Breast cancer Amy's blog & video journey through chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation read moreI have breast cancerSeptember 26, 2013It’s been a while since I have added a new blog entry. Really the site was not up for the past year or so. I have decided to bring... read moreFirst chemotherapy treatmentSeptember 28, 2013I got one round of chemotherapy down and it didn't go that badly, as you can see in the video above. When I got home, I decided to take... read moreNeulasta after first chemotherapy treatmentSeptember 29, 2013Today I am feeling great. Yesterday was not too bad. I woke a little nauseous, but that went away. We had to go back to the hospital for my... read moreChemotherapy-friendly food from a cancer cookbookOctober 1, 2013I took yesterday to make some staples to have on hand for the upcoming weeks. Mark and I are trying to figure out what I should and shouldn’t be... read moreFirst week of chemotherapy: Wig selectionOctober 6, 2013Last week, besides beginning chemotherapy, I had my appointment for my wig fitting at Lucia's Wigs with The Salon in Kenosha. Melissa Simon is the wig specialist there and... read more'Look Good Feel Better' cosmetics workshopOctober 11, 2013Everything so far is going well with my breast cancer treatment. The very good piece of news that I received this week is that I have tested negative for... read moreVideo: Hair loss, chemo treatment 2October 15, 2013It’s happening, my hair loss has begun. So it’s a good thing I have the appointment for my head shaving on Thursday. I have been wearing a cap when... read moreVideo: My head shaved after 2nd chemoOctober 18, 2013I wasn’t sure what I was going to do when my hair started coming out. I thought that maybe Mark and I could tackle it on our own with... read moreBreast cancer support group in Kenosha, WI: Circle of HopeOctober 27, 2013It’s been a while since my last post. I didn’t have a lot going on this week so there really wasn’t too much to report. The side effects of... read moreVideo: Chemo treatment 3November 1, 2013Well, I'm three-quarters of the way through the first phase of my chemo treatments. This was round 3 out of 4 with Adriamycin and Cytoxan. I have been told that... read moreVideo: Pierogi making and Petrifying SpringsNovember 11, 2013The last treatment of chemo really affected my digestive tract and I think I finally got my system working the way it should. My next treatment is the last... read moreHow to tie a head wrap: Video tutorialsNovember 17, 2013When I found out that I was going to have to undergo chemotherapy and that my hair was going to fall out, it didn’t really bother me. I never... read moreVideo: Finishing A/C chemo, starting TaxolNovember 27, 2013I can’t tell you how great I feel right now. I have the worst of the four treatments behind me and I got through the first treatment of Taxol... read moreVideo: Mehndi (henna tattoo) on my headDecember 5, 2013We had a very quiet Thanksgiving, Mark and I celebrated by ourselves at home. We went for an afternoon walk at Petrifying Springs in Kenosha. Then on Saturday my... read moreHoliday depressionDecember 19, 2013I finished the book Empty Mansions that I had downloaded from the library to my Kindle. That was pretty fascinating, to read about the wealthy Clark family and how... read moreEmily Helck: Fellow breast cancer bloggerDecember 20, 2013This morning, we saw Emily Helck on MSNBC, talking with Thomas Roberts about her breast cancer journey and how she chronicled in a weekly photo shoot the way her... read moreChemo, Christmas & New Year'sJanuary 3, 2014I have been in better spirits this past couple of weeks. I loved being together with family and friends during the holidays. I was so happy that everyone was... read moreLife during chemo: Taxol 7 & 8January 16, 2014We survived the Polar Vortex that came the first part of this month. Our car was prepared with extra blankets, mittens, hats etc. Luckily we were able to make... read moreReconstruction options, MRI, neutrophilsJanuary 30, 2014Two of my girlfriends from Circle of Hope, our breast cancer support group in Kenosha, happen to have had the same plastic surgeon that I have. They each underwent... read moreLast chemo treatmentsFebruary 13, 2014It feels good to know that I have completed my last chemo treatments. We are now moving forward to me having my double mastectomy in a month. For the... read moreAfter chemotherapy, before mastectomyMarch 10, 2014It’s been four weeks since my last chemotherapy treatment and boy does it feel GREAT!!! For the most part, I am getting back to feeling normal. My taste buds... read moreA week since my mastectomyMarch 19, 2014I can’t believe it’s already a week since my double mastectomy. I feel so good to have it behind me and that I am on my way to recovery.... read moreThree weeks since mastectomyApril 3, 2014It’s been three weeks since my bilateral mastectomy and things move along better each day. I still have problems reaching for things really high up in the cabinets or... read