One Year Later..

Hello everyone! I'm back again with an update about my health. It's been over a year since I've written an update, where has the time gone?

Last June, I got the call that I was once again cancer free and we got the go ahead to start officially trying to get pregnant! I met with an awesome new ob/gyn who told me that he's pretty sure my body has never ovulated on it's own, and that's why we haven't been able to get pregnant. So, he prescribed Clomid to help me ovulate. I started it in August. 3 months of taking it, no positive ovulation. He switched to Femara, which has better luck helping plus size women ovulate. 3 months of taking it, no positive ovulation. And then my body started fighting back and my periods stopped completely! My ob/gyn wasn't sure why, I was definitely not pregnant.

In April, I decided to make one last appointment with my oncologist before we moved, just to make sure everything was still looking alright. I met with his nurse practitioner, and she ordered a new ultrasound to take a look at my uterus, since it had been over a year since my last ultrasound. After my ultrasound, my oncologist's lead nurse called me to set up a biopsy appointment because my uterine lining once again looked too thick. A week after my biopsy, and the day before we moved to Amarillo, my oncologist called me to tell me that my atypical hyperplasia is back (pre-cancerous cells) and that I have to go back on the cancer pills!

But, my oncologist was able to refer me to a new oncologist near where we live up here, his mentor! It turns out, his mentor was relocating to Lubbock in June or July. We used to drive almost 2.5 hours to San Antonio to see my oncologist, Lubbock is only 1.5 hours away! I called this new oncologist when our insurance started again, and he was really great on the phone! His privileges didn't start until the end of August, so now I'm going to call this week to set up an appointment with him. He did say on the phone that I might not need another surgery so soon, or surgeries so frequently, because he has a 2nd medication that he uses that might cut back on the amount of surgeries I need. I'm hopeful that it works for me!

So, this is where I'm at now - back on the cancer pills and calling this week to make an appointment to see this new oncologist soon! I'll update again once I see my new oncologist, hopefully with good news! Thank you to everyone reading, and keeping us in your good thoughts and prayers!

Fat shaming doctors and advocating for yourself!

Fat-shaming by doctors is real and total bullshit.I have been fat shamed by MULTIPLE doctors, every one of them telling me that all my problems would be solved if I just lost weight.

Brian and I started to get pregnant as soon as we got married. After a year of trying without any luck, I made an appointment at a local clinic (no health insurance then). I was positive that I had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, and that it was preventing me from ovulating. The doctor I saw told me to lose 100lb and then I'd be able to get pregnant, and told me that any other doctor I saw would tell me the same thing. I asked him about PCOS and he didn't know what it was. Then he tried to sell me a diet book that he co-wrote! I left the clinic and cried. That doctor left me feeling so awful about myself, I refused to go to the doctor for 3 years after that.

My next doctor was excellent, officially diagnosed me with PCOS and actually listened to my concerns about infertility. But he still told me that I needed to lose a considerable amount of weight before he'd help me get pregnant.

Once we moved, and I found a new doctor, she also told me to focus on losing weight before trying to get pregnant. But she found out that I had a thyroid that was barely functioning. That, combined with my PCOS, it's no wonder I was having trouble losing weight! She was actually pissed on my behalf that none of my previous doctors had ever checked my thyroid function.

Then I found out that the PCOS had caused endometrial/uterine cancer. I can't help but wonder if I would've ever gotten cancer if I'd had doctors who took my PCOS seriously from the start. Doctors who even knew that PCOS could cause cancer, and who told me that if was a possibility, because I had no idea it was something that I should even worry about. I had no idea it was something I should've been getting checked for regularly. Thankfully, my cancer is very slow growing. But it's also something that will continue to come back as long as I keep my uterus. The medications to fight the cancer caused weight gain. I gained 40lb in 6 months. Finally went into remission, only to have it start to come back after 6 months. Once again, I'm now in remission. (YAY!) I've lost 40lb in the last year.

My AWESOME oncologist completely supports my decision to try to get pregnant now, while I'm in a window of remission. He referred me to one of his personal friends who is an ob/gyn. I saw him in June, right after getting my remission news.

This new ob/gyn is the FIRST ob/gyn who took me seriously, who didn't tell me to lose weight FIRST. He told me that there's no reason why we can't try to pregnant with some medication help WHILE I'm working on losing weight.He was the first doctor who saw my weight as a symptom of PCOS, and looking past it to see what else was going on. I actually cried when I got in the car, I was so relieved to be heard and taken seriously as a woman, not just a fat woman. My new ob/gyn has put me on Clomid, to try and get my body to ovulate. He agrees with me that I've probably never ovulated, and that's what prevented us from getting pregnant. I just finished the first round! It doesn't look that I ovulated in the first month, but I'm not worried! I'm hopeful for the next round. He said he'd give me 6 rounds (months) to try to ovulate on this medication before ordering more tests.

But it's taken me almost 9 years of doctors and trying to conceive before I've finally found a doctor who has looking past my weight. You have to advocate for yourself and your health! If you have a doctor who doesn't listen to you, who tells you to lose weight first, LEAVE! Find a new doctor! I am completely serious. If you walk into a doctor's office and start describing symptoms that you feel aren't related to your weight, and that doctor tells you to "JUST LOSE WEIGHT" then walk out. Get up and leave! Because you deserve a doctor that listens to you, who doesn't just see your weight and write you off as an unhealthy person because you're heavy. YOU DESERVE BETTER! Fat shaming by doctors is ridiculous. Fat shaming by anyone is ridiculous actually, I shouldn't be given dirty looks at the gym either. But I can't do anything about that. But by doctors is even worse. If you feel like your doctor is writing you and your concerns off due to your weight, find a new doctor. 100% No one deserves to feel unheard by their doctor.

I'm Back! With an update..

Hello family, friends, and random strangers!

I'm back with an update! Nothing much to say about my primary doctor and my hematologist, since I haven't seen either of them since my last update. My primary doctor only prescribes the medicine for my thyroid, and he hasn't needed to see me back yet. My hematologist has rescheduled my last 2 appointments with him, so I have no idea when I'll actually get an update on my iron levels. But I'll let you all know when it happens!

However, I did go see my oncologist this past Friday (6/1) for a check-up since my last surgery at the end of January. I had all my fingers crossed that I'd get good news and wouldn't need another surgery. He did a biopsy (OUCH!) and told me that they should have the results back in about a week. The results would tell us whether or not I would need another surgery, or if I was back in remission and once again cancer free. Exciting!!

While I was there, I told him that if I was in remission again, I wanted to really try to get pregnant by the end of the year. He told me that wasn't really his department and we both laughed. But I told him that I didn't want to be on his treatment plan and trying to get pregnant at the same time without communicating with him. He understood and agreed. He asked if I had an ob/gyn down here, and I told him I used to but wanted to get a new one. He told me that he's friends with an ob/gyn down here, and that he would see if his friend had any opening for new patients. He told me that this new ob/gyn would either be able to help get me pregnant, or he would know who can!

My oncologist actually texted the ob/gyn while I was changing, and the ob/gyn said "Sure, send her over!" Yay! So my oncologist said that he'd send my file over, and the ob/gyn's office would give me a call to schedule an appointment.

That was pretty much the end of my appointment. So the waiting for my biopsy results began..

I got the call earlier today (Wednesday 6/6) from my oncologist's main nurse. She was happy to report that I am once again CANCER FREE!! All my cells are completely normal, I don't have any cancerous or even pre-cancerous cells. I don't need another surgery, I can stop the cancer pills, and I officially have the all clear to try to really get pregnant this year!!

About 30 minutes after I hung up the phone with this great news, the new ob/gyn's office called me to schedule an appointment. I was excited, but knew that it would be a wait before I could get in. OR SO I THOUGHT! I now have an appointment with this new ob/gyn to discuss my infertility options scheduled for this Monday (6/11)!!

