Wednesday 07 November 2012

Well there is good news, not so good news. where to start?
 

the good news is this drug has continued to work, so we'll stay on this regime for another 3 months/next year, till I see him next.

the not so good news.  He's being transferred to a clinic an hour south of here. hmmm I may just follow him down there.  he's been treating my cancer from day one in 1991. Do the math folks that's 21 years. I was in remission for about 17 years.

The poodles and I have reduced our walk to an hour and a half daily 5-6 miles. (usually in the mornings, unless it's raining hard then we try to wait for a dry spell) we do the hills for the cardio workout I get from it. Here is a picture of the three of us.

I have named the new boy Kayekids Smokey Shadow, call name is Shadow. 

Race for the Cure September 2012

Brittany Comstock, Jann Hayes (me), Sarah McKay

Me walking across the finish line

Me, Keep-Her and Amber Dodgson

Brittany Comstock, Jann Hayes (me), Keep-Her and Sarah McKay

Race for the Cure September 2012, This year, Amber Dodgson, her friend Jamie Sandness and her husband Krist and their two children Kason (3) and Kamryn (1), along with Sarah Mckay and her friend Brittany Comstock, Keep-Her and I walked together, with 30,000 of our friends. 

This drug seems to still be working. I still suffer GI side effects periodically from it, but medication helps make it tolerable.  The dogs and I continue to walk daily, we'll see what happens when the rains come, but for now we have slowed down a little only doing about 8-10 miles a day instead of 13-15 miles a day.  My feet started to rebel, so since they are most important part of the "walking" I had best listen to them.

I want to thank you all for your support in my battle against this horrid disease.  One day soon "we all hope" they will find a cure.

Komen Portland Race for the Cure® 2012

Dear Friends and Family,

Once again, my poodles and I will be walking, this September 16th, 2012, we will join more than 30,000 runners, walkers and volunteers for the Komen Portland Race for the Cure.  As one person in a crowd of thousands, I am accepting a challenge to make a difference.

I am a 21 year survivor-----the last 5 I have been OUT of remission and have started the battle anew. I was diagnoses again in April of 2008 and have been receiving ongoing treatment ever since, when one drug quits working we move onto the next one. 

One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.  When I stop to think of the co-workers, friends, aunts, neighbors, mothers and grandmothers in my life, eight women easily come to mind.  And I do not want to see a single one suffer from this terrible disease.

I want to make a difference for our children, so they have the promise of a full life.

Will you help me?  The size of your contribution is not important, because every dollar adds up and makes a difference, providing breast cancer education, screening and access to quality healthcare in our Oregon and SW service area.  Early detection saves lives.

Not a fan of online gifts....If you would prefer, you can mail your tax-deductible contribution to the address listed below.  Please just include a note on the memo line that indicates the gift is on my behalf so that you will receive credit on my fundraising page and I'll know you made a donation on my behalf! 

http://race.komenoregon.org/goto/Jann.Hayes

Komen Portland Race for the Cure®
Unit 15
PO Box 4500
Portland, OR 97208

Whatever you can give will help! I truly appreciate your support and will keep you posted on my progress.  Thank you for joining in our promise to create a world without breast cancer!

ONE way or another I will do the RACE for the CURE again this year.

Sincerely,

~~Jann

Wednesday 08 August 2012

Yes that's right it's only Wednesday and I'm seeing the DR.  As it turned out, Bothe Amber and the DR changed their schedules at about the same time, so I go on Wednesday's now.  As the DR is at another clinic on Thursday now.  I only see the Dr about every 6 - 8 weeks now the reports are further apart.  Still getting my port flushed once a month and that’s not a big deal.  More of a hassle than anything else.

There is some good news. This new drug does seem to be working, so far so good.   I saw Dr R today, he's excited in that it seems that this drug is working well. So we will keep fingers, legs, toes and eyes crossed that it continues to work in a positive manner. However I was told that I need to WEAR a HAT when out walking as one of the side effects of this drug is Drug-Induced Photosensitivity 

Keep-Her and I have been walking about 2-2.5 hours a day lately, early in the mornings before the sun gets to hot. 

 Yes she has "doggy tennis shoes" on her feet.  she needs them in the heat we've been having.

