How Did We Get Here??


 The Adjustment period.  That is what we will call this stage of our journey with this bitch named Cancer. I was officially diagnosed sometime back in July after I came upon a doctor who actually listened to me and heard my complaints of horrible nighttime leg pain and knew something was going on. And actually, the one that figured it out wasn’t even an MD at a top notch facility.  It was Katie Banley, NP at Family Healthcare.  I first met Katie when taking one of my trafficking survivors for treatment at Family Healthcare.  I immediately liked her energy and confirmed she was a good choice with my friend Tara who is a nurse at Homeless Health and one of the people I most admire and love in this world. Through experience with my daughter’s battles with chronic pancreatitis, I have come to dislike many things about Sanford and avoid the big healthcare conglomerates whenever possible. Katie said right away, “I don’t like it Sonya, not with your history of breast cancer.  We are going to figure this out.”  And that is exactly what she did.  She ordered no less than 8 blood tests.  The labs were inconclusive, cancer markers were all in normal range.  This is the point when most doctors would say, “You are getting older, some aches and pains are normal.  Maybe you should try some yoga or exercise.  Do you go to therapy?  That might help.”  Katie instead went another route and called my oncologist from 4 years earlier when he helped to eradicate my Stage 1 breast cancer.  Dr. Gitau and Katie ended up having a conversation on a Saturday…of all things! By Monday I had orders for a bone scan….and then an MRI…and then a PET scan….and then biopsies, and here we are today with good old Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer. 

Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 29, 2022 at 9:16 AM

    You are my hero, cuz!! You’re doing all of this with such grace and strength. You’re finding joy in all the little things and just keep pushing on. I love you more than you could possibly know. From cash registers, to girl fights, to being my maid of honor, to sharing time together and supporting each other we’ve seen a ton. I’ll continue to be by your side through this bitch cancer!! Always!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Please leave your name with your comment, so I know who is supporting me. Thank you. ❤️

Popular posts from this blog

The Right Way, The Wrong Way, and The Mayo Way

Image
I have officially been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer since June 8 of this year.  So much for summer, right? Breast cancer is an entity all of it’s own.  There are so many subtypes plus the grade and stage for each individual person.  My cancer is estrogen positive. 91%.  I am slightly progesterone positive, and HER 2 negative.  That is partially how they determine which drugs to use for each person.  There is now another fairly new test that is basically a blood biopsy.  These microscopic tiny cancer cells just flow around in my body until they decide to settle somewhere and continue to grow.  Mine settled in many of my bones.  They have been wreaking havoc in my spine, femurs, hips, pelvis, and possibly my arms and lower legs, but they don’t scan those areas.  Why?  I have not a clue.  So, once your type and location and stage and grade are determined then your oncologist will decide on the best treatment plan for you.  I have an amazing team at Roger Maris. Dr. Mark Gitau and his tea
Read more

Let’s Make Some Noise

Image
 It’s been awhile since I last blogged.  Here’s a summary of events for anyone interested, I finally had my PET scan approved and was able to get that done on December 23.  Results weren’t horrible..oncologist said he is, “cautiously optimistic”, so that is a positive.  There was some evidence of healing in several areas of my spine with one spot larger in my cervical, (neck), area. Radiologist and Dr. Gitau both felt it could be healing also instead of progression.  We hope to repeat the scan in 2-3 months, depending on what BCBS and their pencil pushing monkeys decide is needed. I suggested going up to the recommended dosage on my oral chemo from 400-600mg to hit it a little harder and Dr. Gitau very much agreed on that idea.  I initially started on that dose but it bottomed out my neutrophils and white blood cells putting me at high risk of infection. I just completed my first 3 week cycle on that dose and made it through!  I will have labs on Tuesday to see how it affected my count
Read more