It's so weird, because for years now I've been telling Brian that I didn't think we'd have a baby until I was 30. I just kept having this feeling that it wouldn't happen until I was 30. I have no idea why. But now, my 30th birthday is in just over a week, I'm once again cancer free, I have an appointment to discuss getting pregnant, things are just moving right along for us!

Thank you to my amazing husband, for being my rock through all of this. And major thanks to all our family and friends who send us thoughts and prayers. I'll write another update after the ob/gyn appointment!

Checking In After Check-Ups

Hello again all!

I'm here for another check-in after both my follow-up after my 4th surgery, and my follow-up appointment with my hematologist after getting an IV iron infusion.

Surgery Follow-Up -  My oncologist's nurse called me on the Thursday morning after my surgery to give me my pathology results over the phone. My cancer hasn't come back! But it had started to progress abnormally again. Suck. So, I am back to taking the cancer pills twice a day. Not ideal, since they cause increased appetite and weight gain. But hey, it's better than cancer! Haha! The nurse told me that I could cancel my follow-up appointment, unless I had any questions for my oncologist. I told her to go ahead and cancel it, since this was my fourth surgery. I'm an old pro! She cancelled that appointment and told me that my oncologist wants to see me back in 4 months. I'm scheduled to go back on June 1st. And I'll be on the cancer pills until then, and we'll see what happens at that time.

Iron Infusion -
I had my IV iron infusion on that same Thursday after my surgery. The whole process took about 3 hours from start to finish. I got there, was checked in, and called back. They inserted my IV and gave me both aspirin and benadryl, to help my body absorb the iron and to prevent itching around my IV site. Then I had to wait about 30 minutes for the IV to arrive from the pharmacy. It took another 30 minutes for the iron to slowly drip into my body, and once it was done, I had to wait 30 minutes to make sure I didn't have an adverse reaction to the iron. I felt fine, so they let me go. I expected to feel better right away, but it took me a few days to notice a difference. I'm not as tired as I used to be, I was able to drastically cut back on my caffeine usage! I'm still sleeping an average of 9 hours a night, but I think that also comes from recovering from surgery and being back on cancer pills. But I used to take a nap almost every day, even falling asleep during nap-time at work. Now, I'm not taking naps or feeling like I'm going to drop from exhaustion right before bed. I don't crave chewing on ice anymore, which is a major sign and symptom of iron deficient anemia.

Hematologist Follow-Up -
I saw my hematologist for a follow-up yesterday. He said that some of my iron numbers are still off, but that my iron count is finally in normal range! Probably for the first time in years. My red blood cells are still too small, but he's hoping that they'll get into normal range by the next time he see me. He let me cut down to only taking iron once a day, instead of twice. That takes me total daily pill count from 13 to 11! Yay progress! He wants to see me back in 3 months for repeat blood work, to see how my levels are doing. The cancer pill actually prevent normal periods, so he expects my iron levels to be in completely normal range when I come back in the middle of May. I hope so!

So, that's where I'm at right now. I have an appointment with my primary doctor in about a month, for a normal check-up. Then another hematologist appoint in the middle of May, and an appointment with my oncologist on June 1st. I'll update here after each appointment! Thanks for following and keeping me in your thoughts and prayers! :-)

Another Update, Another Post.. Surgery #4

Hello all! After seeing the hematologist and having another surgery, I'm here with another update!

Hematologist appointment first - I had my appointment with the blood doctor. He was great. Very friendly, and listened to everything I had to say before he talked. He figured out that one of the medications I stopped recently was causing the high white blood cell counts. Bam! One problem solved within just a couple minutes. He also said that the cancer and problems I've been having with all of that is most likely what's causing my iron to decrease, even when I'm not having periods. So he scheduled me for an iron infusion through an IV. I'll be doing that this coming Thursday! He's not super concerned about my numbers, because the iron pills are bringing up my iron levels. But it's just so slow, so the iron infusion will bring my iron counts into normal range, and then I'll continue the iron pills to keep me at a normal range. He told me that I'll feel awesome after the infusion, so I'm excited for it! :-)

Surgery update next - I had my latest (and hopefully last) surgery yesterday. I woke up at 3am, and we were on the road by 330am. We got to the hospital at about 545am, and got checked in at 6am. I was called back pretty quickly, we'd maybe been sitting down 20 minutes. I got to change into my oh-so-fashionable hospital gown and non-slip socks. My IV was inserted, and all my fancy hospital bands put on. I was styling! lol And then came the waiting.. My surgery was scheduled for 8am. The anesthesiologist came in at just after 8am, and said that he'd been told that my surgery was pushed to 830am. Nobody told us! But no big deal. My oncologist came in at 840am, to make sure we didn't have any questions. We joked that this was my 4th one of these, we're old pros now! They gave me the good drugs, and rolled me into the OR.

I woke up in recovery about an hour later. Minimal headache and nausea, mostly I just felt so tired! I was in recovery for about an hour, before getting wheeled into recovery2 and getting to see my hubby! Once I was steady enough to stand, I got dressed and we were ready to leave! I ate a banana just to tell my stomach to shut up, and once Brian was on the highway, I passed out! I slept the entire 2 hour drive home. And then ate a huge lunch! I had a bit of a headache, mostly from the lack of caffeine. And I was pretty dizzy and lightheaded, so I stayed parked on the couch for the rest of the evening. After we had dinner, I read in bed for a little while, and then feel asleep by 830pm. Woke up naturally at just after 7am, 10.5 hours of sleep later!

I'm feeling pretty good today! Minimal bleeding that comes and goes, a tiny bit of cramping. Still dizzy and lightheaded, so I'm staying parked on the couch again today. Some television, knitting, and reading. Thank goodness for my wonderful husband, he's been taking care of the dogs, the house, meals, and everything else. He's amazing!

My follow-up appointment for after surgery is on the Feb 15th, I'll get the pathology results from my surgery, and then I'll know what my next steps are going to be. Whether it's going back on the cancer pills, another surgery, different medications.. Then I'll have a follow-up appointment with the blood doctor on Feb 16th, so expect another blog update after those two appointments in a couple weeks!

Thank you to everyone for your good thoughts, prayers, and well wishes!

6 Months Later..

Hello again family and friends! Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!

I thought I'd write a (probably long) post about my health, and everything that's been going on lately. Be forewarned, I'm not holding anything back, so this might be too much information for some people. :-)

So, I officially went into remission for my endometrial cancer in July '17. While I was coming off the cancer pills, I started a period for the first time in about 13 months. The cancer pills actually prevented normal periods, so I hadn't had one since I started taking them in June '16. And that period was horrendous. I was in a lot of pain, and couldn't leave the house for over a week from the start. I found out that although the cancer pills prevented bleeding every month, they hadn't prevented my uterine lining from building up every month, they had just prevented my body from shedding the lining every month for a normal period. So, when my body was completely off the cancer pills, it tried to shed all that lining in one long period. I ended up bleeding for over a month. At that point, my oncologist prescribed a form of estrogen to help my body stop bleeding. Thankfully, that worked!

In September, I started a medication to regulate my periods and bleeding. Then I had a 3 month check up with my oncologist in October, and everything looked good! The period pills hadn't worked yet, but I was told to just give them a few months to start working.

In December, I had a normal blood work check-up with my primary. Everything looked great, except my iron was back to being too low. Not too concerning, except that I hadn't been having normal periods, so he couldn't figure out where my iron was going in my body. Plus, he noticed that my white count had been elevated for a few months. So he decided to refer me to a hematologist (blood doctor), for more detailed blood tests.

