Chase and Jameson in Disney World – December 2011

Chase, Barb, Jameson, and Sal in Disney World – December 2011

Jameson, Cameron, and Chase – June 2012

Sal and Cameron – July 2012

So, we received some more good news today!  My brain MRI came back normal.  I only have cancer in 2 breasts…..nowhere else in my body!  Yay!!!  I’m feeling pretty good after my chemotherapy treatment from yesterday and I received a shot of Neulasta this afternoon.  All is going well.  Thanks to our wonderful family – Mom/Nanie, Papa Sam, Gram Hil, Aunt Tina and Uncle Pat – I was able to take a pretty long nap this afternoon.  I can’t tell you how much Sal and I appreciate knowing that our children are being cared for so well during this time.  It’a allowed us to spend time together coping with what’s going on.  It’s also made it possible for Sal to accompany me to each test and every doctor’s appointment.  We love our family and friends so much.

Team Barb Walk/Race:  The following is some information regarding how to register:

LIVESTRONG and God Bless!

Hey Everyone!  Thanks again for checking in.  I appreciate so much you taking the time to follow this journey.  Your comments have been great and I appreciate hearing from you more than you’ll ever know.

So, let’s get started.  Sal and I began our day with the normal craziness of getting ourselves ready for the day, getting Jameson, our five year old daughter, ready for kindergarten (yesterday was her first day of school), getting our son, Chase (we do not refer to him as the middle child – he told us today that he’s the king, Jameson is the princess, and Cameron is the queen – so, there you go!), ready for school, and getting Cam ready for the day.  We dropped Chase off for his first day of Pre-K 4.  He’s a big boy this year and is very excited!  We dropped James off, as well, and Cam stayed back with my Mom and Aunt Tina.

Sal and I proceeded to Dr. Saidman’s office for round 1 of 4 treatments of Adriamycin and Cytoxan.  The entire procedure took about 4 hours.  I was pre-treated with some anti-nausea meds as well as a steroid and normal saline.  As always, the anticipation was much worse than getting the actual chemo.  My friend, Erin, suggested making the treatment room a “full service” area by offering manicures and pedicures.  I agree 100%!  We had a wonderful nurse, Lisa, who took care of us this morning.  She was an absolute doll and we plan on requesting her for the remainder of our treatments.  It’s a small world being that her children attend/graduated from our children’s grade school.  She’s also pals with one of Chase’s teachers, Mrs. Loftus, who just rocks!  Actually, the entire school administration is awesome.  Mrs. Simkulak, Mrs. Rafferty, Ms. Gilmartin and the rest of the faculty and staff have been absolutely wonderful to us.  We’re blessed, truly.

I’m feeling pretty well after the treatment.  I’m a little tired and a little nauseous, but this too shall pass.  I’m looking forward to my next treatment in 2 weeks.  I can’t wait to knock this disease out of the park!  Bring it, cancer!  You messed with the wrong lady!  Tomorrow, I go for my brain MRI as well as my shot of Neulasta.

Our last of the firsts was speaking to Jameson and Chase about what’s been going on.  We told them that I have cancer.  They’re aware of the fact that I might be a little bit more tired, that I will be losing my hair, and that my breasts need to be removed.  After we finished talking to them in kid terms, Jameson asked if she could continue painting and Chase kept running around the house with his sword!  It was important for us to be honest with our kids and to answer any questions that they might be having.  Although we hadn’t spoken in detail with the kids up until this point, kids are smart – they’re very perceptive.  They knew something was out of the ordinary in our home.  Now, everything is out in the open, the Big C word was mentioned, and the door is open for any and all questions.

A friend of ours, Becca, was kind enough to speak with me prior to beginning chemotherapy.  She said that this world wind reminded her of the opening of the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life.  If you haven’t seen the movie, just go out and buy it.  You won’t be sorry.  It’s inspiring, sentimental, and just plain awesome.  The movie hits home for Sal and I because it’s the first Christmas movie we watched together when we were 15 or 16 years old.  It was also my late Dad’s favorite movie as well as my late Uncle Joe’s favorite movie.  The message that the movie offers touches all generations.  Anyway, at the beginning of the movie, everyone is praying for a man named George Bailey.  God hears the prayers and sends an Angel named Clarence down from heaven to help George.  I know this to be fact:  God hears us and listens.  I appreciate all of your prayers so much and know that God is listening.  I’ve already received my angel.  Her name is Cameron.  Now, all I need is to be healed.  So, let’s keep the prayers going because it really is a wonderful life and I want to continue living it.  As a side note, Tommy Tigue, I apologize for the Christmas Eve incident of 1995!!

Have a great night!  You’ll hear from me again tomorrow.

LIVESTRONG and God Bless!!

