Sick But Trying to Stay Strong!
I have been fighting a nasty virus for over a week now and I'm sooo over it. I don't even have the luxury of being able to rest because I still have to go to work and I can't sleep when I'm sick. I think I woke up like 4 times last night and by 7am this morning I decided there was no point in trying to sleep in. Which really sucks because today was the only day that I had the opportunity to sleep in. I wanted to be lazy and sleep in until noon like my weekends in college. At least I have my voice back though. My voice decided to take a vacation this past weekend which made for an interesting weekend at work. I had a few hard of hearing patients and they definitely couldn't hear me at all but we made it through the shifts with no problems. I think it helped that I had a student with me for one of the days so she was able to do some of the talking for me. And she even had cough drops for me. Bonus points! I think I'm getting over the worst of it though. I hope.
In the midst of my illness this past week I have received good news and some more bad news. Should I start with the good news or the bad news? Maybe I'll give you the bad news first so that I could end on a positive note. Does that sound good?
The bad news: 2 family members have been diagnosed with breast cancer. I know, right! The bad news never ends. One of them is one of my cousins. She just found out her diagnosis and they think it's also at Stage IV already. She has follow-up appointments coming up where she will learn more but I'm really hoping that it's not at Stage IV yet. The other person is one of my Aunt's. She was originally diagnosed at Stage II, I believe, a few years ago but has now had a recurrence. She is now at a Stage III. She did not have a mastectomy the first time around. So, yes. I do advocate for mastectomies. In my case it really wasn't necessary anymore but if it had been caught at an earlier stage I definitely would've had a double mastectomy. And no, this doesn't mean my cancer is hereditary. I have already tested negative for BRCA 1 & 2 which are the "breast cancer" genes. Obviously, there are many things that haven't been discovered yet about breast cancer and there's always a possibility that there is an abnormality in my DNA that hasn't been discovered yet.
I'm just praying and hoping that one day a cure will be discovered, which is why we need to put more money in research. Many organizations place an emphasis and their bank account on prevention and early detection and that's great but in the end people are still dying from breast cancer. We need a CURE!
On to the good news: My Cancer Antigen 15-3 is normal! I know I've mentioned this test before. My doctors use this lab test to monitor my cancer. Normal levels are <33 U/ml and my current level is 13 U/ml! When I had cancer my level was 47 U/ml. This means that for now, my cancer is in check as evidenced by my clear scan a few weeks ago. If we start to see it trending upward then we know that something's up and I may need a scan earlier than expected.
It's kind of hard to feel happy about these results due to all the bad news I've heard recently but I just have to buck up and show my support for my family. No time for tears! It's time to be strong and move forward.
In the midst of my illness this past week I have received good news and some more bad news. Should I start with the good news or the bad news? Maybe I'll give you the bad news first so that I could end on a positive note. Does that sound good?
The bad news: 2 family members have been diagnosed with breast cancer. I know, right! The bad news never ends. One of them is one of my cousins. She just found out her diagnosis and they think it's also at Stage IV already. She has follow-up appointments coming up where she will learn more but I'm really hoping that it's not at Stage IV yet. The other person is one of my Aunt's. She was originally diagnosed at Stage II, I believe, a few years ago but has now had a recurrence. She is now at a Stage III. She did not have a mastectomy the first time around. So, yes. I do advocate for mastectomies. In my case it really wasn't necessary anymore but if it had been caught at an earlier stage I definitely would've had a double mastectomy. And no, this doesn't mean my cancer is hereditary. I have already tested negative for BRCA 1 & 2 which are the "breast cancer" genes. Obviously, there are many things that haven't been discovered yet about breast cancer and there's always a possibility that there is an abnormality in my DNA that hasn't been discovered yet.
I'm just praying and hoping that one day a cure will be discovered, which is why we need to put more money in research. Many organizations place an emphasis and their bank account on prevention and early detection and that's great but in the end people are still dying from breast cancer. We need a CURE!
On to the good news: My Cancer Antigen 15-3 is normal! I know I've mentioned this test before. My doctors use this lab test to monitor my cancer. Normal levels are <33 U/ml and my current level is 13 U/ml! When I had cancer my level was 47 U/ml. This means that for now, my cancer is in check as evidenced by my clear scan a few weeks ago. If we start to see it trending upward then we know that something's up and I may need a scan earlier than expected.
It's kind of hard to feel happy about these results due to all the bad news I've heard recently but I just have to buck up and show my support for my family. No time for tears! It's time to be strong and move forward.
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