Let the Countdown Begin

Friday, November 1st was my 6 month imaging follow up. It was a difficult day. I posted this photo and caption on Instagram:

Super vulnerable post. This is the face of scanxiety. This is the face of someone on xeloda, having a facial skin reaction, weight gain and extreme cancer fatigue. This is the face of someone who lost all of her hair during chemo and is now trying to figure out post chemo hair regrowth. This is the face of someone who is having one of those days thinking, “is this really my life?” This is young adult breast cancer. And it sucks.

I had the most painful mammograms of my life (at 33, that's just a sad statement all around). Then I had to have ultra sounds of both of my breasts. As I sat there waiting alone in the exam room for the doctor to look over the imaging, five minutes went by. Ten minutes. I started to feel a little worked up. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of waiting (but was actually only 20 minutes) the tech rushed in and apologetically told me the doctor had been busy but ... MY SCANS WERE CLEAR!

I'll give you all a moment to do a happy dance around your house.

Clear! Clear! Clear! THANK YOU JESUS! What an incredible relief.

They were able to get good imaging of my scar tissue and have a good baseline moving forward.

I've got three more cycles of Xeloda left. With the increased dosage, I find I am even more exhausted and I have been having more stomach issues. As I mentioned earlier, I am having a bad facial skin reaction to the Xeloda, as well. The skin above and below my eyebrows is red, flaky and itchy. So yeah, my mind and my body have pretty much had it at this point.

For this reason, I am asking for help. The next six weeks are going to be difficult. I have created a Meal Train and would so appreciate any help I can get. I will include the link at the end of my post.

Updates and Prayer Requests:

My HGB continues to go up! I am now at 14.3 and the normal range is 12-16!
My white blood cell count is still on the low end and I am definitely feeling nervous about the cold season. Please pray I stay healthy (currently fighting a cold).
I will start cycle ten of Xeloda Sunday, November 10th.
My next appointment with my oncologist is Monday, November 18th.
I had another heart scare that landed me in the ER last month. I have since been to a cardiologist and they have decided to run a few more tests. I will keep you updated.