At the beginning of this month, I went in for another 3 month check-up with my oncologist. After a long talk about my iron and absent periods, and period pills still not working yet, he agreed with my primary's hematologist referral. He also decided to refer me to a gastroenterologist to check for an ulcer. Next, I had an ultrasound to look at my ovaries and uterus. My oncologist saw then that my uterine lining was thicker than it was supposed to be. Again. He decided right then to do a biopsy. I'll skip describing how much fun that was.. I was sent home to wait for the results. And he sent me for more blood work, to rule out any other problems for my low iron. So far, those blood tests have come back normal.

I got the results of my biopsy last week, and my cells are pre-cancerous again. So, I'm having another D&C surgery on January 29th. 2 weeks from now! Once I have this next surgery, my oncologist will decide if I need to go back on the cancer pills, based on what my pathology says after my surgery. Best case scenario, I don't have to go back on the cancer pills after this surgery, and I can be prescribed stronger period pills to help prevent my body from building up a lining and not shedding it, which is how the cells become cancerous. Then I have a post-op surgery follow up with my oncologist on February 15th, to go over the pathology results and to decide on our next steps.

I have an appointment with the hematologist this Friday, the 19th. Hopefully, we'll be able to figure out why my iron keeps dropping, even when I don't have a period, and why my white cells have been elevated, even when I'm not sick. I'm ready for some answers! And then I have an appointment with a gastroenterologist in April. Seriously, April. That was apparently the earliest they could see me. But I'm hoping that the hematologist will be able to figure out my problem without going to the gastroenterologist, and I can cancel that appointment in April.

So, that's where I'm at right now. Hematologist on Friday, another surgery in two weeks, and then a follow up appointment for surgery on February 15th.

Thank you all for your continued support, thoughts, and prayers. I really appreciate them all! <3

3rd Surgery Post & Great News!

Hello again everyone!


I had my 3rd surgery on June 26th, and my follow-up appointment this past Thursday. Here's a little update!

Surgery went well! I was in the out-patient ambulatory center, instead of the actual surgery wing of the hospital this time. It moved a bit faster, although it was a little less private. The surgery wing puts you in a private room before and after surgery, while the out-patient center was just curtained off cubicles. But I didn't mind, since we were in and out faster than the surgery wing. I only woke up with a headache, and starving of course! haha Thankfully, I remembered to have snacks in the car so I wasn't hangry on our way to get real food. Third times the charm, I guess! lol

My follow-up appointment was scheduled for 2.5 weeks later. I had to call my nurse 2 days before, to make sure they had my pathology results before my husband and I drove 2.5 hours to the doctor's office. After a brief hold, she came back on the line and said that they did have my results, and she was happy to tell me that I AM OFFICIALLY CANCER FREE! WOOHOO! I can't begin to tell you how much happy dancing my husband and I have been doing since I found out! =)

I still had to go to my follow-up appointment, to talk to my doctor about my next steps. He told me again that I am officially in remission! It's so great to hear. We talked about the possibility of my cancer coming back, and he said that I shouldn't worry about it. It's such a slow-growing cancer that just a yearly pap smear will be able to find it early enough. He said my real problem will still be getting pregnant. He prescribed me Provera, to try to regulate my monthly periods. I'll start taking that Sept. 1st. He also prescribed Metformin, to help my body process sugar and it should also help with weight loss. I started that yesterday. I'm going to start a low carb diet and regular exercising tomorrow to help with that weight loss too! He told me that I might still have to find a ob/gyn or fertility specialist to help get me pregnant eventually, but I want to focus on losing weight first.

So, I'll go back to my oncologist in October for an ultrasound and routine check up. And again in January, I believe. Hopefully, both of those checks will be completely clear, and then I'll switch to every 6 months.

Until then, I'm celebrating being cancer free! And I'll be working on weight loss and being healthier overall. And crafting! lol I have a long list of gifts to make in the next few months. I hope my next few posts will just be about losing weight and the crafty projects I'm working on, but I'll also keep you all updated on my next appointment with my oncologist in October!

Thank you all for going on this journey with me, and my husband. All your thoughts, prayers, and well wishes were very much appreciated! All the love to you all! =)

National Infertility Awareness Week 2017

This week is National Infertility Awareness Week. To share and show support, I'm going to post my story. It's personal and might be a little too much information for some, so fair warning, if you don't want to keep reading.

When I hit puberty at 13 years old, I gained weight and my period was normal to start. After a few months, my period stopped being regular and I only had one every 3 or so months. My mom took me to the doctor, they ran tests and nothing was "wrong". So, after talking to my doctor about it, my mom and I decided that I should be on the pill to regulate me. I was on birth control for about 2 years and everything was normal.

Flash forward a couple years, I stopped taking birth control, gained more weight, and my period stopped completely. For 2 years I didn't have any bleeding at all. Then I met Brian. And after being with him a few months, I started randomly bleeding again. It wasn't regular by any means, but it was a period so to speak. The first time it happened, it lasted for over a two full months. Bleeding every day for over two months. Then, it went away for a few week and came back for about the same amount of time. And it would go away and come back, the periods. I don't really call them periods though, since they aren't regular and they stay for so much longer than they're supposed. I just call them bleeding.

Another couple of years later, my wonderful boyfriend became my awesome husband. And I gained a little more weight. After we got married, we decided to stop using protection. We wanted to have a baby! We weren't counting days or anything, but we were ready! We called it "Not trying, but not preventing." And my bleeding was the same. Off for a few weeks, on for a few weeks. Nonstop pretty much. And week after week, month after month - no pregnancy, no baby.

Then, around our first wedding anniversary, I decided to make a doctor's appointment. I've always been heavy/overweight/fat, whatever you want to call it. So I developed a small fear of having undiagnosed Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). I don't have a bunch of the symptoms, but I'm overweight and apparently infertile, so I wanted to get checked out. We didn't have insurance, so I found a low-cost clinic nearby. It took two months to get in, but I got an appointment. After the normal bits of blood pressure, weight and height, the doctor came in for my pelvic exam. Normal exam. After my clothes were back on, he came back in to see if I had any questions. He said everything looked normal and my swabs would be back in a couple weeks. I asked him about not being to get pregnant. He told me that it's because of my weight. He recommended I lose 100lb and then I'd be able to get pregnant no problem. That's right. He told me to lose 100lb, like it would be a magical cure-all for infertility. Now, I'm the first to admit that my weight is a problem. But I felt like he just blew off my questions and concerns. So then I asked him about the possibility of cysts on my ovaries. And he said "Oh yes, I felt cysts during your exam." What the hell? If you felt ovarian cysts during my exam why in the hell would you tell me that everything looked good?? That makes absolutely no sense to me. He pretty much just walked out after that, but not before recommended that I go out and pick up a weight loss book that he co-wrote! On top of all that, while I was walking back to the car, I started bleeding again. I went home and cried.


About two years later, we moved, so I found a new doctor. He confirmed my self-diagnosis of PCOS and prescribed me a medication to help with some of the symptoms, including inability to lose weight at a normal pace. And it really helped! I was on it for almost a year, until we moved again and I didn't refill the prescription. I lost about 30-40lb in that year, but gained it back (plus some) when I went off it.

After we moved again, I decided to try and focus on losing weight before finding another doctor. I worked at it for about a year, and didn't seem to go anywhere. Then, about a year ago, I started to get the feeling that I needed to make a doctors appointment with an ob/gyn. I don't know why, but I just felt like I needed to go. So I made an appointment, and waited the two months to go. I had my normal exam, my ob/gyn said that I didn't seem to have any cysts. Then I waited for my results. The doctor called me about a week later and asked if my husband and I could come it. We both knew that it wasn't good news then.. The ob/gyn sits down with us and tells us that I have endometrial cancer, in my uterus. She says that I'll probably have to have a hysterectomy, maybe chemo and radiation. She refers me to an oncologist in San Antonio, about 2 hours away. I actually had to find a primary care doctor to refer me first, and he said that same thing. That I'd have to have a hysterectomy. I was devastated. Before this diagnosis, I'd always had in my mind that we'd have children eventually. I never really considered that the option could be taken away from us. Brian and I had a long talk, and reassured each other that if we ended up not being about to have children, then we would have dogs and travel and just love each other. He's such a great man.

