavens for a loving and supportive husband!
From now on, I will be posting the latest updates for my progress to my blog (it pays to be married to a geek!). It can be accessed at http://www.annettegibbons.com. Please, feel free to register and leave comments if you have something to share or have a question you would like me to answer. Thanks again for your love, support and prayers!
Lot’s of Love!
Annette