So, for those of you who don’t know “our story”, Sal and I started dating when we were 15 years old.  Off and on, off and on, off and on!  Well, we made it and we’re doing pretty darn well, if you ask me!  Today marks our 8 year wedding anniversary.  God Bless this man, really.  Sal spent his day with me today……organizing biopsy results, pathology reports, mammogram slides, and trying on wigs…..for me, not him!  I can’t tell you how comforting it was just knowing that Sal was there.  He makes me feel better about myself and about what we’re about to go through.  I want all of you reading this to know what a wonderful, selfless, kind and caring person Sal Sciandra is.  Happy Anniversary!  Thank you for choosing to spend your time, the most valuable gift you can give to someone, with me.  I love you!!  If my name was Tom Cruise, I would definitely be jumping up and down on Oprah’s couch!  As a side note, I won’t go into too much detail about the “wig experience” except for this:  Wigs are creepy.  Period.  Enough Said!

Tomorrow is the big first day.  Chemo starts at 9am.  I’ll keep all of you posted.

Lastly for tonight, my wonderful family and friends have organized a team for the Susan G. Komen Walk/Race for the Cure which will be held in a week or so.  The link is attached.  http://nepa.info-komen.org/site/TR?pg=team&fr_id=2739&team_id=226170

I can’t tell you how much this means to me.  Like I’ve been saying, I’m truly blessed to have such an awesome support system.  I don’t know what I would do without each and every one of you.  Please know that we’ve been receiving your packages, cards, e-mails, and calls.  I hope you can understand how difficult our days have been, time wise, which is why it’s just nearly impossible to speak to every one of you, individually.  You’re kind acts and generous deeds are certainly not going unnoticed or under appreciated.  You mean the world to us and I don’t know how we’ll ever repay you.

Thanks again for everything.  Please keep praying!  LIVESTRONG and God Bless!

P.S.  Happy Birthday to my wonderful little sister, Ann!  We can’t wait to see you in a few weeks.  We miss you and hope you had a wonderful day!

Hey Everyone!  So, I’m doing something I swore I’d never do.  I feel once step closer to Facebook now that I have my very own blog!  To begin, I’d like to thank each and every one of you for your love and support.  If you’re interested in what’s going on, feel free to check this site daily.  I’m going to try to post regularly to keep all of you in the loop.  Apparently, blogging is the thing to do!  It’s much more “2012” than e-mail!

So, since last week’s mass e-mail, here’s what’s new:

I have Stage 3 cancer in my left breast with positive lymph node involvement.  I tested ER+, HER2-, PR?.  My genetic testing is still pending.  I am believed to have Stage 1 cancer in my right breast.  The tissue results (ER, PR, and HER) are still pending.  Did you know that you can have 2 different types of cancer in each breast?  We met with Dr. Louis Blaum, my cousin – the very handsome and very wise thoracic surgeon who specializes in breast, this morning!  He wanted to do a lymph node biopsy near my right breast but was unable to find one.  This is a good thing.  We’re praying that those lymph nodes are not involved.  I’m scheduled for a brain MRI on Thursday…..not because they suspect that anything is wrong…..it’s to settle my own neurosis!  Sal and I also met with an awesome nurse practitioner, Priscilla, along with our oncologist, Dr. Bruce Saidman, this afternoon.  I begin chemotherapy on Wednesday, August 29.  Here’s how my schedule will work:  I’ll be receiving dose dense chemotherapy.  This was studied at Sloan Kettering and proven to work a little better than the older method.

Week 1:  On Wednesday, I’ll receive Adriamycin and Cytoxan.  On Thursday, I’ll receive Neulasta.  This drug helps prevent a dramatic fall in the white blood cell count that is caused by chemo.

Week 2:  On Wednesday, I have blood work but no chemo.

Week 3:  Repeat Week 1.

Week 4:  Repeat Week 2.

We do this up until Week 8 where I finish this regime.  Then, the plan is to take, possibly, a week or 2 off and start another drug called Taxol for 8-12 weeks.  I know it probably sounds sick, but I’m psyched to get started with treatment!  I feel one step closer to getting the hell rid of this cancer.

The only news that Sal and I received today that bummed our spirits a bit is the prognosis.  Ah, the prognosis!  So, with a stage 3 cancer, one has a 60% chance of reoccurance with chemotherapy alone.  This is cut in half with surgery and radiation.  Yes, I’ll be receiving all 3.  I’m trying to look on the positive side which looks at the glass half full:  there a 70% chance of remaining cancer free!  I don’t like playing the odds, though.  I don’t gamble.  I’d rather buy a new pair of shoes!  So, we need to find out how to best monitor me after all is said and done.  If the dreaded C does return, Sal and I want to be sure that we catch it early.  Remember, I feel healthy.  I look healthy.  I have a Stage 3 carcinoma consuming my entire left breast that went completely undetected.  It couldn’t be felt by any healthcare provider, it didn’t show up on an ultrasound, a mammogram couldn’t detect it – we only saw micropappilary calcifications which was the give-away.

I can’t thank each of you enough for the outpouring of support that you’ve shown me and my family.  I truly feel humbled and blessed.  I have a favor to ask each one of you.  Because I know that you’ve been praying for me and my family, please pray for those battling this disease that have no one to pray for them.  I realize that my journey has just begun but what’s making it a little easier is knowing that I have such a great family and a wonderful group of friends cheering me on.  I can’t imagine how difficult this would if I had to face the journey alone.