So, I go see the oncologist. And he's awesome! He tells me that a hysterectomy is absolutely the last resort, especially with how young I am and the fact that I don't have children and still want them. He deals with this type of cancer pretty often and has great results that don't end with a hysterectomy. Thankfully, all my cancer was completely located in my uterus and hadn't spread. I was still in stage one. He prescribed me what I call "cancer pills" that I take twice a day. They actually shrink the cancer cells. And then every few months, I go in for a minor surgery where he actually scrapes out the cancerous cells. I have had two surgeries so far, and I'm going in for another at the beginning of June. Before my first surgery, I had cancer. After my first surgery, I was downgraded to "pre-cancerous cells". After my second surgery, I was downgraded to "abnormal cells". My oncologist is pretty positive that this next surgery will be my last surgery and I'll officially be cancer free! After that happens, my oncologist is actually very optimistic that he'll be able to help us get pregnant. He has a couple medications that he wants to try, after I beat this cancer, that he thinks will be successful in helping us get pregnant. We'll see what happens there! My next (and hopefully last) surgery is June 8th. My follow up appointment will be about 3 weeks after that, and then we'll start taking the next steps to hopefully start having some babies!

Until then, I'm still working on losing weight. Unfortunately, the cancer pill cause increased appetite and weight gain. So, I gained about 25lb in the first few months that I was taking them, bringing me up to my highest weight ever - almost 300lb. I've lost about 17lb so far, and I'm hoping to keep it going until my next surgery, and after. Brian has been amazing through all of this, including walking with me to help with my weight loss. He's so great! I'm so grateful that he's been my partner through all of this. And this is where we're at for now! Dealing with cancer, and hopefully being able to get pregnant after all this is done. And if we still can't get pregnant, we'll have a beautiful life together anyways. We've talked about adoption, and maybe we'll save enough money to make adoption part of our story. But no matter what, we're together in love. 

Thank you for reading my infertility journey! And my husband's too, since he's been with me through it all. Spread awareness, and don't be afraid to talk and ask questions. 1 in 8 couples are struggling with infertility! PCOS affects 1 in 10 women! These are things we shouldn't be afraid to talk about. =)

2nd Surgery Follow Up Appt

Hello again everyone!

I recently went back to my oncologist to get the pathology results from my last surgery. I actually went about two weeks ago, but I've been sick and am just now getting around to writing an update about it.

It was a very quick appointment, I spent more time in the waiting room then I did actually talking to my doctor. He told me that my results are better than they were, but they still aren't back to normal. Previously, my cells were downgraded from cancerous to pre-cancerous. This time they've been downgraded from pre-cancerous to abnormal. A great step in the right direction! However, they are still abnormal enough that my doctor wants to do one more surgery at the end of May/beginning of June. He's confident that this next surgery will be my last one, and after that we can start taking steps towards helping me get pregnant. I'm happy that my body is responding so well to my medication, but still bummed that I'll need another surgery. Especially since our deductible restarted January 1st, so that's not going to be cheap. But I'm taking this as a big sign that I need to focus on losing weight and being healthier before I get the all clear to start trying to get pregnant. Because I definitely don't want to be pregnant at this weight! So, that's what I'm going to stay focused on these next few months. Diet and exercise!

It's a short update, but still a good one. Downgraded to not even pre-cancerous cells in my body! That's awesome! Hopefully, I'll just need one last surgery and then we can finally focus on making some babies! =) Thanks again for everyone's positive thoughts and prayers! Please keep them coming, and I'll keep you all updated!

Post-Surgery Update - 2nd Surgery

Time for another update, since I had surgery again yesterday! It was the same surgery as before, a D&C - dilation and curettage. Basically, they dilate my cervix and and do a tissue scraping. That is then sent off to pathology, to see how my pre-cancerous cells are doing. I'll find out those results in about three weeks, when I go in for my follow up appointment.

I was a little worried before surgery, because I have been sick for the past few weeks, and I was afraid that my chest congestion and cough would make them cancel my surgery. Actually, I was really worried about it. The whole reason we'd scheduled this surgery for December instead of January was to get me in before my health insurance deductible starts over January 1st. Right now, I'd owe $650 for my surgery, and then I'd get a couple small bills for anesthesia and blood work. If I had surgery in January instead, I'd have to pay a $4000 deductible. Quite a price jump!

Check-In - So, we get to the hospital and check in. Everything was smooth there. Confirm who you are, sign some papers, pay for surgery. Last time, we sat and waited almost 2 hours between check-in and getting called back to pre-op. This time, we waited less than 20 minutes! We had expected to wait so much longer that when I got called back, Brian was out at the car!

Pre-Op - We go into my room, I get changed into my lovely hospital gown. You know the one, nice and breezy in the back! My pre-op nurse comes in for all my history questions. She was actually awesome! Very friendly, very personable. I think I'm going to contact the hospital and write something nice about her. She made us both feel relaxed as we were waiting. She put in my IV and gave me anti-nausea meds, since I told her the anesthesia made me nauseous last time. Next, my anesthesiologist came in to talk to me. I told him about my previous recovery after anesthesia, nausea and a migraine that lasted 3 days. He told me that the migraine isn't a common reaction, but he agreed with our thoughts that the migraine was just my body's reaction because I don't smoke, drink, do drugs, and I rarely drink caffeine. So my body just freaked out. Then I asked him about having chest congestion and being under anesthesia. He said that it wouldn't help my breathing, but it certainly wasn't going to prevent surgery. He actually just thought my cough was from being a smoker, so Brian and I think that he probably gets people in there for surgery with way worse congestion than what I had.

Pre-Op 2 - Next, my oncologist came in to check on me, right before we head back for actual surgery. I had some questions for him this time, that he was happy to answer.

- I asked how many more of these surgeries he thought I'd have to have - He said that he's pretty confident that this would be my last one! He said that with how positively my body has been reacting to the treatment so far, he doesn't think I'll have to have another surgery! He said he'll know for sure once my pathology results come back, and we can talk more about it at my follow up appointment, but he's pretty sure I won't need more surgery.

- I asked him about waiting to start trying for babies. I had been told by my ob/gyn that, in her experience, I would have to wait a full year after going into remission before I could start trying to get pregnant. I asked him if this was true, and he said NO! He said that with my type of cancer, there isn't really a risk of being pregnant and my cancer coming back at the same time. With breast cancer, if you get pregnant after being diagnosed, they usually recommend an abortion because your pregnancy hormones speed up your cancer cells. With my type of cancer, pregnancy hormones won't speed up my cancer cells, so I could be pregnant while still having this cancer, deliver a healthy baby, and then do my cancer treatment. That was a relief to hear, as I'd been worried about getting pregnant after all of this!

- Next he said that I should stop taking my cancer pills, AND stop taking birth control. He said to keep using condoms until my follow up, but that after my pathology results should be coming back pretty much clear, there isn't really a reason to continue to prevent pregnancy now. He told me to keep dieting and losing weight, because the more weight I lose, the healthier my pregnancy will be. He's going to put me back on metformin, to help with my PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome). But after my follow up, we should get the all clear to start trying to get pregnant! He said that he'll put me on a pill that will force my body to have a period each month, and it will hopefully also force my body to ovulate. I don't think it's going to be BOOM! Here's a baby for you! But I'm so excited!! So much good news so far, I'm so excited for my follow up appointment!!