moreStaph infection (or how I spent my weekend)April 8, 2014I am writing this blog post from my hospital bed with a staph infection. When we went to bed on Thursday, I had just noticed a light pink blush... read moreHome again with PICC line, IV pumpApril 12, 2014It’s great to be home again. Mark brought me back from the hospital on Tuesday, and as each day goes by I am doing better and better. We had... read moreAntibiotics for staph infection: Life with my PICC lineApril 20, 2014It’s been two weeks since my emergency surgery and things seem to be going along okay. I have learned to live with this PICC line and IV pump attached... read moreGetting ready for radiation therapyMay 18, 2014We were fortunate to have great weather for Easter. I loved being with both our families on that day. It’s always fun to watch the kids find the Easter... read moreRadiation therapy, First Fridays, Marc MaronJune 20, 2014I have 17 of my 30 radiation therapy treatments done. So far things haven’t been too bad. I have just the slightest little bit of pinkness starting on my... read moreRadiation therapy home stretchJuly 7, 2014It’s just about 11 months since my breast cancer diagnosis (8/14/13 3:45 p.m.), and I’m coming into the home stretch on my treatments. I feel fortunate that I haven’t... read moreBreast expanders vs. radiation burns: 3rd surgeryAugust 6, 2014I had been told by so many people how easy the radiation portion of treatment would be. I have to say, yes — the immediate side effects are not... read moreBreast cancer: 12 months in 12 minutesAugust 14, 2014Today marks one year since being diagnosed with breast cancer. I remember it was a very nice day much like today. It was kind of hard to enjoy because... read moreCancer treatments done, now what?September 16, 2014I didn’t know what to expect when I got done with the chemo, surgery, and radiation. I was hoping to get back to normal. For the most part, I... read moreMore activities as cancer treatments drift into pastOctober 28, 2014While putting the video together for this blog post, I was really surprised to see just how much we have been doing lately. A year ago we were just... read moreDecember updateDecember 24, 2014It's been a while since I have checked in. I always think that I don't have much to report on. Now that my cancer treatments are finished, things naturally... read moreJanuary update: Lymph node biopsy came back benignJanuary 27, 2015Christmas was great with both families. I am just glad to be back to a normal routine. All the holiday eating had put me into a tailspin. I'm sure...
read moreI have breast cancerSeptember 26, 2013It’s been a while since I have added a new blog entry. Really the site was not up for the past year or so. I have decided to bring... read moreFirst chemotherapy treatmentSeptember 28, 2013I got one round of chemotherapy down and it didn't go that badly, as you can see in the video above. When I got home, I decided to take... read moreNeulasta after first chemotherapy treatmentSeptember 29, 2013Today I am feeling great. Yesterday was not too bad. I woke a little nauseous, but that went away. We had to go back to the hospital for my... read moreChemotherapy-friendly food from a cancer cookbookOctober 1, 2013I took yesterday to make some staples to have on hand for the upcoming weeks. Mark and I are trying to figure out what I should and shouldn’t be... read moreFirst week of chemotherapy: Wig selectionOctober 6, 2013Last week, besides beginning chemotherapy, I had my appointment for my wig fitting at Lucia's Wigs with The Salon in Kenosha. Melissa Simon is the wig specialist there and... read more'Look Good Feel Better' cosmetics workshopOctober 11, 2013Everything so far is going well with my breast cancer treatment. The very good piece of news that I received this week is that I have tested negative for... read moreVideo: Hair loss, chemo treatment 2October 15, 2013It’s happening, my hair loss has begun. So it’s a good thing I have the appointment for my head shaving on Thursday. I have been wearing a cap when... read moreVideo: My head shaved after 2nd chemoOctober 18, 2013I wasn’t sure what I was going to do when my hair started coming out. I thought that maybe Mark and I could tackle it on our own with... read moreBreast cancer support group in Kenosha, WI: Circle of HopeOctober 27, 2013It’s been a while since my last post. I didn’t have a lot going on this week so there really wasn’t too much to report. The side effects of... read moreVideo: Chemo treatment 3November 1, 2013Well, I'm three-quarters of the way through the first phase of my chemo treatments. This was round 3 out of 4 with Adriamycin and Cytoxan. I have been told that... read moreVideo: Pierogi making and Petrifying SpringsNovember 11, 2013The last treatment of chemo really affected my digestive tract and I think I finally got my system working the way it should. My next treatment is the last... read moreHow to tie a head wrap: Video tutorialsNovember 17, 2013When I found out that I was going to have to undergo