 We log between 10-12 miles a day that way. I have started walking the hills around here to help with the cardio/workout. The wonky vision also tends to keep me home these days. So I spend my time walking on my treadmill or riding the stationary bike. I wonder if I went off all these “wonder drugs” (I wonder what they are doing) if my vision would return to Normal? Whatever that is/was.

Last weekend I acquired a"friend" for Keep-Her, she seems to be enjoying her  time out in the back yard doing the doggy 1000 with him. They are already fast becoming great buds. He's 2 years old, color is grey.

 

Keep-Her and Tommy

 

It's that time of year again and we are gearing up, for our annual walk in the Race for the Cure, which is to be Sunday 16 Sept 2012.  How many of you are going to come and join us in the walk this year?

 

Jann the Overcomer.

07 June 2012

Ok so since I only see the Dr about every 6 - 8 weeks now the reports are further apart.  Still getting my port flushed once a month and that’s not a big deal.  More of a hassle than anything else.

There is some good news. This new drug does seem to be working, so far so good.  But as I told   Dr R yesterday, we’ve gotten this far before with the shrinkage of the tumor than it rears its ugly head again. So we will keep fingers, legs, toes and eyes crossed that it continues to work in a positive manner.

 

The extreme exhaustion, is the major problem, and the “mini tropical” (Hot flashes) vacations I’ve been having have been interesting to say the least. I’ve been having trouble getting 10,000 steps a day in not my usual 15,000 - 20,000 that I was doing before I stared on this drug. Of course the weather isn’t helping with the outdoor walking either. The wonky vision also tends to keep me home these days. So I spend my time walking on my treadmill or riding the stationary bike. I wonder if I went off all these “wonder drugs” (I wonder what they are doing) if my vision would return to Normal? Whatever that is/was.

On the home front here I lost my little Chihuahua (whom I loved very much) Kerby, Tasmanian She Devil. She had a major stroke and a major  heart a little over two weeks ago.  She has been greatly missed. I rescued her 12 years ago and was told that she was between 2-4 years old at that time.  So she lived a long happy life for 12 years. 

Quote of the Day
A friend is a gift you give yourself.
Robert Louis Stevenson

06 May 2012

There is nothing new to post really. only going to the clinic once a month for port flushing and once every 6 weeks to see the DR, I tend to forget about the blog.  Sorry about that. 

The extreme exhaustion, is the major problem,  I've been having trouble getting 10,000 steps a day in not my usual 15,000 - 20,000 that I was doing before I stared on this drug. The wonky vision also tends to keep me home these days also. I wonder if I went off all these “wonder drugs” (I wonder what they are doing) if my vision would return to Normal? Whatever that is/was.

April 2012 Catch Up

OH MY I have been remiss in keeping this thing updated. You all going to start thinking I dropped off the face of the earth and no one told you.

On Thursday 05 April 2012 I saw Dr R again and he was quite pleased with the results that we are getting from this new drug, (Anastrozole (ARIMIDEX), the tumors in the breast and under the arm have shown a great response to it and shrunk considerably, so we will go another 6 weeks on this drug and see if the results continue to be this great.

The major problem that I've been having is as usual the extreme exhaustion. I've been having trouble getting 10,000 steps a day in not my usual 15,000 - 20,000 that I was doing before this drug.

quote of the week: Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. -- Buddha

Thursday 29 March 2012

well went in today and had my port flushed. was in and out in nothing flat. Now next week when I see the DR we'll be there forever I bet, even though it is almost the first one of the day.

Nothing much to report other than extreme exhaustion. It seems that all I want to do is sleep. there fore my walking has taken a major nose dive. I'm lucky to get 10,000 steps (5 miles) a day in these days.