Thank you!  LIVESTRONG and God Bless!

Good Evening, Family and Friends!

I’m writing to all of you to share some unfortunate news, if you haven’t already heard.   In November of 2011, during my first trimester with Cameron, I felt a lump in my left breast.  I spoke to my OB-GYN about it, and she sent me for an ultrasound.  At that time, nothing was found and I was told that everything was ok.  Since Cameron’s birth on May 29, 2012, I have been having trouble breastfeeding using my left breast.  My right breast would express 6-7 ounces of milk whereas my left breast was giving me 1-2 ounces at first, then less than 0.5 ounces, then only drops.  Two weeks ago, I spoke to a lactation consultant, Medella (the pump manufacturer), a different lactation consultant, then I saw my OB-GYN.  After seeing the OB-GYN and yet another lactation consultant, I then went to see my cousin, Dr. Louis Blaum, a thoracic surgeon who specializes in breast.  He sent me for an ultrasound and a mammogram.  I need to thank one of my best friends, Katie Murphy, for saving my life.  She performed the ultrasound and found the lump that I felt last year.  Dr. Blaum performed an ultrasound guided biopsy and I was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma in my left breast on August 17.  I have positive lymph node involvement.  Without every piece of the puzzle, it appears to be a Stage 3 locally advanced cancer.  We’re still waiting on the hormonal and genetic testing results.  I had an MRI with contrast done and we found out yesterday that my right breast might also be involved.  I had a PET Scan yesterday and received some good news today.  The PET Scan is clear!  This just means that the cancer has not metastasized (spread) to the other organs.  I had an MRI guided biopsy of my right breast earlier today to confirm whether or not cancer is present there.  Tomorrow, I will be having a port-a-cath placed near my right collar bone.  This makes it easier to administer chemotherapy.  So, right now, it looks like I will be undergoing probably 16 weeks of chemotherapy followed by a bilateral mastectomy followed by more chemo and/or radiation.  We received a second opinion from Sloan Kettering today and they agree with treatment proceedings.

Please, please, please don’t feel sorry for me.  This is a blessing and believe it or not, I feel lucky.  If I was diagnosed at the beginning of my pregnancy with Cameron, I would not have terminated my pregnancy, although it might have been suggested as an option, and I would have been worried for the next 7 months.  If I was not breastfeeding Cameron, I would never have been diagnosed with breast cancer, because I have no other symptoms – none.  I’m a relatively healthy 34 year old woman.  Cameron is my angel.  God has big plans for her, I just know it.

I also feel lucky because I’m learning not to move as quickly as I used to.  I’m trying to practice taking one day, one hour, actually, at a time.  This experience is a gift.  It has forced me take a good, hard look at the way I’m living my life.  It’s making me appreciate time spent with those I love so much more and it’s also showing me that there are truly really caring and kind people in this world.  Life is good.

Please keep us in your prayers during these next several months and feel free to share our story with others.  The more people that know, the more prayers we’ll receive.  I’m not worried about me.  I know that I can beat this.  I have such a strong will to fight and live.  I’m extremely blessed with a strong support system.  My doctors are awesome.  Sal, as you all know, is an absolutely wonderful human being.  He is such a caring and selfless person and I don’t know what I would do without him.  I feel terrible that I’m putting him through such pain.  My Mom, my sister, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, friends……words can not express how lucky I feel to have these extraordinary people in my life.  And, my kids.  Well, I can’t even talk about my kids.  They are my reason for being.    I apologize now……you probably won’t be hearing much from me much via phone or e-mail so please don’t be upset if I’m not responding to each of your kind words.  I appreciate more than you know the calls, messages, cards, texts, etc.  I am going to take the advice of a very wise woman named Lori.  Her friend battled and beat breast cancer.  She kept all of the kind, positive correspondence from her family and friends in what she called her “Strong Box”.  I’ll keep a piece of each one of you in this box as you and your prayers help me defeat this ugly disease.

Someone will be keeping you updated as far as our progress goes.  Sal and I are not on Facebook – I know, I know – so he’s in the process of compiling a mass e-mail list to keep everyone informed. I’m thinking of starting a blog – it might be therapeutic for me to write about this journey. After I’m cured, I’ll have a road map of my journey from start to finish that I can share with my children someday.  If I ever decide to start, Sal will provide you with the address.    Thanks to all of you for your continued love, support, and prayers.  They mean the world to me, to Sal, and to our family.

LIVESTRONG and God Bless!

Love,

Barb

P.S.  Sal wanted me to let all of you that, “You’re going to get out of this.  You’re going to go on and you’re going to make babies and watch them grow and you’re going to die an old lady, warm in your bed. Not here.  Not this night.  Do you understand me?”   Never mind, that was Rose Dawson and I do not have the “Heart of the Ocean” in my robe pocket!  Come on, laughter is the best medicine!