Surgery - my actual surgery went really well. It was pretty quick! My recovery was so much better than last time! I woke up with a small headache and a really dry, sore throat, but no migraine and no nausea! I was actually ready to go about 45 minutes before we got to leave, because their post-op rooms were backed up. So, they let me get changed in recovery, instead of waiting for a post-op room. After that, Brian signed my release papers and we were free to go!

On The Way Home - Last time, I was in so much pain from my migraine, I feel asleep almost immediately after getting in the car and didn't wake up until about 5 minutes before we got home. 2.5 hour drive! This time, I was feeling good! We stopped at a gas station for gas and a snack for me because I was starving! I scarfed down a cinnamon roll in like 3 seconds. Next stop, Bush's Chicken! I loooooove Bush's Chicken, and the closest one to our house is almost 2 hours away. It's a really great fast food, fried chicken place. Not expensive, always fast. And they have THE BEST ROLLS! So yummy! We had planned on getting Bush's after my last surgery, but since I pretty much passed out in the car, we went straight home instead. I was so excited to be feeling good this time, and so happy to stop for Bush's. After a couple pieces of chicken in the car, I feel asleep for about 90 minutes on the way home, woke up to a very sore throat, but my headache was gone!

Recovery - So far, I'm feeling great! My throat is still a little sore, but my bleeding is minimal. Besides just being tired, I'm feeling pretty good. I have today, tomorrow, and Sunday to recover before life gets back to normal. I don't think I'll have any problems being ready to start my new diet and exercise on Monday! Going to kick this cancer away, and have myself a healthy 2017!

That's all I have so far, I know it was a long post. I want to thank everyone for their happy thoughts, prayers, and well wishes. And I'll write up another blog as soon as I see my oncologist for my follow up in about three weeks! I can't wait! =)

Thankful..

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm feeling pretty thankful today. I went to the doctor last week, and thought about writing an update. What better day to do that, than the day of being thankful. =)

First, I had more blood drawn last week.
Results -
Iron - still low, but much higher than it was.
Thyroid - still low, but higher than it was.
Sugars are great, not diabetic. Not even pre-diabetic!
Blood pressure is normal.
Cholesterol is normal.

In even better news, my heart murmur has completely resolved itself! My primary doctor was pretty sure the murmur was only a result of my extremely low iron. Now that those numbers are getting better, the heart murmur is gone!

I have to go back in the middle of February for another round of blood testing, but now it's just routine testing.

I also went to the ob/gyn for another ultrasound, so see how my body is progressing with my cancer treatment. According to the ultrasound, and talking to my oncologist, my body is responding well to treatment. The medicine I've been on has shrunk the cancerous cells, and my oncologist was able to remove all the cancerous cells during my last surgery. I've been downgraded from cancer to hyperplasia. Hyperplasia is pretty much the precursor to cancer. If I stopped my meds and treatment, it would still progress to cancer. But the fact that I'm in the pre-cancercous range and not the cancerous range, that's great progress!

My next step is to continue my medications and treatment, and I'll be having surgery again on Dec. 12th. The same surgery as before, with hopefully even better results! I'm so thankful for the good news! Thank you to everyone for your prayers, good thoughts, and well wishes. =)

Post Surgery Follow-Up Appointment

Hello friends and family!

I just went to the oncologist in San Antonio yesterday, for my follow-up appointment after having surgery about three weeks ago, and wanted to update everyone on how it went!

It was actually a very quick appointment. My doctor said that he did remove some tissue during my surgery, and he was able to remove all the cancerous tissue/cells. However, he wasn't able to remove everything. He did downgrade what is left in my uterus to pre-cancerous cells, but left on their own they would definitely progress to cancer again. Unfortunately, that means I'm not in remission yet. I'm going back on the cancer pills today, and I'm going to have to have another surgery in about 3.5 months. It will be just like my previous surgery. Hopefully, at that time, he'll be able to remove everything and I'll officially be cancer free. My doctor is very happy with how the surgery went, and how my body is healing. He had actually said during my first appointment that it was be the best case scenario for me to only need one surgery to remove all the cancer, so as much as I wish he had been able to get everything with one surgery, needing a 2nd surgery is not surprising. Plus, I was able to tell my doctor that my body didn't react so well to anesthesia last time, and he told me that I can request the same anesthesiologist and let him know how my body reacted last time, and he can make some changes to my dosage so I have a better recovery. I really liked the anesthesiologist, so I'm happy for that. My next step now is to call on Monday to schedule my surgery. We're hoping that I'll be able to schedule that in December, before my deductible starts over at the new year, saving us $500! Plus, I'll miss less work if it's around the holidays. So, keep your fingers crossed that they'll let me schedule surgery in December, instead of January!

That's all the information I have right now! Everything is looking good and I'm making progress towards being cancer free, I'm just not there yet. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts, prayers, and well wishes. It really means a lot to me! I'll keep you updated on anything else that happens! =)

Post Surgery Update

Hello again friends and family! And people I don't know who read this too!

I'm home after having my surgery yesterday. I figured I'd give a detailed play-by-play of the day, and everything I know so far. =)

So, I talked to my main nurse on Monday, to make sure they had all my blood and EKG test results before my surgery yesterday. She said that they had everything they needed, told me to be at the hospital at 1030am for my noon surgery. I asked her about the no food or drinks after midnight, and she told me that since my surgery was at noon, I could eat and drink after midnight, but nothing after 6am.

We dropped the dogs off at my mother-in-law's house Monday night, she and her husband are really awesome with watching the dogs for us whenever we need them! Monday morning, I woke up at 530am to eat breakfast before 6am. We left for our 2.5 drive a little early, because it was raining. We still managed to get to the hospital for registration and check-in by about 10am. The hospital was so nice! The inside was a little fancy, very comfy, and every single person we talked to was polite.

I registered, and we had about a 45 minute wait until getting put in the pre-op room. Once in that room, I got changed into a gown, with my butt on display to the world! Haha! We waited a bit. I had a nurse come in to take my blood and put in my IV. Another nurse came in to take down my medical history and all the medications I'm currently on, and I signed all my consent forms. We waited a bit longer. I had the anesthesiologist come back and talk to me about what all he was going to do. He asked when the last time I ate was, I told him (at that point) about 7 hours earlier. He was concerned, he said you should never eat or drink the day of surgery. Nothing after midnight the night before surgery. He said it changed what he'd be doing a little bit. It's a bit more invasive if you've eaten too close to surgery, because you can run the risk of throwing up food while you're under anesthesia, and then breathing that food into your lungs. So I had to have a full on breathing tube, instead of the less invasive mode. But he was actually really great, because he said some of his colleagues would've sent me home and rescheduled my surgery for another day, all because my main nurse had given me incorrect information. I'm so glad he didn't! After that, my surgical nurse came in to give the knock out juice and wheel me back for surgery. I said goodbye to Brian, got a kiss, and was wheeled away. He took my surgery time to run and get himself some food, since he'd also eaten at about 6am, and was starving by the time they wheeled me back for surgery at about 1pm.

I remember moving from the bed to the surgical table, and they put the oxygen mask on me. The next thing I remember is waking up, very groggy, with an oxygen mask on in the first recovery area. Apparently, my surgery took closer to an hour instead of 30 minutes like the doctor had told Brian. So he was little concerned as he was waiting for the doctor to come out and tell him that I was okay. And then I was in the first recovery area for a whole hour before remembering anything specific. Coming out of anesthesia is not fun! I was FREEZING! My throat was all sore and scratchy from the breathing tube, and my head hurt so much! And I was sooooo nauseous. A new nurse asked me how I was doing, I told her that I was cold, my head hurt, and I was nauseous. She immediately got me some warm blankets, and gave me something in my IV for the nausea. I slowly started to get warmer, and stopped shivering. They took the oxygen mask off, and let me breath on my own. Apparently though, my normal breathing is too shallow, as the oxygen alarm kept going off and she kept telling me to take deeper breaths. The nurse put me in some super stretchy mesh panties, for my bleeding, and after about 30 minutes, they wheeled me into a recovery room and I was able to see Brian. =) I still felt a little wobbly, I told Brian that my arms and legs felt all limp like noodles. But I ate some crackers that helped the nausea. I took a little walk down the hall to the bathroom, with a little help from Brian. I was able to get dressed, got a prescription for pain meds, and a list of what I can and can't do. No driving, no signing papers, no making major decisions, no bathing/showering for 24 hours, those kind of things. Brian signed my discharge papers, and we could leave! He went and pulled the car around, as they wheeled me to the car. And we were headed home right around 4pm!

