I have abandoned my blog, but Im back !

So a few people asked "do you still blog"? The answer is NO lol . I totally forgot about it to be honest. But here is an update.... Completely done with all 6 rounds of chemo, and I am officially in remission.  YAHOO !!! Back to work, and growing hair. Rocking short hair and a faux hawk right now, looking forward to it growing fast like it has been. My eyelashes and eyebrows came back within 2 weeks or so which was rad.  Since a week after treatment I have been going to a crossfit gym, and eating REALLY healthy.  I have lost 7 lbs of fat, gained a lot of muscle, and got much leaner.  Im obsessed with it , and am feeling really healthy and strong.  Thank you for all your support, Im glad its over and I can now move on with life

Round 4 of chemo was not fun :(

Thank god it is over, but that round was the most challenging mentally for me.  Im at a place where I am ready for this to be over, and with an almost normal scan last month, I'm even more ready to put this to an end and move on with my life.  The hardest part has definitely been staying home and just not being able to be as active as I used to be.  Its very frustrating, and with a husband who works very long and hard hours, I have a lot of hours in each day to fill and try to keep busy. Going out and meeting friends for lunch, coffee, or walks has helped SOOOOO much.  Don't know what I would do without all my support.  I miss my job  though, and just miss feeling like myself again. Can't wait for the day (which will be soon) where I can wake up, walk rhino or take him for a run with me , go to work, come home, make dinner, and just be busy again.  The isolating aspect of cancer , for me, is harder than the chemo, the pain, the tests, and everything else that has come along with it.

I have been working on school work, and been able to do a few things around the house I didn't have time for before all this. I always enjoyed cooking, and I have been able to make some new foods with having more time. We started following the Paleo Diet, which basically teaches you to eat things as they are in nature, and nothing processed.  If it had a face, eat it. Veggies, fruits, nuts, all in their natural state. No sugars, grains, breads, pastas, or anything that has been highly processed.  I already feel better, and we haven't been doing it that long.  I will let you know at the end of this month how it goes.  I figure it can't hurt to eat healthy, and with everything I have been through I am committed to keeping my body healthy and happy for the long haul.

 Last week we took a trip to San Fran, which was so amazing. I had so much fun, and it was nice to just get away.  Alcatraz was so cool, and there was a lot we got to see that I didn't see the last time I visited there. We are also going up to Big Bear this weekend, which I am very much looking forward to.  It is nice to spend time with Richie, since his work days are from 5am-5pm, and he is understandably tired and wants to just relax when he gets home.  He is taking a motorcycle trip at the end up the month with his crew (combat ryders) which will be fun for him, to get away and spend time with his guys.

Well,back to homework. Thank you everyone for all your support. Again, I wouldn't be able to do this without you

Lisa

Round 3--done

Well, I am officially half way through my chemo. Finished round 3 a week ago. This time, my body has definitely been beat down a little more. The actual chemo and lumbar puncture in the hospital were easy, but once I got home, my system took a hit. The first few days, it was hard for me to catch my breath, so I hung out in bed most of the time. Fine by me, but not much fun to get winded from just walking to the kitchen or making food.  I have a really hard time sleeping at night now, which is very different for me. I used to be a great sleeper.  My appetite has always been good, which keeps my energy up.  Some minor body aches from the Newlasta shot I get (to stimulate bone marrow production). Something new I do get is sternal and rib cage pain from the shot though, which is really painful and feels like heartburn. Luckily, taking just one Vicodin does the trick , and it goes away.  Not very fun, but now I know how to deal with it.  Up till now, each round of Chemo has been increased by 20% each time, since my body has been responding and doing well with that schedule. But for now, my doc thinks he will either keep my chemo the same for round 4, or decrease it by 20%. He said this is my "sweet spot" where my body is affected a lot, but just enough to not be dangerous to my system.  So if I can keep this amount, it will be perfect for me.  One of the chemo drugs affects nerves, so the tips of each of my fingers are numb. The feeling will come back though once I am done with all the chemo.  Since I am half way through now, they are doing another PET CT scan tomorrow to see how the treatment is affecting the cancer.  I am so ready for this all to be done and over with, I miss working. The hardest part of this has not been the chemo, it has been staying home. It is very isolating, and makes me really miss my old life when I was busy all the time.  I cant wait to go back to work.

