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!

Relay for Life

Yesterday, I went to a Relay for Life event at Westlake High School with Mom, Aunt Janet and Uncle Bill. Aunt Janet is a 33 year breast cancer survivor. Mom is a 6 month survivor. They were part of the 100 or so honored guests of the event. Uncle Bill and I were there as Caregivers. We were all given t-shirts for survivors and caregivers. We listened to the opening ceremonies speeches. Then, the survivors and caregivers walked around the track. Aunt Janet pulled Mom up to walk around. Mom made it about a quarter of the way around the track, but she just didn't have the energy to walk the entire lap. Aunt Janet made it around the track. It was really emotional to watch the survivors walk by. Mom is now a survivor and I'm so proud of that.

The Last Side Effect Cycle

I knew that the last treatment would be the hardest for Mom. Dr. Bagai has mentioned that she would feel more fatigued and more achy as her treatments went along. However, Mom handled the 3rd treatment pretty well. However, the last treatment has really hit Mom hard. She is now in the middle of her "lowest point" for her blood counts, when she really does feel the worse. Mom pretty much slept on and off for the past 4 days. She went out today for a short time, but that exhausted her and she was back in bed. Her allergies have really been in overdrive. We don't know if having her nose cauterized last week is also playing a role in all of this as well. We go to the Ear, Nose Throat Doctor tomorrow for a follow up.

Mom has a busy week ahead of her with the follow-up tomorrow and then a visit to the chiropractor on Wednesday. Friday night, we are going to a Relay for Life event at Westlake High School. Then, she is going to a retreat in Burton, Ohio for newly diagnosed breast cancer survivors. This is sponsored by The Gathering Place. I reminded Mom that she has all of this to do this week. She asked me when she would feel better. I said by Friday. She needed a goal. Any encouragement for her to feel better is a good thing. She's nearly there. She can do this!

Sue and I are going to put together a team for Race for the Cure in September for Pauline. More information to come on that event. We need a name for our team. Any suggestions?

Follow Up

Mom had an appointment with an Ear, Nose, Throat doctor yesterday afternoon to find out why she has been getting the nosebleeds the past few weeks. She had another nosebleed late Sunday night. Thankfully, this wasn't that bad and with the "tricks" that the emergency room doctor taught us, Mom was able to get the blood flow to stop. Anyways, we went to the doctor yesterday. He said that she had a burst blood vessel in her left nostril. He cauterized the vessel all the while cracking jokes. At least that put her a bit at ease. Now, she has to use an antibiotic cream in the nostril and wait for it to heal. We have a follow-up appointment next week to make sure that it is healing.

Mom is officially over going to doctor's offices, hospitals, etc. I am there with her!! I never wanted to have to know all the information that I have researched, but I have. Now is the time for Mom to recover and regain her health, strength and mental well being.

Mother's Day was very mellow for the family. We went to Sue's house for dinner. Mom was very tired and achy. She just sat and watched the kids play and wasn't very interactive with them. Once she feels stronger, she will be more interactive with the kids. (which I think will be a big factor in helping her heal). Mother's Day also put the past 5 months into perspective for me. I realized, even more than I already do, that it is important to cherish every minute with your parents!