My nausea didn't completely go away, and my headache was awful, I ended up staying awake long enough to text family and close friends that I was okay and headed home. After that, I silenced my phone and fell asleep for the entire 2.5 hour drive home! I woke up about a mile away from home, still with a pounding headache. I took some aleve, which didn't help. Brian dropped me off at home, and then went to pick up the dogs and dinner. I had a caffeinated drink in the fridge, so I drank a little of that, thinking that my headache felt more like a migraine than a regular headache. Then I fell asleep on the couch for the hour that Brian was gone. I woke up feeling a little better. No more nausea, but still with a bad headache. I ate a burger and some fries, they tasted AWESOME! I stayed up for a little longer, and then headed to bed. I had moderate bleeding and minimal cramping at the hospital, and a little bleeding once I got home. But the bleeding completely tapered off overnight.

I didn't sleep very well, between my headache and the caffeine I drank, I woke up this morning with a very sore and scratchy throat, and I felt like all my neck and shoulder muscles were sore. But I was still feeling pretty well! I called my doctor, because he hadn't stopped by to talk to me after surgery about how it went. My main nurse said she'd call me back after she talked to him. I felt pretty good throughout the day, ran errands with my hubby, and spent the rest of the day resting at home. I didn't have any bleeding or cramping all day, and no more headache!

My main nurse finally called me back around 3pm. She said that according to my surgical chart, a moderate amount of tissue was removed and sent to pathology for testing. She said that my doctor was very thorough and didn't find anymore tumor in my uterus!! According to him, it's all gone! I don't have to take to cancer pills anymore! I have a follow-up appointment in three weeks, at that point all get checked out to make sure I'm all healed from surgery, and I'll get the results from my tissue pathology. But as of right now, it's looking like the cancer is gone! Fingers crossed and all the good thoughts that it's true!

I'm doing well right now. Mostly tired. No bleeding or cramping. My nurse said that the bleeding might come and go, or I might not bleed at all until my next period. She said that they're only concerned if I start bleeding too much. My throat is still sore. Mostly I feel like I'm sick, cough and sore muscles. But I don't have to go back to work until Tuesday, so I have plenty of time to just relax and heal. But with the good news my nurse gave me today, I'm feeling pretty great! I'm so excited for my appointment in three weeks, I kind of wish it was here already!

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts, prayers, and well wishes! They're certainly coming through loud and clear! You are all great, and I can hardly wait to update you all after my follow-up appointment in three weeks!

Pre-Surgery Update

Hello world! Here is another quick update about the medical fun stuff I've been working with lately! My surgery is scheduled for next Tuesday, August 30th.

I had to go to my primary doctor yesterday for an EKG, just to make sure my heart is healthy before surgery. And it mostly is! The last time I was at the doctor, he said that I have a heart murmur. He thought it was just because of how severely anemic I am, so he wasn't concerned. I asked him if the murmur pointed to an aortic aneurysm, because I have a biological father and sister who both passed away from an aortic aneurysm fairly young. He said no, a murmur isn't a sign of that at all. He said high blood pressure is a sign, and my blood pressure is great! But he went ahead and referred me to a cardiologist for an echo (ultrasound of my heart), to look for an aortic aneurysm, just in case! And the cardiologist will also look for a reason for my murmur, to make sure it's only from my anemia and low blood count. But the actual heart function is great, very healthy! I am good to go for surgery on Tuesday! I also had some blood drawn today, but I can't imagine anything they're testing will come out poorly and prevent me from having my surgery.

Just another explanation on what my surgery actually is, since I've been getting more questions about it lately. It's called a D&C, dilation and curettage. Basically, they are going to dilate my cervix and cut away part of the tumor/uterine lining for further testing. They'll also measure it to see how much the tumor has shrunk, and gauge my progress with my cancer shrinking pills. My doctor mentioned that the best case scenario would be for the tumor to have shrunk so much that when he goes in to take part of it, it will be small enough that he can just remove the entire thing. It's not expected though, so we'll see! We'll get to the doctor's office at 10am, my surgery is at noon. I'll be under general anesthesia, the procedure is supposed to take about 30 minutes. I'll have to hang out at the doctor's office for a few hours after, to come off the anesthesia and they will monitor me for excessive bleeding. I took the rest of the week off work, since I'm not sure how much I'll be bleeding and I don't want to deal with that at work. But then I'll be good to go! If they aren't able to just remove the whole tumor then, I'll stay on my cancer pills and most likely have another appointment in another couple months. 

All your thoughts and prayers are appreciated! I'll post another update after I have my surgery, to let know everyone know how it went! Thanks for reading! =)

Medical Progress Report

Hello again everyone! I'm back with a little progress report. =)

General update - I saw my primary doctor this morning, after getting some blood drawn and tested last week. My iron levels are still very low, but they are higher than the previous test. Good progress there. My thyroid function is still low, but higher than it was previously. Good progress there too. My cholesterol is fine, in the perfectly normal range. I also had my sugars checked, for diabetes. Sugars were great! Not diabetic, not even pre-diabetic. Awesome news there! Especially since diabetes runs in my family. I will continue to stay on all my current medications, and I'll go back for more blood work in 3 months.

Cancer update - I have an appointment with my oncologist for the last week of August. At that time, I'm going in for a minor out-patient surgery. It's called a D&C, dilation and curettage. Basically, they are going to dilate my cervix and cut away part of the tumor/uterine lining for further testing. They'll also measure it to see how much the tumor has shrunk, and gauge my progress with my cancer shrinking pills. My doctor mentioned that the best case scenario would be for the tumor to have shrunk so much that when he goes in to take part of it, it will be small enough that he can just remove the entire thing. It's not expected though, so we'll see! We'll get to the doctor's office at 10am, my surgery is at noon. I'll be under general anesthesia, the procedure is supposed to take about 30 minutes. I'll have to hang out at the doctor's office for a few hours after, to come off the anesthesia and they will monitor me for excessive bleeding. After that I might be off work for a couple days to recover, but then I should be good! If they aren't able to just remove the whole tumor then, I'll stay on my cancer pills and most likely have another appointment in another couple months. 

Besides that, I'm working on losing weight and being healthier. We're hoping that I'll be cancer free at the year mark, and that we'll get the all clear to try to start having babies then, and I want to be healthier when that time comes! Thank you guys for reading and keeping updated with my crazy health stuff! 

Until next time! =) 
#notallcancerispink

Health Problems..

A little back story – My husband and I have been trying to get pregnant since we got married in March 2010. We stopped using any sort of prevention, but didn't have any luck. A year after we got married, I decided to go to a doctor, just to see if anything was wrong. My monthly periods had been all over the place since before we got married, never regular, never normal. I saw a doctor who just told me that I needed to lose about 150lb, and then I'd be able to get pregnant. He didn't examine me or run any tests, was rude and mean. It turned me off from going to another doctor for a while.