Getting ready for another week at Hotel Mission

Well, I can honestly say I have been feeling pretty great.  Much more energy after round 2 than round 1 of my chemo.  My appetite and energy was much better, and I was able to do more around the house, study, take better care of Rhino, and even go to the gym.  This past week I had a little bit of a cold, but my blood counts have never been better, and my doctor is yet again increasing my chemo by 20%.  This is a good thing, because they want to give me the safest level that my body can tolerate without knocking me down too hard.  I will be going into the hospital for another week this Monday, so I am looking forward to spending time with Richie this weekend, and getting to see a lot of our friends for superbowl.  I really miss working, and cant wait to get the ok to go back. Staying at home all day has been the most difficult part form me, just because Richie is gone for 12 hours, and it makes for a lot of time to keep busy.  Im pretty sick of tv, so a hike with a friend, lunch dates, and just running errands is much appreciated since its nice to get out and just be around other people. One thing that is kind of different is the fact that now I get to wear fake eyelashes. They took a while to figure out how to work them, but they are pretty fun.

Round 2

Well, I am back at Hotel Mission for the next week. Round 2 of my chemo started yesterday, and so far so good. Feeling pretty well, walking around my floor, reading, doing homework, chatting with my visitors, and just relaxing.  Tomorrow I have a spinal tap, where they will do in and take a sample of my spinal fluid, and also put some chemotherapy in that space to make sure all my cells are treated.  This time was much easier, since I still have my central line in my arm, I didn't have to be poked at all. Just hooked up and got started. I miss my little dog Rhino, but Richie is taking care of him, and he has his best friend/sister Zoey to play with at home. My appetite is starting to go down, but thats ok, once I get home it will be better. Love you all !!!

My fundraiser was a HUGE success !

I have the best support system, hands down !! Last night was the fundraiser Lizette set up for me at Chili's. There were over 100 people there, I couldn't believe it.  The restaurant was packed.  At times there was even a 45 minute wait. There were awesome friends, some friends I haven't seen since elementary and high school, family, co-workers, nursing school friends, doctors, bike crews, and even firefighters.  I was overwhelmed with all the support.  At the end of the night, the manager said it was the highest turnout for a fundraiser he had ever seen.  Everyone that was there last night had checks totaling up to over $4,500 which is unbelievable really.  My portion of that was $700, my donation box had $660 in it, and my co-workers had wristbands made that completely sold out in about an hour.  Overall, we raised over $1300 last night. HUGE success,but I couldn't have done it without everyone's help.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has supported me, who came out last night, and has taken time out of their life to make a difference in mine. I love you all, and am so blessed to have your love and support.  YOU ROCK !!!!

I finally set up a donation fund

For those of you that asked me if I had a donation account set up, I signed up for a paypal account. At first I wasn't going to, but I got an overwhelming amount that asked me, and a lot of people that wanted to donate directly rather than through a fundraiser that would only donate a percentage toward us. My email for the account I set up is Nurselisa29@gmail.com Thanks everyone in advance for all your support.

Nah Nah Nah Nah.....Hey Hey Hey......Goodbye !!

My mop was thinning out quickly, which was not good for my mental sanity. I had my wonderful husband shave my head. I think he thought I went nuts, and I cried for a minute, but I think he did a darn good job :)

My Fundraiser

I am so excited to be given the opportunity to do a fundraiser to assist with some of the costs of my treatment.  It will be at Chili's Restaurant off Crown Valley in Mission Viejo on January 12th from 4pm till close.  I am warning you all now, I will have a shaved head by then too, but don't worry I am gonna rock it ! Yesterday I noticed my hair shedding 10 times more than normal, and in the shower the same.  For my mental sanity, I decided I am going to shave my head before it falls out. For me, it is less traumatic, and it's one way I can have some control over this cancer.

