🌀 Mood: Anticipation, Vulnerability, Gravity, Turning Point I was incredibly anxious for a few days before the consultation at Fred Hutch. I didn’t exactly know what to expect, but I knew it was going to be serious. And somehow, that made my condition feel more real — like it had moved from the world of bloodwork and scans into something undeniable. For those of you … Continue reading 22 – The Consultation That Changed Everything (Part 1)
🌀 Mood: Uncertainty, Waiting, Reflection After such a hopeful week, I thought I’d finally caught a break.But pain has a way of showing up uninvited. About three weeks after my kyphoplasty procedure — the one that was supposed to help stabilize my T8 vertebra — my back started aching again. At first, I thought maybe I had overdone it. Too much sitting and walking during … Continue reading 20 – The MRI
🌀 Mood: Discouraged but clear-eyed. This cancer journey is a roller coaster. Every day brings something new. One week, you get good news; the next, something changes that sends you into a tailspin. After chemo #7, I found myself feeling low — probably for the first time since my diagnosis. I’ve worked hard to stay positive no matter what this disease throws at me, but … Continue reading 18 – Chemo #7 – The Unexpected Conversation
🌀 Mood: Worn down but hopeful Some weeks bring setbacks, others bring blessings. Week 6 gave me both. After the roughest week yet, I went into my oncologist appointment both anxious and desperate for answers. What I left with was more than I ever imagined. I gave him the full rundown of my Week 5 reactions: the chills, the skin sensitivity, the pain in my … Continue reading 17 – The Turning Point
🌀 Mood: Shaken but watchful It only took one routine shot to remind me: cancer doesn’t always follow the rules. By Chemo Week 5, I thought I knew what to expect. I’d had this shot ten times before without a problem. Routine. Predictable. I didn’t think twice about it. But this time was different. First came the chills, sudden and deep — no amount of … Continue reading 16 – The Unexpected Side Effects
🌀 Mood: Grounded, resilient, and quietly courageous. Today marks a big checkpoint: I am officially halfway through the first phase of my chemotherapy journey. My doctor mapped out 8 weeks of weekly treatments, and this week I completed week 4. It feels both like time has moved slowly and like it’s flown by. Each week brings its own challenges — the appointments, the side effects, … Continue reading 15 – Chemo Journey: Halfway Through the First Milestone
🌀 Mood: Grounded, sobered, resilient If you read my last post, you know I’ve been preparing for a procedure called Kyphoplasty. But I wanted to share more about what exactly that means — and what brought me to this point. When I was in the hospital after I was given the diagnosis, there were several other things that came along with it. One of those … Continue reading 12 – Living with Fractures
🌀 Mood: Nauseous, frustrated, determined, empowered Saturday – A Glimmer of Normal The day after my first chemo treatment, I woke up feeling surprisingly good. I remember thinking, I slept it off. I moved into the day with caution, wondering if the reactions from Friday would come back — but they didn’t. I went and got a facial, ran errands, and felt almost normal. What … Continue reading 9 – The Week After Chemo #1
🌀 Mood: Shocked, scared, exhausted, relieved Walking into the clinic for my first chemo treatment, I couldn’t believe this was my life. I checked in and first met with my oncologist. Just a few days earlier, on Tuesday, he had explained a treatment plan that would follow an 8-week cycle for round 1, using injections instead of IV chemo. Injections typically cause fewer reactions, so … Continue reading 8 – The First Chemo Visit