About 2.5 years ago, I went to visit an ob/gyn for a normal pap smear, and to talk to him about why we hadn't been able to get pregnant after over 4 years of trying. That doctor told me that I had PCOS, polycystic ovarian syndrome, meaning that my eggs were turning into cysts in my ovaries, instead of dropping down to be fertilized. He told me to focus on losing weight, even though it would be hard with PCOS, but after I lost some weight we could focus on helping me get pregnant. He didn't run any tests, told me that my pap results came back normal, and just told me to work hard at losing weight.

We moved to Corpus Christi about a year and a half ago. A few months ago, I decided to find a new ob/gyn. I had lost some weight after seeing the last doctor, but then I'd gained it all back after we moved down here. I decided I just wanted to see a new doctor, since it had been a while.

I went to the doctor at the end of April. She was really great. I told her that my previous doctor had diagnosed me with PCOS, but hadn't done any tests to confirm the diagnosis. She told me that it was stupid and lazy to not confirm a diagnosis, so she'd run some tests to try and find out what's going on with my body. My periods had still be completely random, longer than they should be, more frequent.

She gave me a pap/pelvic exam, and told me that I had polyps on/in my cervix. They're small growths, fairly common in women of fertile age. She said she wanted to schedule another appointment to biopsy the polyps, just as a precaution. She also told me that my uterus was large for someone who had never had children, so she recommended an ultrasound. She made a joke that I could already be pregnant! She had my blood taken, first to check for pregnancy, and to check me for anemia, check my thyroid levels. With my weight, and my difficulty in losing weight and keeping it off, she was actually upset that none of my previous doctors had ever thought to check my thyroid.

I went in just a few days later to get the polyps removed and biopsied. She also had the results of my blood work back. I'm not pregnant, but I am anemic, and I should start taking iron supplements immediately. She also says that my thyroid level is off the charts in a bad way, so I need to start taking thyroid medication the next day. But having a crap thyroid is one of the reasons my weight has been hard to control and hard to lose. This thyroid medication isn't a weight loss medication, but I should have an easier time being healthy and active once it levels out my thyroid. I was so excited to finally have a doctor who was taking me seriously, who wasn't just telling me to lose weight and all my problems would be fixed!

They scheduled my ultrasound for week later, a Friday. The Wednesday before my ultrasound appointment, my doctor called me and said she had the pap and biopsy results in, and she wanted to see me the next day. She said the results were concerning. They moved my ultrasound appointment for the next afternoon, since I was already going to be coming in to talk to the doctor about my results. Brian took off work to go with me, because he is awesome. We go in the next afternoon, and my doctor decides to do the ultrasound first, and then go over the results after. First, she tells me that she doesn't think I have PCOS. Then She tells me that I have a mass in my uterus. It's a rather large mass, and the reason my uterus is larger than it should me. She also told me that my pap and polyp biopsy results came back, and they aren't good. I have AGUS results, which are atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance. Those results only show up in 0.18-0.74% of all pap smears. The biopsy showed that the mass is stage 1 adenocarcinoma, endometrioid type. Meaning, the mass in my uterus is a tumor. And it's cancer.

My doctor recommended that I go get an MRI done immediately, and scheduled me for the next appointment they had, the following Monday. Once she got the MRI results, she'd call me back in. I went to the MRI, and saw my doctor the next day. She had bad news, and a little good news. The bad news – it's definitely a tumor. It extends from my cervix all the way to the back of my uterus. And the results definitely point to a malignant tumor. The good news – it hasn't spread. It's completely contained in my uterus. She said that she believed I'd either have to have my uterus removed, or they would remove the tumor and treat me with chemo or radiation. Both of those options pointed to us not being able to have children in the future.

She referred me to a gynecological oncologist that she knows in San Antonio, who would be able to get me in soon. I had to wait and get a referral from my primary care provider, but they were able to get me in the Monday after I called. He wrote up my referral right away, and said he'd expect the oncologist to give me a full hysterectomy within the month. Not really what I was hoping to hear, but thanks to his immediate referral, I had an appointment with the gynecological oncologist this past Friday.

We drove 2.5 hours away to see the gynecological oncologist. He was great. He looked over the biopsy results, and the MRI results. He said the MRI results were a little confusing, so he also examined me and gave me an ultrasound. Just so he could also get a sense of what was going on in my uterus. He said that I DO have PCOS, polycystic ovarian syndrome. And one of the problems with PCOS is that it limits my body's production of progesterone, and gives my body too much estrogen, which caused this cancer and tumor. But his first concern is taking care of the cancer, and then we can start treating the PCOS. He said that, with women my age, he's had great results with treating this type of cancer without surgery, without chemo, without radiation. I start taking a pill twice a day, and if everything goes right, this medication will shrink the tumor until it completely rids my body of the cancer! It usually takes about a year of taking this medication, but at the end, I should be cancer free and maintain my fertility! Short of them telling me that this was all a mistake, this was the best possible news I could have gotten!

I started taking this new medication Saturday, and I'm scheduled to go back to the oncologist in 3.5 months. At that appointment, I'll have a cell biopsy test and they'll measure the tumor again. Hopefully, it will have already started shrinking. Now, there is a chance that it won't shrink on this medication, and if that happens, we'll discuss other options like surgery at that time. But in my oncologist's experience, a woman taking this medication has never had tumor growth or spreading. So, that's where we're at right now. I'm living with cancer, taking my medications, and going back in 3.5 months. I'm going to focus on being healthier and losing weight, and kicking cancer in the ass! =)

30 Day Plan

     It's been a while, little blog. I haven't been in the mood to blog lately. I don't even know why, actually. I wanted to start off the new year with a better attitude on eating right and working out. And I didn't, not really.. I didn't take it seriously. I want the weight to fall off on it's own. And it didn't. Unfortunately.. How awesome would that be though?? And then, I was in vacation mode! My husband and I took an anniversary to New York City! It was AMAZING! I might write a post about it soon. We have some wonderful pictures, it was so much fun. =) We're already planning on going back at some point, and we're already excited about it!

     So, back to weight loss. It sucks. Haha! When we got back to real life, after vacation, and my hubs and I got serious. We have committed to a year without. He is doing a year without alcohol, and I'm doing a year without sweets. It's a big commitment! And it hasn't been easy so far, but we're doing it! We started right after we got back, so it's been a month so far. For the first two weeks, I stuck to my diet and walked with the baby while I was at work. And I lost 6lb in those two weeks! After that, I wasn't as serious as I should've been. Luckily, my weight stayed the same. But I decided to try again! It's not failing if you keep trying!

     My little sister and my best friend are both graduating in May. My sister is graduating high school on May 14th, and my best friend is graduating college on May 16th. So, I'm road-tripping to Albuquerque and then Tucson next month. I have two weeks (and a couple days) until I leave! Sadly, hubby can't come with me. He's way too busy at work. I'm bummed, we love to road-trip together. 

     Anyways, yesterday I made a plan! A 14 day plan and a 30 day plan. A workout plan, with some eating goals. I'm alternating cardio and strength training. The 14 day plan is for the next two weeks until I leave for graduations. The 30 day plan is for right after I get back from the graduations.

     For the first 10 days, I'm doing 30 minutes on the treadmill and 10 reps of 21 different strength exercises. For the second 10 days, I'm bumping it up to 45 minutes on the treadmill and 20 reps. And for the last 10 days, an hour on the treadmill and 30 reps of each strength training exercise. After my 30 days, I'm going to reevaluate my plan. Make changes, maybe mix up the workout. I'm not sure. But that's what the 30 day plan is for, to see how things go!

     I'm also going to be following a low card diet. I'm not eating bread/pasta/rice/potatoes/etc, except with dinner. Breakfast is eggs with meat and cheese. Lunch is either salad or leftovers. Snacks can be fruit, cheese, nuts, etc. And then dinner is whatever I make for dinner, as long as I keep my portions correct.