As many of you know, Richie is in the military, so we have Tricare health insurance. They are truly amazing, and are covering nearly 100% of all my treatments.  We are truly blessed to have this insurance, because I have heard cancer treatment beginning to end can actually run upward of a million dollars.  Well, with any regular insurance, we would have (at the very minimum ) copays and/or a percentage we would be responsible for. With those kinds of figures, you can imagine even being responsible for 10% of a million is a huge amount.  The one thing Tricare does not cover was fertility treatment, which I was told I needed to do prior to starting chemotherapy.  I had to take hormones, and retrieve my eggs so they were waiting for me after treatment.  It was really hard to say if I would be able to get pregnant on my own after, so we decided this was something we wanted to do.  Once chemo starts, and it starts killing away various cells in my body, there was no turning back.  So we harvested my eggs, and we have 7 fertilized healthy little embryos to go back to once I get the "all clear" from my doctor.  Many of you probably haven't looked into this, god knows I hadn't before I was diagnosed. But fertility is like plastic surgery....... most insurances do NOT cover it (mostly because it's not medically necessary) and everything is to be paid in full up front.  LIVESTRONG offers a program that I qualified for that cuts the cost down, which does help tremendously, but the cost is still pretty high, totaling quite a few thousand dollars.  Because I am a nurse in the same building as my fertility doctor, and because the reason I went to see him and the time constraint we had to get started asap, he is allowing me to make payments (something his office really doesn't do).  We are doing this fundraiser to assist  with these costs, and saving some to supplement my paychecks a little since I am on disability through the end of my treatment.

So many people have already responded they are coming, and most of them are bringing friends and family with them too.  I am blown away at the kind of support I have received from everyone.  People that I see often, down to friends I haven't seen since I was little. Everyone has stepped up in a unique way, and all together it has provided me with so much strength that I feel like I can do anything, including beating this thing and moving forward with my life in a big way.  I have a little motto for my treatment, and even when I am having moments I am scared or sad, I allow myself to feel sad for a few minutes, but then tell myself this .....................................CALM DOWN, I'VE GOT THIS !!!!

A New Year, New Goals, and New Hair !!

Happy New Year everyone !! I am so ready to get this year started, and get it handled.  Two days ago, I got my hair cut.  Im donating what extra I chopped off to Locks of Love, which you have probably all heard of. It's an organization that takes hair donations, and makes wigs for deserving patients needing wigs during cancer treatment.  I figured I had so much hair, might as well put it to some good use before I eventually lose it. My doctor said  it will start to fall out soon, and I feel that for me, it will be less traumatic when that happens when my hair is shorter. But beware everyone, when my hair does start to fall out, I'm not fighting it.  I am gonna go with it. I am shaving my head, GI Jane style lol.  Ill probably get a wig or two, for when I am going out and stuff.  I'm so excited that everyone seemed to like my short hair, because maybe now I will get a short wig too. I really love my new hair, and have to say I am a little bummed it is going to go away now.  One thing is for sure, I would probably never have done a hair cut like this without being diagnosed, so this definitely got me out of my comfort zone to try new things. Pleasant surprise, maybe I should try these new things more often. Lesson learned ! Thank you all for all your support. I truly have the best support system :)

I broke free on Monday :)

My nurse Kelly set up this really cute board for me the first day I got there, it has check boxes to cross off each day that I complete my meds. It was encouraging to see how much farther I had to go, and how much we had already done.  I thought I wouldn't be done till Tuesday, but I finished early on Monday. Such a good feeling to go home earlier than expected.  That day, I brought everything home, presents and all, and unpacked a little. I had to go get a bunch of prescriptions at the store, and then I was pretty drained from the day.  The smallest things now made and make me tired.  Tuesday, we had a friend bringing us over dinner, and were planning on going to bike night which we do each Tuesday with the Combat Ryders in Mission Viejo. They have all become such a strong support system for me as well as Richie.  In prep for "going out" for a quick hello, and having people bring dinner over, I decided a good shower and hair was was needed.  Lets just say, 2.5 hours later I was exhausted.  It took me forever to get dressed, and the best way I can describe the feeling is....imagine you are hiking at a high altitude.  It felt like no matter how many breaths I took, there was no damn oxygen in the room.  My friend Ashley brought us an amazing dinner that night. After a bird portion ( because thats how much I can eat now at once) I was perfectly full and ready for bed. Richie went to see everyone at bike night, and I stayed home to rest. I have had one night with a pretty sever headache, one night of severe nausea, but other that that I feel pretty good. Last night was the first "normal" night I have had at home, and sleeping the night through was AMAZING.  My prior side effects I talked about were from my chemo drugs in the hospital, and a shot called NewLasta they gave me which stimulates my bone marrow to regenerate faster and keep my immune system up during this process.  I got my nails done too, and It made me feel like a new girl.  The first week out of the hospital was definitely different than I expected, but now  I know more about what to expect so  I can recognize these things after the next course in the hospital. I'm excited to say I am cutting my hair today, and donating it to Locks Of Love.  I'll do a shorter cut until it starts to fall out, then it will be shaved off. Im not ok with watching my hair fall out in clumps, so Im taking the high road and beating it to that punch.  Im excited to get a shorter cut for the next week or two though, and my friend Kylee is the only one I trust to do it.  Ill post a pic once I get back home.