chemotherapy and that my hair was going to fall out, it didn’t really bother me. I never... read moreVideo: Finishing A/C chemo, starting TaxolNovember 27, 2013I can’t tell you how great I feel right now. I have the worst of the four treatments behind me and I got through the first treatment of Taxol... read moreVideo: Mehndi (henna tattoo) on my headDecember 5, 2013We had a very quiet Thanksgiving, Mark and I celebrated by ourselves at home. We went for an afternoon walk at Petrifying Springs in Kenosha. Then on Saturday my... read moreHoliday depressionDecember 19, 2013I finished the book Empty Mansions that I had downloaded from the library to my Kindle. That was pretty fascinating, to read about the wealthy Clark family and how... read moreEmily Helck: Fellow breast cancer bloggerDecember 20, 2013This morning, we saw Emily Helck on MSNBC, talking with Thomas Roberts about her breast cancer journey and how she chronicled in a weekly photo shoot the way her... read moreChemo, Christmas & New Year'sJanuary 3, 2014I have been in better spirits this past couple of weeks. I loved being together with family and friends during the holidays. I was so happy that everyone was... read moreLife during chemo: Taxol 7 & 8January 16, 2014We survived the Polar Vortex that came the first part of this month. Our car was prepared with extra blankets, mittens, hats etc. Luckily we were able to make... read moreReconstruction options, MRI, neutrophilsJanuary 30, 2014Two of my girlfriends from Circle of Hope, our breast cancer support group in Kenosha, happen to have had the same plastic surgeon that I have. They each underwent... read moreLast chemo treatmentsFebruary 13, 2014It feels good to know that I have completed my last chemo treatments. We are now moving forward to me having my double mastectomy in a month. For the... read moreAfter chemotherapy, before mastectomyMarch 10, 2014It’s been four weeks since my last chemotherapy treatment and boy does it feel GREAT!!! For the most part, I am getting back to feeling normal. My taste buds... read moreA week since my mastectomyMarch 19, 2014I can’t believe it’s already a week since my double mastectomy. I feel so good to have it behind me and that I am on my way to recovery.... read moreThree weeks since mastectomyApril 3, 2014It’s been three weeks since my bilateral mastectomy and things move along better each day. I still have problems reaching for things really high up in the cabinets or... read moreStaph infection (or how I spent my weekend)April 8, 2014I am writing this blog post from my hospital bed with a staph infection. When we went to bed on Thursday, I had just noticed a light pink blush... read moreHome again with PICC line, IV pumpApril 12, 2014It’s great to be home again. Mark brought me back from the hospital on Tuesday, and as each day goes by I am doing better and better. We had... read moreAntibiotics for staph infection: Life with my PICC lineApril 20, 2014It’s been two weeks since my emergency surgery and things seem to be going along okay. I have learned to live with this PICC line and IV pump attached... read moreGetting ready for radiation therapyMay 18, 2014We were fortunate to have great weather for Easter. I loved being with both our families on that day. It’s always fun to watch the kids find the Easter... read moreRadiation therapy, First Fridays, Marc MaronJune 20, 2014I have 17 of my 30 radiation therapy treatments done. So far things haven’t been too bad. I have just the slightest little bit of pinkness starting on my... read moreRadiation therapy home stretchJuly 7, 2014It’s just about 11 months since my breast cancer diagnosis (8/14/13 3:45 p.m.), and I’m coming into the home stretch on my treatments. I feel fortunate that I haven’t... read moreBreast expanders vs. radiation burns: 3rd surgeryAugust 6, 2014I had been told by so many people how easy the radiation portion of treatment would be. I have to say, yes — the immediate side effects are not... read moreBreast cancer: 12 months in 12 minutesAugust 14, 2014Today marks one year since being diagnosed with breast cancer. I remember it was a very nice day much like today. It was kind of hard to enjoy because... read moreCancer treatments done, now what?September 16, 2014I didn’t know what to expect when I got done with the chemo, surgery, and radiation. I was hoping to get back to normal. For the most part, I... read moreMore activities as cancer treatments drift into pastOctober 28, 2014While putting the video together for this blog post, I was really surprised to see just how much we have been doing lately. A year ago we were just... read moreDecember updateDecember 24, 2014It's been a while since I have checked in. I always think that I don't have much to report on. Now that my cancer treatments are finished, things naturally... read moreJanuary update: Lymph node biopsy came back benignJanuary 27, 2015Christmas was great with both families. I am just glad to be back to a normal routine. All the holiday eating had put me into a tailspin. I'm sure...
