Cancer Chronicles brought to you by Elastamom’s Experts…whattya think?? I promise my blog will still be about my family and my special girl, but it’s also going to be about cancer now. It’s my new reality and, just like being a Mom of a daughter with special needs, I want to share and help anyone who needs it.
I had my appointment at the University of Michigan yesterday. We got 14 inches of snow between Saturday and Monday morning so we were nervous we wouldn’t be able to make it there. But we did! It was a little treacherous but we made it. Thank goodness because I just wanted to get it over with.
I had another mammogram and an ultrasound when we got there. (By the way…almost all of my doctors were 12. Seriously.) Then we met with a doctor who told us our treatment plan. My cancer is stage 2, which is worse than I thought, but it’s still early and small. I have to have chemo, which I was really hoping I wouldn’t, but I do. For a year. Yes. A year. I am HER2 positive so that’s why I have to have chemo for that long. But it’s only every three weeks for now. I decided to have a lumpectomy after looking at all the pros and cons. That will be followed by six weeks of radiation every day. And chemo.
When they do my lumpectomy, they’ll do a sentinel node biopsy to see how at risk I am for recurrence. If I’m at increased risk, they’ll add another chemo to my HER2 chemo. I may also have to have a mastectomy down the road depending on results, but we’re going to try the lumpectomy first. Like my surgeon said, we can always go forward but we can’t go back. When I’m all done, because I tested positive for hormone receptors (which is a good thing!), I’ll take a medicine for the next five to ten years that will also lessen the chance of recurrence.
We are completely overwhelmed, a little angry (I lied…a lot…), scared and still in a little bit of denial. We keep asking each other “Is this really happening?”. We have cried often, but laughed even more. We are absolutely swamped with love and support and it feels so good. We are so blessed to have an amazing family, wonderful friends and a fantastic community who love us and will help us in any way that we need. Right now we’re not really sure what we need, but when we do, everyone will be there for us and, that, is just a feeling you can’t measure.
To all of you who have sent us messages, texts, phone calls, cards, gifts, etc….we can’t thank you enough. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers…we can feel it!!
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My dear friend, Bethany, has a t-shirt company online and has made t-shirts for a fundraiser for myself and my friend, Melinda, who is also battling breast cancer. If you’d like to buy one (they are awesome!), see the link below.
Elastamom's Excerpts 
You have been constantly on my mind since the diagnosis, and I have been tempted so many times to contact you, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you, as it is clear you have lots of friends surrounding you with love and support. But you are never far from my mind or heart, dear friend.
Sending lots of love, Tiffany. It is courageous to be so open and vulnerable so that people have an opportunity to support you. xo
Praying for you and your family! The only way to beat this is to take things one day at a time. Hard to say and do but trust me, it saved my sanity!
It is good that you tested positive for the receptors. My mom had the exact same kind. After the 6 main chemo treatments, she continued with the herceptin for a year too. Is he was very sensitive to the other stuff but had NO problem with the herceptin. She felt better and better over that time. She was also on a 3 week regimen. You will continue to be in my prayers. I will also tell my mom about you. She is a prayer warrior. You can do this.
Maddie and I are thinking about you!
Wishing you the very best.
Will keep praying & checking back for when you get it all scheduled. One thing that helped me thru cancer and a lot of other things over the past 12 years has been the fact of being overwhelmed before, facing something so difficult, and getting thru it. You know you are stronger now than you would have been, and you will get thru this, too. Wishing you peace in the process…
Just, more love.