7 year cancerversary

Today marks 7 years since I got the call confirming that it was cancer, and honestly once we knew it was metastatic/terminal, I never expected to get to 5 years let alone 7.  Making it even more wonderful is that I am at 7 years and while I've dealt with progressions, I am doing better than I could ever have imagined at this point.    So, so thankful!

I've primarily been posting elsewhere this year and not updating here; so, if you've seen it on Facebook, you can skip this paragraph.... In August, we had to switch to an oral chemo option called Xeloda due to some progression.  This is the last of the "easier" drugs as iv chemo will be what follows when this one fails.  It seemed to work for about 7 months, but in early April, a scan confirmed that both the liver & lymph node areas had grown.  Luckily, my oncologist was able to confirm with a radiation oncologist that a very targeted radiation called SBRT could be an option.  I did 5 SBRT treatments at the end of April/ 1st 2 weeks of May.  Once the radiation was done, we increased the amount of Xeloda per day (taken 1 week on / 1 week off).  Tumor markers have been done twice since the SBRT, and both times they have come down.  I have a petscan on Aug 12th & will find out results on Aug 16th.  I'd appreciate your thoughts & prayers that the scan will show that there has been regression.  

  I get asked a lot about whether or not I'm on treatment and why, and even if there is regression or I get to No Evidence of Disease again, I will always be on active treatment.  It is not preventative but rather to keep things in check as cancer is not always detectable on scans and/or can go dormant for a while but wake back up with a vengeance.   Once you are stage 4 /metastatic breast cancer, they will never consider that you are cancer free.  Most recently, the liver tumor was 6 cm, and there were 2 lymph nodes with cancer.  Hopefully, the next scan will show reductions in both, but either way I will continue with treatment.

 People also comment quite often on how much I travel (which I know is a crazy amount) and ask questions about why I do that.   My best explanation is always that my chance to travel  is now before I go on a treatment with bad side effects or even just have treatment requirements that make it impossible such as a weekly infusion.  Once you hear that "terminal/ treatable but not curable" statement, it puts things in a different perspective as you know you can't wait for retirement or that "better time" that so many wait for.  I have had several friends that were metastatic and have passed in the last 7 years that had severe side effects that kept them from doing many things.  My side effects are very livable right now, but just being on the chemo has put some obstacles in my path for some types of things that I used to enjoy doing when we'd go to North Carolina such as hiking, being in rivers/lakes, etc.  My time for travel is now as I never know what tomorrow may bring. (I know that is true for everyone, but a little more pressing in my type of situation) The more I travel and see all of the amazing things around the world, though;  the more places that are being added to my living list.

I've thought a lot the last few days about all the things that have changed over the last 7 years, and there have been so many blessings. Two of those are my work & health insurance situations especially as relates to my desire & ability to travel.    When first diagnosed, I was adjunct teaching a few classes for FC,  1-2 classes online for St Leo , and a class online for Strayer per semester.   I was paying for insurance that had an incredibly high deductible & out of pocket and not making consistent money as adjunct teaching can be very unpredictable.   Six years ago, HCC Southshore hired me as an adjunct to teach a music lit class on campus with the goal of getting the class put online.  I now teach multiple sections of the class online for them year round.  Five years ago,  I was hired full-time at Florida College, and I love the variety of classes that I teach with them from music lit to helping our future music educators.  This was also a great blessing with my health insurance.   I stopped teaching for Strayer, but about 2 years ago, I was asked to help create & teach a music and culture class for USF online.  I've now taught that class for 5 semesters.  While one job opportunity ended, I've been very blessed with all of the others.   I really enjoy the on-campus teaching at FC during the school year, but also all of the online teaching.  I didn't set out to do all of this,  but it has been a blessing for me.  It does mean that I am teaching year round and on many different school schedules, but the wonderful thing about teaching online is that I can do it from Venice, Italy or Tampa, FL just as easily.  These opportunities have allowed me to pursue my travel & living list more than I could ever have thought possible 7 years ago.

There are so many other things that have changed, but I have to mention that the past 7 years have added 2 nephews and a niece that I dearly love, and keep me on my toes!   I've been able to see my oldest nephew graduate high school and now work with him as a music education student at FC.  My second nephew will be a junior in high school this coming year, and I fully expect to see him graduate in 2 years as well.   I'm so thankful that I have been able to be here to see them grow and change, and I love them dearly too!

This date is always hard for me as there are so many ways that cancer has changed my life that could be considered negative,  but I have so many blessings to count as well! I am thankful for every day that I have with my family and friends, and while I hope no one else has to go through cancer, I realize that it has given me a different perspective on life and so many things that I can now appreciate as well!
 Happy 7 year Cancerversary!