Month: July 2021

Google search metastatic triple negative breast cancer. Or maybe don’t. I don’t want to be strong, or an inspiration. A very long treatment regimen is starting August 10.

Monday I had to go for (another) covid test before Tuesday’s procedure, and the first of 3x / week physical therapy to get my wrist moving. And a visit to a local dermatologist to check something on my lip. The “you will feel a pinch” was more like a Mac truck hitting my lip. Tuesday I headed up to MSK Monmouth for a pelvic ultrasound, which was very extensive and had me very worried about just how far things had spread. Then I proceeded to the second “procedures” floor to wait for the surgery to implant my port. It will make the potential of 24 chemo / immunotherapy treatments and just as many if not more blood draws much less stressful, but the alien body in my upper right chest is a constant reminder of what’s going on.

Wednesday morning I got a call from the dermatologist to let me know the spot they biopsied came back positive for squamous cell cancer and should be removed. Of course. They had an opening on Friday at 10.

Wednesday afternoon was more hand / wrist therapy which is quickly becoming my highlight of the week. My therapist, Andrew, says I’m making good progress. I will be happy when I have full use of both arms again and no brace! My favorite call of the week came from Nicole with my oncologist’s team calling to let me know that the pelvic ultrasound showed all clear.

So, fast forward to my Mohns Procedure at the dermatologist on Friday at 10 AM. I was ready for the pinch that felt like a Mac truck. What I wasn’t ready for was going back a second time to get clean margins and leaving like this. Thank God for wrist therapy this afternoon but so disappointed about missing tonight’s caviar and vodka dinner! Rain check, Ran?

Four weeks ago yesterday I set out on a 6 hour ride with my dear friend Ran, as part of my training for Ironman Lake Placid — my 13th full distance Ironman. Not sure if I should consider 13 as lucky or unlucky. An hour into the ride we were in Long Branch and turned to the ocean, something I’ve done more times than I can count. I’m not quite sure what happened but one minute I was enjoying the beautiful day and he next minute I was on my back on the ground. Ran wanted to call my husband, I said call 911. Fast forward to the emergency room – turned out I had an open fracture in my left wrist which required surgery and apparently any surgery requires a routine chest X-ray.

On Friday morning the surgeon came back to fill me in on my surgery (a 15 cm plate and 10 screws) and he mentioned he saw something on my lung. Since I had a history of cancer he suggested I follow up promptly with my doctors at Sloan Kettering. I did that the same day. Fast forward through lots of tests, turns out my cancer is back. Recurrent. In my lung and in my lymph nodes and some other “suspicious” spots.

I’ve still got lots to work out, and my medical team is very positive they can arrest this. I’m getting a port on Tuesday. Chemotherapy treatment starts maybe the end of July. A long haul that could go through the end of April.

So, send prayers and good wishes. TNBC sucks. And thank you God and my mom for shoving me into that barricade. I still have no symptoms.