Testimonial Speaker

As you know from previous blogs, my Mom has been going to a chiropractor since the fall of 2009, a few months before she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Mom has suffered with fibromyalgia for 15 years. She was having pains in her head the past 2 years. She attended a seminar about fibromyalgia by Dr. Brian Ruocco of Power of Life Chiropractic in the fall. She received a free consultation and the rest is history! The manipulation exercises that she did was helping her head pain and body aches dramatically. Then, the breast cancer diagnosis hit in December. The chiropractic therapy changed to help enhance her immune system before her mastectomy in January. Since then, it has been more of a recovery therapy to help her recover from surgery and the 4 chemotherapy treatments. She has been a very vocal supporter for the work that Dr. Ruocco has done. She even persuaded the oncology nurse, Cindy, to go to a fibromyalgia seminar with her. Now Cindy is a patient of Dr. Ruocco! (which in itself is a huge mixing of the chiropractic world and the medicine world!).

Dr. Ruocco asked Mom if she would do a testimonial that he could use in a fibromyalgia seminar that he was doing this week. She told him that she would do better than that. She would show up and give the testimonial in person. I don't think that Mom is afraid of talking in front of people. She must have passed along that talent to me, as well. The seminar was Thursday. I asked her how it went and she just shrugged it off as something that she would do everyday. She also told me that she has been speaking up in the seminars and support groups that she goes to at the Moll Center. She talks about going to The Gathering Place and what service they have provided for her.

I'm so proud of Pauline for doing all of this. Most people who just went through chemotherapy feel self-conscious wearing hats, etc. Pauline has embraced all of the emotions that go along with recovering from chemotherapy and has channeled them to help others who are going through the same thing. This is so great. The more that she gets out there and talks to people, I think the better she will feel!

Pauline's Posse

I just started a team for the Cleveland Susan G Komen Race for the Cure for Pauline! The race/walk is on September 11, 2010 in downtown Cleveland. Our team's name is Pauline's Posse. Pauline is signed up to walk, so let's all encourage her as much as possible that she can do it!

Check out the action for the Pauline's Posse. When it asks you to join an existing team, you enter Pauline's Posse. You can sign up to join us in our walk or just donate to a great cause. More info to come!

Sunshine and Flowers

Every year for the past 8 years, Sue and I have planted flowers for my parent's patio. This year was no exception. Mom really enjoys seeing the flowers grow throughout the summer. Plus, all of her neighbors make comments about her patio flowers. The pictures are of the patio after we planted the pots this past weekend. I'll have to remember to take a picture at the end of summer to show how all of the flowers grew to take over the patio! Hopefully, mom's energy level will grow as the flowers grow over the summer.

Good news on the Arimidex cost. Mom has been given a grant to reduce the cost of Arimidex to $25.00 a month via a speciality pharmacy called Diplomat. . The drug arrived this afternoon. What a HUGE relief this is for my mom. I really don't know what she would have done if this didn't come through for her. She will start taking it tomorrow and we'll see what side effects (if any-hopefully not) we will have to deal with. The official road to being cancer free starts tomorrow!!!

Survivorship

Mom is officially a breast cancer survivor. She made it through surgery with flying colors. She made it through her chemotherapy treatment. Now, she will be moving on to the next step of her treatment-hormonal therapy.

This morning was Mom's follow-up appointment with Dr. Bagai. It's been 3.5 weeks since her last chemotherapy treatment. She is still suffering from extreme fatigue and body aches from the treatment. Dr. Bagai says that the side effects will be going away and she will be getting more and more of her energy back. Dr. Bagai is recommending Mom go on the hormonal therapy drug, Arimidex. I did research on the drug and it's side effects. Since Mom is post-menopausal, this is the drug for her. There are not many other choices. She needs to be on this treatment to prevent the cancer coming back or everything that she has been through (surgery and chemotherapy)in the past 6 months will be for naught. Since Mom has a higher chance for recurrence (found in the test on her tumor), she needs to be on some sort of hormonal therapy. We talked about the side effects with the doctor. Major side effects include body aches (mom already has these, possible bone loss, hot flashes and higher cholesterol. He recommends that Mom will also start taking a Calcium and Vitamin D supplement. He kept reminding us that these side effects are not life threatening and can be controlled. (unlike the side effects of chemotherapy, which have a chance of being life threatening)

The biggest worry that Mom has (other than recovery) is the cost. Arimidex is a very costly drug. It could cost her up to $500.00 per month while she is in the donut hole with her Medicare coverage. The drug is not available in a generic form until the end of the year. The Oncology nurse, Cindy, is going to investigate lower drug costs either through the drug company or another pharmacy for Mom. This was a big relief for Mom and I hope released some of her anxieties about taking the drug. Now, we wait for Cindy to work her magic with the drug company.

Cindy also gave Mom information on a survivorship program that Moll Center provides twice a month. Mom will go for her first time in 2 weeks. I think that this is just as important for her as going to the other support groups that she goes to. Once the battle with the insurance company and the drug costs are under control, Mom can then focus on her full recovery, while learning new skills to make herself a better person inside and out!