Where do you get your hair done?

January 30- Mom and I took Aiden to get a haircut today. The hair stylist told mom that she loved her hair and asked her where she gets it done! Mom said quietly that it was a wig but the girl didn't hear her. When we were leaving she asked mom again about her hair and this time mom said she had breast cancer and that it was a wig. The girl was so surprised and told us what a great wig it was. She also said that mom looked great and would never guess she was sick. Mom was pretty excited and I was happy to see her smile.

2 bald heads are better than 1

January 29- Well... mom's hair all fell out after the second chemo treatment. She said her head itched and then it was all gone. Surprised her a little bit.

Here are some pics of Billy & Mom. He said he was the only one willing to shave his head for her. He shaves it anyway! =) Looking good you two-

And here is a pic of Billy with mom's wig on! Haha!

Chemo- Round 2

January 25- Mom received her second chemo treatment which took about 2 1/2 hours. She went back in on the 26th to get her shot to help with her white blood cells. She had a different nurse this time and she did a much better job so it didn't hurt her. She was sick again on Friday, Saturday and half of Sunday. She had really bad headaches, felt very dizzy, was tired and said her bones hurt. She was afraid to eat since she gets so nauseous and has lost 6 pounds already. Not a good way to lose weight but she said she'll take it!

The bra...

January 21- Mom went to Nordstrom's with her friend, Katy, to get her mastectomy bra. She was very excited because she thought it made her look "normal" again. She ordered a prosthesis for it but called and canceled a couple days later because the Dr told her she won't need it. They have been slowly increasing the saline in her expander so she will outgrow it too fast. Her good friend, Elaine, is going to make her something that will work better instead. Mom said the prosthesis looked like a chicken cutlet so she is happy not to have it. =)

The new look!

We found a great wig. It was actually the first one she tried on. I think she looks wonderful!

Shaving of the head

Mom thought it would be fun to shave it off in different phases so we took lots of pics to document her new styles.

Trying on wigs

Mom had lots of fun trying on different wigs.

1st Chemo Treatment

Mom getting her first round of chemo at the Rocky Mountain Cancer Center. She insisted on wearing penguin pajamas that she received as a gift. She thought the nurses might like them!

January 2012

January 1- Trip to the ER. Complications with the port turned out to be just bad bruising.

January 5- Echo heart scan to make sure mom's heart can withstand the chemo.

January 10- Saline is added to her tissue expander.

January 11- First round of chemo. She will receive 4 rounds of very strong chemo that consists of 2 different bags of chemo and 2 bags of anti-nausea medicine. After the first 4 rounds which occur every other week she will get 12 more rounds of a different chemo and that will happen weekly. After that, she will have to get radiation 5 days a week for 6 weeks.

January 12- Shot for white blood cells. She will have to go back to the cancer center the day after chemo for the first four rounds for this shot. 

January 13 & 14- Chemo hit mom hard. She was very sick and tired.

January 16- Mom decided to shave her head. The Dr. said all of her hair would be gone in 2 weeks after the first chemo treatment. She did not want to see it fall out so we went to Aveda and shaved it! She got a beautiful wig and is even more gorgeous than before.

December 2011

December 5- MRI

She also found out she carries the BRCA2 gene. (A woman’s lifetime risk of developing breast and/or ovarian cancer is greatly increased if she inherits a harmful mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2.) My Grandma (mom's mom) died of breast cancer and my Aunt Karyn (mom's sister) is in remission from breast cancer.

December 7- MRI results came back and were not good. They found 2 tumors instead of one and precancerous cells. The lumpectomy that was originally scheduled to get rid of the cancer is now canceled. A mastectomy will happen instead.

December 14- Single Mastectomy and removal of lymph nodes. The dye they inserted to identify the cancerous lymph nodes did not spread to them so they had to remove all the lymph nodes (14) on that side. She also had reconstructive surgery at the same time. They inserted a tissue enhancer where they will periodically fill with saline to stretch the skin so they will eventually be able to put an implant in.

December 21- The pathology reports came back from the tumor and lymph nodes causing a setback. 4 of the lymph nodes were cancerous. Mom's cancer is actually stage 3 which is further along than originally thought.

December 27- PET Scan (CAT Scan with sugar dye) to search for other cancerous tumors in the rest of her body.

December 28- Test came back that the cancer did NOT spread!

December 30- Mom went to the hospital for surgery to install a port in her chest for chemo. (A implantable port is a thin, soft, plastic tube that is put into a vein in your chest or arm and has an opening (port) just under the skin. It allows medicines to be given into the vein or blood to be taken from the vein.)

November 2011

November 3- Mom had a physical where they found a lump in her breast.

November 8- Mammogram

November 16- Biopsy

November 18- Received the news that the tests came back positive for breast cancer.

Your mother has cancer...

Those are words you never want to hear. My mom can't be sick. She is going to live forever and nothing will ever happen to her. RIGHT? Well... in the real world she has cancer. Stupid cancer as she calls it. With the help of family and friends, she is going to beat it. Here we go...