Merry Christmas !!!

Merry Xmas and happy holidays to everyone.  This is my 4th day (I think) at Mission Hospital.  No complaints here.  I have had 3 full days of chemo, tonight at midnight will be my 4th full day. Then after the 4th full day of chemo is complete, they push a drug called Cytoxan for a few hours (another drug that treats cancers) and then I will be all set to go home :) So Monday or Tuesday at the latest I think. It's been hard being away from home and from Rhino, but everyone else has been amazing and has come to see me in the hospital. My room is decorated with three little trees, I have flowers, balloons, blankets, pajamas, backpacks, stockings, decorations, and all kinds of yummy snacks. The amount of support I have received has been mind blowing to say the least. Even the support I have received thought messages and texts has been so sweet and thoughtful, and even through the holiday when I know everyone must be super busy with family and shopping. Thank you so much to everyone that has shown support to me, even a small text really has made my day.  My parents , brother, in laws, and husband are all swinging by at some point today to do presents with me. I definitely don't feel stuck in the hospital, if anything, I feel like I am being waited on here. My nurses have been more than amazing, I have had a couple of them on multiple shifts, and had a friend take care of me twice already which has been very comforting.  I am ready to get home now thought. A day or two longer, and Ill get to sleep in my own bed and shower in my own shower. I think I am going to leave my PICC line ( the longer IV) in my arm for the first few chemo weeks and see how it goes. It wasn't super painful to put in, but the less procedures the better for me right now. I did have a lumbar puncture two days ago, where they inserted a small needle and catheter between my vertebra in my lower spine, took out some fluid for testing, put some chemo in there to treat my spinal fluid (just in case) and sent me on my way.  That was a trip. But Im not scared to have that done each time I come in again. Wasn't too bad, so anyone out there contemplating an epidural, my experience was a pretty pleasant one once my fear of the unknown was over.  Im gonna catch up on some Netflix. Any suggestions are always appreciated. Love you all !!

Day #1 -- completely handled :)

So as you know, after my consultation with a doctor at the City of hope on Monday, it was advised that I get started with treatment ASAP. Had some yummy breakfast at Bagels and Brew with the in-laws, and headed over to Mission Regional Hospital. This hospital is amazing ! Everyone is always so nice to me. I had some blood drawn right away, and then they put in a PICC line.  This is a line bigger than an IV, that goes from my upper arm (on the inside like an IV), up toward my shoulder, and down my chest into my Vena Cava which is one of the main blood vessels.  Its pretty cool since now I don't have to be repeatedly poked, they can put in my medicine through my line, and even do blood draws from it.  I had a BUNCH of visitors last night which  was great, and i even had some little elfs come and decorate my room. My blog isnt letting me upload pics for some reason, so I will have to post them on my facebook I guess.  Slept so good last night, and today I have an amazing nurse taking care of me. She is a friend of a friend who I have met before, and she is the best from what I hear.  So day one of chemo has been handled, and I am not having any side effects which is awesome.

Let's get this started !!

It looks like my cancer has decided to be a little more aggressive than we thought.  I have been having some back pain and tension headaches from stress this last few days. My appointment today at the City of Hope went really well. The doctor I met with was very knowledgeable. She wanted me to get started right away, so she called my doctor, and suggested we start ASAP. I asked if I could start tonight, so I would be done by xmas, but I don't think I will be able to get a bed ,and have the chemo ordered in time. My doctor is shooting to start Wednesday, and if he can get me in tomorrow ( Tuesday) he will. So we are just waiting to hear the word from him.  If I'm in the hospital, my family is all bringing xmas to me :)
My appointments are always really emotional for me. It pisses me off that my body is doing something that I cannot control, but will control my life for the next 6 months.  I have an amazing support system though, so I know whatever happens I will have lots of love and assistance through it.  Bone marrow / stem cell transplant after the chemo is not a for sure thing, which is encouraging. They will do more scans half way through chemo to see how I am responding, and will decide at the end if a transplant is needed.  They did tell me I need to wait 2 years after I finish treatment to try and get pregnant, which is kind of a bummer, but I guess the first 2 years are the most critical so they don't want me having kids till they know I am in remission.  It was a lot of info today, and I have to admit I am getting nervous for this all to start. Mostly because I really just want to get this handled, and not have to think about it anymore.  My chemo schedule will be 5 days in the hospital, 2-3 weeks home, repeat for 6 months.  I don't want to be away from home that long, but getting treatment in the hospital is supposed to be better. The patients have less side effects, because I can receive meds for nausea, pain, etc directly through my IV.  So, in every potential negative, it seems like there are many many more positives.  Thank you everyone for your support, it means so much and really gives me strength.