     I'm 75lb away from my goal weight. Last Christmas, I told my hubby that by next Christmas I either want to be pregnant or at my goal weight. So, I need to get to it! =) I can't really do anything to get pregnant, unless I lose some weight. I can control one of those things! Also, my uncle is getting married the weekend of Thanksgiving. I don't want to be at this weight the first time I see my extended family in over 5 years. I don't want to be this weight now, so I definitely don't want to be this weight in almost 7 months from now.

     I feel like my 30 day plan is a good start. Today was day one, and I feel pretty good! I walked 30 minutes on the treadmill, and I guess all the walking when did on our vacation to NYC helped me kick up my walking pace a little. I used to only be able to keep pace at 2.5 mph, with sporadic bursts of 3mph. Today, I walked the full 30 min at 3mph. That might seem like a big deal to anyone else, but it's a change for me! =) I weighed myself this morning, and I'm not going to weight myself again until my 2 weeks are up. I'm hoping to lose 5lb! I guess I'll update my blog again after I weigh myself again. Yay!

New Year, New Me - Blah, Blah, Blah..

Everyone talks about starting new and starting fresh in the new year. Like it's a automatic do-over or restart button. And this year, for the first time, that's exactly how I'm going to treat it! I'm not saying I'm going to magically be a brand new person when the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Day. But I'm going to start making changes. I want 2015 and to be a better year for me, for my husband, for my family. We have all these plans, all these dreams. And unless we make changes, and stick with them, we're going to be in the this same boat at the beginning of 2016. So, I'm making changes! I want to lose weight, I want to be healthy, I want to get pregnant, I want to be a mom, I want to be out of debt, I want to have money in savings, I want to start living a better life. And it's going to happen! =) I'm going to try and post on this blog more often, updates on life and crafty things. I'm still knitting and have a couple big projects that I'm working on. They're gifts, but neither person reads my blog, so I should be able to post about them. And I might use this blog as a place to vent about dieting and budgets.. haha! We've moved twice in 15 months, so we're having to work our way out of debt. I might bitch about it here. Pardon my French.. And I have to go back to low carb dieting, so that might come up too.. But when I look back on the year 2015, I want to be proud of the changes I made this week. I don't want to look back and think about how different things would've been if I had stuck with my changes. I've done that before. And it sucks. So, not this year! I know it will be hard, I know I will want to give up, I know I will try to make excuses. But with my strong will (believe me, I'm a bit of a pain) and my wonderful husband to back me up, this is going to be our best year yet! =)

Nerdy Baby Hats

Hello blogging world! I know I have been pretty absent lately. I got sick of blogging about my diet and exercise, especially since it seemed to plateau recently. I took a break from blogging and focused on crafting. A few weeks ago, a friend announced on Facebook that he is going to be a dad in January! My wonderful husband had the idea to talk to my friend about making a bunch of nerdy baby hats for him to add to his baby registry. I talked to my friend and he liked the idea, so I go to work! I just finished a couple days ago, and posted all the hats in my etsy shop. I actually hadn't been keeping up with my shop, so I'm excited to have things for sale again. I'm actually going to clean out all the things I've made over the last few years, and post a bunch of stuff fairly cheaply, to free up some space! I have scarves, hats, a couple baby blankets, and cowls.. I need to clean out my stash! =] But I also want to share the adorably nerdy baby hats I made.

First, a Link hat from Legend of Zelda.

 A very cunning Jayne hat from Firefly.

 Aang from The Last Airbender

 Kirby from Pokemon, with felt eyes and cheeks.

 A Pokeball! With felt detail on the front. 

Yoda hat! This might be my favorite, I used a seed stitch to make it thick and "knobbly".

And then a boobie beanie, for breastfeeding mom! My future kids will wear these, I think they're awesome! 

Check out my Etsy Shop to see all these, and message me if you'd like one! I also plan on posting a bunch of stuff, so keep an eye for that too! We're moving and I need to downsize the amount of stuff we have! Plus, we're moving farther South again, into the heat. Not much need for a lot of knit items..

Tulle Wreath Tutorial!

      Last year, I made my grandfather-in-law a patriotic tulle wreath for his door at the home he lives in. He loved it, and his daughter pulled it out to put on his door again this year. One of the lovely workers at his home asked for instructions, so her boy scout troop can make wreaths. I'm more than happy to oblige! The tulle wreaths are fairly simple to make, and it's kinda hard to mess them up, a perfect craft for a first time wreath maker, back when I made my first one. Here we go!

Tulle Wreath Tutorial

Supplies -
One Styrofoam wreath form, 3 wooden stars (painted white), red tulle, white tulle, blue tulle

 Simple Instructions -

-Cut your tulle into long strips, depending on how big your wreath form is and how large you want the tulle to "fluff" out when you're done. Don't be afraid to cut your strips too long, it's very easy to trim your wreath after you make it! Hobby Lobby sells spools of tulle, I recommend buying that. It's very easy to cut your strips of tulle as you unwind the spool. Try a few different lengths, to find what size you want on your wreath, and then cut all your strips that same length. I don't really have a set amount of tulle to have on hand. I bought one spool of each color, and cut the entire spool into long strips, and used almost all of them for my first wreath. It all depends on how big your wreath forms are and how long you cut your strips of tulle.

-If you are making a flag wreath, it helps to use a sharpie to mark the one quarter of your wreath that is going to be blue. It doesn't have to be perfect, tulle is very forgiving and covers many mistakes! =]
You don't have to mark where your stripes are going to be, it's easier to just count how many strips of tulle you are using for each stripe. You can always go make and add more tulle strips to make your stripes thicker and even them out.

-Take one strip of tulle (I always start with the blue and make my blue quarter of my wreath first) and tie it around your wreath, then knot it. I've tried a bunch of different ways to tie and knot it, and honestly, it doesn't matter. =] After you've tied a few strips to your wreath, you're going to squish the strips together. That's the best way I can think to describe it, slide the strips together so the squish next to each other and you can't see the color of your wreath form through your tulle strips.

-Keep going! Keep tying and squishing your tulle together!

-Once you've finished with your quarter of blue, switch to red or white. At this point, I found it most helpful to count how many strips of one color I used to make one stripe, so I could use the same number for the next color stripe. That helps keep your stripes even and consistent.
With the first flag wreath I made, I didn't have a set amount of stripes in mind, so I just switched back and forth between red and white until I ran out of room. With the second wreath, I wanted 13 stripes. So I started with five strips of tulle for each stripe, and then added for tulle to each stripe until they were all thick and I didn't have anymore space.

-Now that you've added all your tulle and you can't see any wreath form between your strips of tulle, you can judge if your tulle is too long, or too full around. If it is, don't worry! Just take some scissors and "trim" your tulle around the outside, to your desired length. =] Hopefully, most of your strips were about the same length and you don't have to trim it too much! (Above, you can see the difference between the two wreaths where the strips are different lengths. One long, and one short.)

-Then, you're ready to add your stars! I painted wooden stars, but you could also cut stars out of foam board. With an adult, use a hot-glue gun to attach your stars to the blue quarter of your wreath. I found it best to add a thin layer to both the tulle and the star, and then press them firmly together. Move quickly, so your glue doesn't dry before you have a chance to attach your stars. I used three stars for my wreath, but you'll have to decide what you like, based on the size of your wreath and your stars.

-While your hot-glue is drying, grab on strip of each color of tulle. Knot one end and braid the colors together and knot the other end, for a quick and easy way to hang your wreath. After your stars are dry and secure, flip your wreath over and hot-glue both ends near the top of your wreath. Once the glue is dry, you can hang up and enjoy your tulle wreath!


I hope you enjoy my tutorial! I think this might be the first one I've ever written. =] If you have any questions, or if you noticed a mistake, please let me know! And enjoy!!