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It’s confirmation day! Or at least that’s what it feels like to me. It’s the day that technology will confirm God’s grace. My ultrasound appointment is at 1 pm, but there is plenty to do before then.
First I have to drop Sydney at school. If you’ve ever had the pleasure in participating in the fiasco known as the “drop off line”, you know that there are some people that just don’t follow the rules. (the same rules that the school emails us every year lol) Like … don’t get out of your car, ever. You can cause an accident and you are slowing up the line. Next, when the car in front of you moves, you move … just like that. Next, put down your freaking cell phone. Geez. Is that call that important? Really. And understand your kid. If Junior needs excessive PDA before he gets to school, fantastic! I LOVE love. But please go park your call and walk Junior in instead. There’s a line here. And lastly and most importantly, these rules apply to everyone. Everybody. I don’t care if you have a scooter or a Maserati. No special privileges in the drop off line. Ok, I digress. Lol. So after dropping Sydney off, I head over to the gym. And the strangest thing happens there. As usual, I am doing my own thing. I like the bike, because I can multi task. And hey, I am just trying to stay moving right? I’m not preparing for a marathon or a CrossFit competition. I’m just doing my own thing right? Well, this woman who apparently works out pretty regularly takes the time to tap me on my shoulder to get my attention. You see, I have on noise canceling ear buds because I am not a ‘gym-talker”. I like to get in, take care of business, and get out. She said, and I quote “There are more effective ways to lose weight. You should probably try something other than the bike. I switch my cardio routine daily.” And proceeded to walk away. Whoa! Am I on candid camera? There are so many things wrong with this. First, why are you minding my business? How did you even notice that I ride the bike everyday? Next, why would you assume that my goal is to lose weight? Maybe I am fine with my weight and I’m just here to tone up or stay active. Lastly, why do you assume what works for you is right for me? Y’all, there are so many life lessons in this incident. And I took advantage of the opportunity to teach her every one of them. I had time today! Remember, my appointment isn’t until later this afternoon. So, I called her back over to me (never stopped pedaling) and told her the following:
You shouldn’t be consumed with someone else’s situation BUT if you see an opportunity to help someone, then do that. Passing judgment and walking away is not helpful.
Speaking of being “judge” .. Just don’t - you basically looked at me and said this girl needs to lose weight. Let me tell her that she won’t lose weight doing what she’s doing. Who are you to judge me?
Don’t project what works for you onto others - everyone is different.
So startled by the fact that I had the audacity to admonish her for her behavior, she began to go on and on about how so many people come to gym and think they are doing something but they really aren’t. Blah blah blah… the next thing I knew I had gone off. “If you don’t mind me asking .. how many days does it take you to recover from your chemo treatments before you can get to the gym.” She responded, “what? I don’t have cancer.” I told her, “Well I do! And how dare you come tell me what I need to be doing. You’re basically a pain in my ass this morning, but someone else could be pretty damaged by your insensitivity. Be kind.” Before I put my ear buds back in my head, I heard her say “Well, how was I supposed to know that you have cancer.” Girl bye! I don’t typically wear a breast cancer sleeve, but it was necessary today. When I looked at the screen on my bike, I’d done ten more minutes than I planned to. Well, at least there’s that. Y’all, don’t be like Fitness Felicia .. Stay in your own lane.
After some upper body work, I returned home to hang out with my mom before her flight. She’d been here for a month, but she’ll be back soon. ❤️
I arrive at the Breast Cancer center, and it was packed! I mean .. packed like they were giving out free boobs in there. After registration, I head back and catch up with my girl Andy before we start the ultrasound. She’s pretty awesome. She asks me how I’m feeling today … as a follow up from my last blog entry. (Remember, it took me over a week to recover from my last treatment.) My radiologist, Dr. Sewell comes in and reviews the ultrasound images and confirms what I already know. The tumor has responded significantly to chemotherapy. Look at God! Never doubted him! 🙌🏽 She is excited and tells me that she can’t wait to write the report. I laugh and tell her “well imagine how excited I am!” This if of course great news! Dr. Sewell will update my treatment response record and I will discuss with my oncologist, Dr Shahin tomorrow. There, we will confirm the path forward for the rest of my treatment plan. I get dressed and close my eyes and grab an empowerment stone out of the bowl before I leave. I open my eyes and see ..
🎶 He’s intentional .. never changing …
Excited about the results of today’s appointment, my adrenaline is pumping. I have some energy to expend. Off to my office (ahem .. Starbucks) I go. I ordered a latte, and cracked opened my Macbook. Hmmm, where did I leave off yesterday? The funny thing about working on my project is that each day is so productive, but the to-do list is endless. I keep reminded myself that you eat an elephant one bite at a time. The passion that I have for the cause gives me laser focus for today’s task. Three hours later, and it’s time to pick Sydney up from Girl Scouts. Time flies when you’re having fun. 😊
The next day, I awake feeling just as excited as I had been the morning before. If yesterday was a day of confirmation, today is a day for disclosure. My doctor would confirm the remaining chemo treatment plan, which is the next big chunk in my journey … before immune system regeneration, surgery prep, surgery, and recovery. Even with the good news that I received yesterday, I still have to get through the rest of treatment. And I know that it will all be fine. I just have to push through. When we arrive at Dr. Shahin’s office, he is his normal jolly self. This guy is always smiling. I love it! We talk through a lot of topics, starting with the fact that I lost 5 pounds since my last visit (figured I’d just throw that in there). But the key items discussed were the treatment response ultrasound and the remaining treatment plan.
Ultrasound results - You guys will be happy to know that the ultrasound shows that the size of my little mutant tumor has been reduced by 70%!! And this is based only on the first chemo regimen that was undertaken in the first two months of my journey. How awesome is this!?!? Look at God 🙌🏾. While this gives cause to celebrate, the battle is not over! I still need your prayers going into the next chemo regimen. Specifically, we are praying for a complete response by the end of the second regimen. That brings us to the remaining treatment plan ..
Remaining chemo schedule - I have decided to supplement my base chemo treatment (standard of care) with a trial focused on Triple Negative Breast cancer response and recurrence. As a result, instead of getting a smaller dose of taxol chemo every week for 3 months, I will have a larger dose of taxol chemo over 4 treatments in the same period. I would be receiving the same volume in either case. Actually, some patients who are not on a trial opt for the larger dose case to avoid being in the hospital every week. It is allows those that choose to work through chemo to do so. In my case, Chemo will be on Monday, and I will have short visits to the hospital on Tuesday - Friday for the supplemental medicine. And then the next two weeks are hospital free! This cycle continues for three months. I will have additional ultrasounds every six weeks to assess treatment response. The ultrasound at 12 weeks will be used to determine the tumor’s overall response to chemotherapy. At this point, a recommendation will be made on whether I need to continue with two additional treatments in June. Remember, we are praying for complete response at the end of May!
My first taxol treatment in on March 16. But there are 11 days until then. This is the longest break that I’ve had between treatments to date.. And I here for it!
With that said, gotta go! I have some living to do … 😘
