Dropping the LB.'S........

In efforts to get this chemo weight and then some off I went to Jazzercise for the first time on Tuesday night with my supporter and sister-in-law Kristy. I want to say that I am desperately trying to get some weight off, I'm really not desperate I'm just well.....desperate I guess you could say.  I know it's going to take time and I have got my head wrapped around that.  I have tried all the gimmicks and fast losing diets out there and they have worked for me....the problem, the weight never completely stays off.  I have struggled for almost 14 years with my weight now, longer than I ever imagined I would.
Don't get me wrong I'm not that girl who hates her body blah blah blah.......I just feel like I'm a skinny chick stuck in a big girls body.  All I need to do now is break out of this shell!
Breaking free is the hard part, thus, I started back to Jazzercise.  I haven't been able to exercise regularly or want to for that matter for almost 5 months due to the way my treatments have left me feeling. I was completely de-conditioned and need to slowly reintegrate exercise back into my life. My hope is that this will jumpstart my metabolism again and maybe some pounds will come off, along with some clean eating and portion control this sounds like a perfect remedy!
When I first started going for walks during my chemo, usually once or twice a week, I could only do about 10-15mins with lots of rest stops. Some days I couldn't even entertain the thought of lifting my feet off the ground.  I was up to walking about 45 mins without feeling exhausted and completely spent.  So I decided I would head back to Jazzercise, with my favourite instructor Laura! I also thought it would be good motivation to have a buddy so I invited Kristy to join me and she said she would!
So Tuesday night was the day, I almost bailed on going, hence having a buddy to hold me accountable to show up! I thoroughly enjoyed the class, the music and seeing some of my buddies from when I went two years ago.  I couldn't believe I made it through the whole class, it is an hour long and pretty intense at times, I persevered and did what I could and finished.
The after effects, I am stiff as a board!!  My hips are almost in lock down and are revolting against any movement what's so ever! That's ok though, it will get easier and recovery will get less and less!  I read some quote somewhere that said something like "The pain your feeling today, means a good gain today." I don't know it was close to that, so I'm going with it!
So herein lies the official start of my weight loss journey......I'll post about it and my friend Diane has said she'll even take progress photos!! I gotta have something to talk about!
PS. My booby is still really sore and quite raw, I'm managing and it is getting better.
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The Nipple Dilemma........

This is a post that should be titled "The things they don't tell you when undergoing breast radiation."  As of today I am 11 days post radiation therapy.  I had my last radiation followed by a doctors appointment on that last day.  The doctor reminded me that radiation has a cumulative effect, which means it continues to work even after you have finished the radiation treatment.  This also means that your skin will also have cumulative effects that may or may not occur for approximately the next 2-3 weeks post radiation.  What they don't tell you is how BAD those skin effects can really get.  So falling short of posting a picture of my poor booby, because it is really that bad, I spared those with a queasy stomach of my nightmare.
On Friday, 4 days ago, while having a visit with my friend Diane, we were wrapping up and I asked her if she wanted to see my boob.  I show everyone my boob, because frankly, I have not had one person say no!
So I began to take off my bra the same way we all take off our bras, and as I took the shoulder strap off my left shoulder and removed the bra cup from my boob it ripped about 10 layers of skin from my areola (the round part around the nipple) and oh ya, 3/4 of my nipple became detached from my body!!!!! HOLY SHIZAS!!!  YES IT HURT! Diane and I were both in shock and really didn't know how to respond to what just happened.  I had NO IDEA this was even a possibility of the extreme effects that could be!! I guess they don't tell you this could be a possibility as most women would run screaming from the doctors office and probably reject radiation therapy all together!
Thankfully Diane is a nurse and she got it all dressed in gauze and what ever I had on hand and tucked me back into another bra for the night. 
I called the radiation oncologist first thing in the morning and told her my problemo! It was at least promising that she didn't seem phased by my description and ordered cold compresses and air dry the breast wearing a cotton shirt, as much as possible for the rest of the weekend.  She reassured me that she was going to be on call all weekend and if I really needed to see her I could go into RJH Emergency and she would see me. 
I made it through the rest of the weekend, I spent most of it at the swimming pool doing the photography for Georgia's swim meet and had a nice Mother's Day with the family on Sunday hanging out together. 
I managed to make it until Monday when the doctor had told me to call BCCA first thing and get into see a wound care nurse so she could assess it and get me sorted out.  I got in right away and the nurse did a saline soak and cleaned me up really well, yes that hurt too.  She said the wound was still very open and decided that a antibacterial skin healing cream would be a good option for me.  She creamed me up and dressed the wound with anti-stick gauze and sent me on my way. 
It is looking better today, still very stingy and sore, I do think the cream is working and it is going to heal.  Hopefully sooner than later.
So there you have it.....another tidbit of information you may or may not have known about breast cancer treatment! It can only go up from here......I hope.
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Radiation FINISHED!!!!!!!

Well there is some cause for celebration!!!  I have finished radiation!  Yay! 20 rounds completed.  It was so nice to walk out of the cancer agency on Friday knowing I don't have to go back next week.  It has been a long haul, everyday back and forth is exhausting in itself.  The treatments were okay they were only 4minutes long were tolerable.  Radiation has a cumulative effect which means I will still have effects for the next couple of weeks.  The fatigue and some more skin breakdown possibly on the booby that was being attacked!  It is bright red, and there is just no explanation that can tell you how sore and raw the nipple is.  It will all heal in time, it's only a temporary reaction.
I have had a fairly good last couple of weeks, besides trying to get rid of this cold things have been relatively normal.
The weather is outstanding and yesterday we spent some time at Esquimalt Lagoon.  We had an impromptu BBQ dinner with friends at our house and it was great. 
I was very careful to sunscreen the area of my chest that is exposed to the sun that had radiation.  In fact I did such a good job I left finger markings on my shoulder that were covered with sunscreen and forgot to do the rest of my arms! So needless to say I was a lobster last night.  Good thing for aloe vera plants.
Life has been pretty good.

So now the rest of my treatment is every 21 days of Herceptin which is given through my portacath at the cancer agency until January 2014.  I will not return to work until I have completed all this treatment as it is advised to keep stress away and my job is quite stressful in itself, let alone organizing my life to enable me to get to work!
I am also going on June 6, 2013 to have my hereditary testing done which will determine if I am the genetic carrier of this breast cancer.  They are looking to see if I am BRCA1 or BRCA2 positive. What that means is if I am determined to be the carrier that my children are at a much higher risk of having breast cancer.  The testing is very straight forward it is just a blood test, the results however take months to get as they watch the sample and follow the chain of DNA. It is a piece of this that of course makes me uneasy, at this point I'm not losing sleep over it as there is not much I can do about it.  No sense worrying twice about it!

So that's that I will still keep writing and post on FB when I have done a new post.  I hope to write about some heartwarming stories that I have experienced through out this journey so far.  I think they are the best kind to share.
Have a great week and thank you for your support!
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