Forget the Statistics. CAVU!

I came across a post from someone who wrote about a conversation they had with their doctor regarding metastatic breast cancer statistics.  She had asked her doctor what the most number of years someone had lived with metastatic breast cancer.  The number, 20 years, was meant to be an inspiration when so many other statistics can be very sobering. But focusing on statistics can be draining...mentally and physically. 

Like so many other Americans, I have been glued to my television watching coverage of President Bush's' life and funeral.  I don't think I ever really knew his whole life story and so I have gained a renewed appreciation for this humble, 'giant' of a man as his granddaughter so poignantly put it. 

One of the many touching tributes given this week was from Vice President Pence, as he read a letter President Bush had written to his son.  In it, he alluded to the Navy term, CAVU (ceiling and visibility unlimited), a term coined to my understanding to describe the perfect flying conditions.  I love that term and thought it appropriate to breast cancer survivors, and in particular metastatic breast cancer survivors as well.  My mom tells me all the time to, and I quote, "Stop researching the internet!"  Put your phone and electronic devices down.  Don't focus on statistics.  Focus on you.  Focus on your family.  Focus on the now.  Your ceiling and visibility is unlimited.  My mom has shattered that ceiling of 20 years.  She is now a 34 breast cancer survivor, and it has been 24 years since it metastasized.  Doctors, as brilliant as they are, only know so much.  So rest easy knowing that your heavenly Father is in control.  CAVU.

Health and Healing Prayers,
Casey

Home Stretch!

Hello Everyone!

I am on the home stretch for radiation treatments, and aside from the redness and occasionally irritating sensations of itching and just general sensitivity issues in the area that's being treated, I feel surprisingly well!  Thank you, Jesus!  As I lie under the machine every day and watch it hard at work, I picture it zapping every last cancer cell and I feel so  thankful that I live in the day of modern medicine. I imagine the engineers and doctors that designed these machines and say a prayer of gratitude for whoever they are.  I watch what I call the teeth move back and forth as it adjusts to target just the right area, I listen to what reminds me of a laser engraving machine, and find it almost relaxing in some unusual cathartic way.  Perhaps it's because it is 10 minutes in the middle of my usually hectic day where I am forced to be still.  Very still. And lie there.  And so I use those few minutes each and every day to say a prayer.  To be thankful.  And to pray for others who lie under the same machine who may not have the same optimistic odds I was given.  I pray for strength, hope and peace for them and their families.  I claim healing.  And not just healing from the cancer, but complete healing from any negativity in all its ugly forms.  Healing from any doubts that sometimes creep in my head.  And I claim healing for all of you.

Hugs and Healing Thoughts,
Casey

The beginning of a new reality

Hi Everyone,

In a couple of posts back, I revealed that I, the daughter of the metastatic breast cancer survivor, was just diagnosed with breast cancer myself.  So the blog that I started with my mother to support others in their journey, has now turned around to benefit me.  For some reason, I find it incredibly ironic and divinely orchestrated.  My mother was diagnosed at 37 and I was diagnosed at 39.  And although we fall under the same umbrella of breast cancer our journeys have been quite different and I can honestly say that I feel fortunate to have been diagnosed in today's day of modern medicine and treatment.  My how far we have come ladies.  First of all, my mother's breast cancer was more advanced with her tumor being over 3 cm.  She had 34 lymph nodes removed, a mastectomy was the only option, and overall the vast information and extensive support networks of other survivors, available at our fingertips through google and other search engines, just wasn't available 32 years ago like it is today. What a blessing! I am holding that close and reminding myself of that every day.  I had a lumpectomy and one little lymph node removed.  Because of my mother's journey, I have been going in for mammograms since I was 25.  Her history is the reason mine was caught so early.  Where my tumor was located, by the time I felt anything it probably would have been too late.