Thursday 08 March 2012

Nothing much to report this week. Same old stuff as last week. My allergies are acting up, as the weather turns nicer and stuff starts to bloom, my nose gets all stuffed up. Keep-Her and I continue to walk like crazy, however they are predicting rain for next week so we'll most likely end up at the mall to do our walking, not as enjoyable as walking out of doors but is so much easier on the breathing (allergies)

Quote for the week: The universe is always nudging us with gentle signals. When we ignore the signals, it nudges us with sledgehammer." ~ Andrew Matthews

Week Three Drug #6 Thursday 01 March 2012

Today we went and had my port flushed, asked the nurse (Debbie I think she said her name was) if they had a little lever that they put on it and just “flushed” it like a toilet. She LOL and said that another patient had said something similar to that. I get a huge headache for about an hour after the “Heparin flush”, nothing seems to help it, except **Truffles** I can eat a single serving (three) and within about 15 min the headache subsides and goes away. YES the Dr did tell me that for some reason the "better" Chocolate does work better than a lot of the drugs available out there these days.

this weeks quote: Each day provides its own gifts.~~Marcus Aurelius

Week Two Drug #6 Thursday 23 February 2012

Short and sweet nothing much to tell. :-)

I’ve been on this new drug for a week now, so far nothing really to untoward to report. Still tired, but continue to get out and walk daily, weather permitting. Oh yes the dreaded “Mini Tropical vacations” have returned. (otherwise known as hot & cold flashes).

Cycle TWO Week Three/Cycle One Week One Thursday 16 February 2012

Yes you read that right.!!! Drug #6 starting

Cycle TWO Week Three Thursday 16 February 2012

NOT HAPPENING.

It is obvious that the drug is not touching the tumor, at least not enough to be palpated.

So we have a new drug to try Lab work continues to be good.

Cycle ONE Week ONE Thursday 16 February 2012

Saw Dr R today and the news really wasn’t very good. He asked as usual how or IF I thought the drug was working. I said well IF it’s working it’s very slow and maybe slight changes in the tumor. He agreed with me that the tumor was NOT shrinking as we had hoped. So we have decided to change to drug #6 this one is suppose to “works by decreasing the amount of estrogen the body makes. This can slow or stop the growth of many types of breast cancer cells that need estrogen to grow.” It also could be a slower acting one. The good news is that it’s another “pill” form so I don’t have to go in for treatment. I still have to go in monthly and have my “port” flushed.

So there you have it

Quote of the Week: Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. -- Buddha

Cycle TWO Week Three Thursday 09 February 2012

This is my week off (for good behaviour?) you’ve got to be kidding right? why start now being good eh?

I've been having a lot of vertigo problems with this new drug or could be the Heparin, which is keeping Keep-Her on her guard so she is right there right now "arguing" with me as to whether or not I'm going to "sit" or “fall” down (cause I wouldn't listen to her) then she snickers at me (I swear she does) then she helps me up, once she is sure that the vertigo has passed. I think this is Keep-Her's saying (thank you FB friends for posting on their site and allowing me to share with others)

Amber says it’s funny to watch the two of us argue. Yes it seems that either way Keep-Her wins the argument and get’s to smile at a job well done.

Cycle TWO Week Two Thursday 02 February 2012

I had my Chemo treatment today. Other than feeling a little bloated this evening I don’t feel to bad. (shhh not even the usual headache)

Keep-Her and I continue to walk daily between 15,000 and 20,000 steps a day, (approximately 6-12miles) some days are more than 20,000, Chemo day usually lucky to get in 10,000 steps, as it takes a big chunk of time out of my day. They don’t like us to “pace” when we are hooked up to their machines . I’ve taken to pacing in the hallway while I wait for them today I didn’t get a chance to.

Quote of the Week: The happiest of people don't necessary have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way".."Hieronymous Anonymous."

Cycle TWO Week One Thursday 26 January 2012

This past weekend Amber, Keep-Her and I went to the big dog show event in Portland called Rose City Classics. Amber was learning to show a dog. She took Keep-Her into the Obedience and Rally ring to see how they would do. Well on Sunday they did very well. In Obedience (novice level) they got a first place ribbon and a prize. In Rally (Advance level) they got a nice passing score. It was nice to get out and see some of my “dog friends” that one only meets at the various shows.

Amber, my husband Mack, and Roxanne, were with me today when I saw Dr R today. Everything is going OK he seemed to think that the under arm tumor maybe might be shrinking a little. I don’t feel has but then it could be so subtle that my feeling it daily I don’t notice it. Started Cycle two of this drug, so far I seem to be tolerating it well. I suffer for about 4-6 hours with a horrendous headache afterwards and then it goes away. I think it’s from the Heparin, as it happened the first time I had the port flushes and didn’t have any chemotherapy treatment that day.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

Marvin Phillips
The difference between try and triumph is just a little umph!