Being outside is the best medicine

Richie, Rhino, Zoey, and I went on a hike today. We went on a trail that took us up pretty high though Mission Viejo, and found about a dozen other trails that we want to do soon.  Since being diagnosed, I have not been to the gym. Bummer. I was working out five days a week up until the day being admitted to Mission Hospital. It has been 5 weeks, and I am going crazy. I want to get as physically healthy and strong as I can during this process.  Today was day #1. Back at the gym this week. Now that all my testing and procedures are completed, I can start back up again my Doc said. Richie said there is a cancer run the second week in January, and it's a 5K. Im going to see if I can do it.  I'd really like to, so I am gonna start training again.  A 5k during all this is a good goal for me to work toward.

City of Hope Appointment

Finally got my appointment at the City of Hope. I am meeting with an amazing doctor there on Monday afternoon.  She is gonna give me the info on what she feels is the best treatment for me, and is familiar with cases like mine. I am very anxious to get all this started. I think I will be having a port put in under the skin near my collar bone, so each time they do chemo and blood work, they dont have so start a new IV. From what I have heard, it is much easier just to tap into that and draw straight from there. Kinda nervous about my chemo schedule, and to hear what she thinks about doing bone marrow/stem cell transplant after the chemo. But, Im glad I will know more after monday. This waiting game is slowing me down. Lets get this handled already !!

Little Pilozos

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited. One of the girls from my fertility doctor's office brought me the best gift today :)  She brought me the pictures of our 7 little embryos. Right now they are "chilling" at 200 degrees below freezing, and waiting till all my cancer treatments are all finished.  Haven't been feeling that positive the last few days, and this turned it all around . Thank you Robin !!!!!

Getting everyone caught up

Hey everyone,
So as many of you know, I have been dealing with some health issues this past month. For those of you that don’t, I will catch you up.  About a month ago, after a week of an upset stomach (which I thought was from eating some bad cheese) my co-worker urged me to get an ultrasound to see what was the source.  Some “masses” appeared in my abdomen, so I was sent to the ER to have further testing done.  Making a long story short, a few CT scans, blood work, ultrasounds, and an abdominal needle biopsy later…. I was diagnosed with Lymphoma cancer.  This was a pretty scary few days.  The Coast Guard flew Richie home as soon as they could, since he was not scheduled to be back from Alaska till Xmas eve.
For a while, my Oncologist was attempting to determine which kind of Lymphoma I had. For anyone who is familiar with this type of cancer, you know there are more than 10 kinds. Super confusing, even for me as a nurse.  After running more tests, it was determined I actually have a hybrid of two types. My official diagnosis is ……ready for it……. Diffused Large B-cell Non-Hodgekins Lymphoma with Birketts attributes.  Thats a mouth full. My doctor said that he sees B-cell lymphoma monthly, has only seen 3 Birketts cases in his career, and hasn’t ever seen a patient with both. Guess that means I’m special (no short bus jokes mom).  They staged me at stage 4, but staging for Lymphoma is different than other cancers.  My bone marrow biopsy came back normal, and to date all my blood work still looks normal. I am in process of going up to The City of Hope in LA to have a consultation with a doctor who I have read about in medical journals and is described as a “lymphoma genius”. She and my current Oncologist together will set up a Chemotherapy schedule, which it looks like I will be starting at the beginning of the year.
The last month has been busy to say the least. Doctors appointments daily, and even twice daily, blood work, scans, shots, etc.  Some  exciting news though, my Oncologist suggested we harvest my eggs, so that after chemotherapy we are able to have some healthy babies. Most of my eggs will be destroyed during this whole process. So we did that last month. Shots and appointments daily were difficult, but we harvested 7 little embryos that are “chillin” at 200 below zero until this whole thing is over with.

Well, thats it for now. I just wanted to update you all, but doing so in person and on the phone is time consuming ast you can imagine. Love you guys.