So after the initial shock wore off I said a prayer of thanks to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I scheduled a hair appointment prior to radiation treatment starting (needed to feel a little less drab :) I am going to buy CoQ10 when it goes to the 'buy one get one free' sale at Walgreens, and I will continue to claim complete healing through Jesus Christ. I will try to write more often about my journey (radiation starts this week) and as always for those who wish to hear from my mom, please feel free to write a comment or reach out to us.  As many have mentioned, this is a sisterhood, and we are here for each other.

Hugs,
Casey

Hello Everyone,

We saw this article and thought you all might find it interesting  We hope that this finds everyone well and keeping the faith. Please feel free to reach out to us anytime.  We are here to support and pray for anyone who needs prayer.

Click below to read article:
History of Breast Cancer

Hugs and healing prayers,

Casey and Kathy

A Family Affair

As my sister and I have gotten older, it has been interesting to see the family genes and dynamics take shape. For years we have joked that my sister is just like my mom.  While I am a spitting image of my mother (as you can see in the picture to the left with my mom and my two kids at Yellowstone), and my sister, our dad, biologically my sister seemed to have inherited more of my mother's side. That is until a couple of months ago when I received a breast cancer diagnosis at 39 just as my mother did at 36.  The diagnosis, although it still came as a shock, didn't rock me to my core because I have a living example that cancer doesn't have to mean a death sentence. I have watched my mother victoriously battle this disease since I was eight years old and I have seen that it can be overcome.  So I'm not scared.  Right now I am just focused on treatment and now taking the advice that we have been writing about for years now. Thankfully, because of my mother's history, I have been going in fairly regularly for my mammograms and it appears we caught this early.  Interestingly, our last post, "Lumpectomy-A wiser option?" is what I just had a few days ago and I will start radiation treatment as soon as I have healed enough to begin the next phase of treatment. It was a tough decision to decide between a mastectomy or lumpectomy with radiation. But ultimately, I took my mother's oncologist's advice (after all he has kept my mother around for all these years against what seemed like insurmountable odds :), and opted for the lumpectomy.  I understand that so much is out of my control, so I have been praying, giving thanks to God for catching this, praying over my doctors, praying that by Jesus' stripes I am healed. I am claiming it, and I believe it. I believe this and pray this for all of our readers as well. I would like to urge other women out there with a family history to stay on top of their screenings. Interestingly,  both my sister and I tested negative for the BRCA gene.  So please stay on top of your mammograms.  A family history of breast cancer is not something to sweep under the rug.  Take your health seriously and stay on top of your mammograms.  It just might save your life.

Wishing you all health and happiness.

Lumpectomy A Wiser Option?

Hello everyone,

Apologies on our absence.  Over the past couple of years we have been dealing with numerous loss and illnesses with close family and friends.  We are going to do our best to get back on track with posting helpful information to all of our faithful followers.  As always, even when we're not posting, we are here for you--to answer answer any of your questions, or just be your soft place to fall.  Please don't ever hesitate to reach out to us. No question or concern is too small.

Today, however, I wanted to share with all of you a hopeful post.  I was watching the news the other night when I saw my oncologist, who I absolutely love and trust literally with my life, being interviewed by one of our local news stations regarding a new finding out of MD Anderson. 

Contrary to what most of us have always been led to believe, mastectomies are not always the best choice for women.  In fact, women are twice as likely to suffer complications from mastectomies, and older women in particular (those 65 or older) are three times as likely to suffer complications.  Due to the phenomenal advances in breast cancer treatment in recent years, lumpectomies oftentimes produce better outcomes. So instead of doing the knee-jerk reaction of a mastectomy, take a deep breath, and talk with your doctor about the best treatment choice for you.  Please watch the interview with Dr. Kalter.  I am including the link here.


Link to Interview with Dr. Kalter:
http://www.ksat.com/health/mastectomy-study-reveals-risks-long-held-by-sa-doctors


Wishing you all health and happiness,
Kathy

New Vaccine for Breast Cancer?

I just read about a small but promising study regarding a new vaccine that shows great promise in breast cancer treatment.  I am including the link below.  I hope everyone is doing well and had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving.
Click on the link below to read the article:


New Vaccine to slow Breast Cancer Progression?