First, Penn State fans, are you really going to give me a hard time?  That’s all I’m going to say to you!  Next, I root for an Irish team in Indiana because I’m Irish!  Anyone who is Irish, wishes they were Irish, or knows someone who’s Irish should do the same!!

So, it was a tough loss on Monday night.  Actually, it was terrible!  It was very difficult to watch because it wasn’t even an exciting game.  Sadly, the Crimson Tide mopped the floor with the Fighting Irish.  Here’s the thing, though.  My Dad must have one favor that he can call in per year in heaven.  It must be more important to him for me to beat cancer than for Notre Dame to win the National Championship this year!  There’s always next year – they’ll have another really strong team, so look out.  Thanks to all of you SOB’s for rubbing this one in my face!!  I appreciate it!

I had my last treatment of Taxol and Herceptin today.  Sal and I also met with Dr. Saidman.  That guy is awesome.  I had a lot of questions for him today.  We talked about recurrence – how you know, where it goes, and what it looks like.  Dr. Saidman seems fairly confident (YAY!!!!) that I’ll be ok after all of my treatments have been completed, but I needed to understand the physiology of this cancer.  We also spoke about the Tamoxifen versus Arimidex study that I read about 2 weeks ago.  Dr. Saidman was familiar with it.  I’ll be having bloodwork to check the function of the CYP2D6 enzyme in my body.  This will help to determine if Tamoxifen will work for me.  If I’m deficient, then we’ll need to determine whether or not my ovaries should be removed.  This is a big decision because removing my ovaries will likely put me into early menopause which has its own set of complications.  So, more prayers for normal CYP2D6 function and a positive outcome from Tamoxifen which I hope to start after the completion of radiation therapy.

Sal and I were getting all of my paperwork and slides ready for our appointment with Dr. Peters tomorrow.  I sat and read everything for only the third time since all of this happened back in August.  I purposefully didn’t take the time to dwell on the words or the numbers for the past 5 months because no good comes of it.  It was all bad – Stage 3 cancer in my left breast with lymph node involvement, Stage 2 cancer in my right breast, high tumor markers, 2 different kinds of cancer in each breast, an inflammatory type, etc.  I have somewhat of a medical background and seeing my name associated with all of this scared/scares the shit out of me, to be quite frank.  But, I’ve thought about something that my brother-in-law (Mark, you are, sort of, right?!!) wrote to me at the very beginning of this journey.  I, too, firmly believe that a healthy mind and attitude contributes to a healthy body:

“If you think you’re beaten you are. If you think you dare not, you don’t. If you say you can, but think you can’t, it’s almost a cinch you won’t. Life’s little battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man, For sooner or later the one who wins is the one who thinks he can.  What the mind believes the body achieves.”

I’m happy to report that I feel like I’m beating cancer – much like Alabama beat Notre Dame!  It wasn’t pretty but it was a win!  Let’s go, HoneyBadger!

Here’s a picture of me at my last chemo today.  My eyes look really tired because I’m really tired!  We stopped putting cereal in Cameron’s bottle per Dr. Penugonda’s instructions.  We’re having trouble getting her to eat off the spoon and she’s getting up in the middle of night again!  What a difference a few days make!  Side note:  it’s my fault.  I’ve been home with Cameron longer than I was with Jameson or Chase.  I baby her.  I hold her, pretty much, all day long.  She’ll be 8 months old on January 29 and she takes a bottle more than she should.  It will take a few days to break the “bottle habit”, but I don’t care!  She’s my last baby and she saved my life.  This is the least that I can do for her.  She’s so cute and so pleasant.  What a blessing that baby is in my life.

Quick beauty tip if you’ve never learned this one, ladies:  if you leave the house without any make-up, always wear lipstick.  It works wonders for your coloring.  In having cancer, trust me, lipstick has helped me to never look sick.

For those of you who are local, I wanted to let you know that the Greater Pittston YMCA is hosting an event on Sunday, January 20, 2013 from 5-7 at Palazzo 53 on Main Street in Pittston.  The cost is $50 per person and proceeds benefit the YMCA’s, THRIVE – Cancer Recovery Wellness Program.  Reservations can be made by calling the YMCA at 570-655-2255 or by e-mailing executive director, Craig Lukatch at clukatch@greaterpittstonymca.org.  The maximum reservation is 150, but donations, I’m sure, will be accepted if they’re already booked.

I started thinking about a card that read the following, “Not all superheros wear capes.”  This certainly applies to all of the selfless healthcare providers that sacrifice their time and give of themselves to help their patients.  I’m so very fortunate and so very thankful for the excellent care that I’ve been receiving throughout this ordeal.  If you don’t already, consider giving your time, talent, or treasure to a worthwhile cause.  You’ll feel so good about yourself in doing so.

“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.”  – Muhammad Ali

LIVESTRONG and God Bless!