I Actually Got a Haircut!

Abby and the 11 footer!

Dave and Em with the 8 footer!

Yes, my sweatshirt does say that!

See, same colorings!

I Had to get a trim of the hair the other day, it was looking messy! Thanks to my hair therapist, Nancy, it looks and feels so much better! We are now working on growing it out, styling it, maybe color it later. I am liking my salt and pepper look, even though my dog Jake and I have the exact Aussie Cattle Dog/Blue Merle coloring! I have added some photos: Jake and I with the same hair color, Me and Emma, almost 7 years old! Then Dave and Em were sledding this am (we had a big storm Thurs night, we got 14" in Marshfield!) And they decided to make an 8 foot tall snowman, and he was not tall enough, so they made him 11 feet tall! They are crazy!

"Looks like we've made it, la-la la-la-la-la-la..."

You have to sing that line, it is from my friend Barry Manilow (yes, I am a Fanilow!!) And I have taken a moment to write a poem commerating my last radiation therapy~~~after 6 1/2 weeks, 33 treatments and the daily re-enactment of Ground Hog Day Movie starring Bill Murry~~~~here is my poem:

I'm Done, I'm Done
I'm Done with a Capital D

I'm Done, I'm Done

No More Radiation for Me

I've Had It, I've Had It

I've Had it With This Year

I've Had It, I've Had It

I Think I Need A Beer

"Thank you, thank you very much"! I was going to be a professional poet, but went to nursing school instead! Thank God, huh?? Maybe I need to make that a cheer, and not a poem! Does anyone have any pom-poms?

I did get some beautiful flowers from everyone at the office! It was nice to find them as I pulled into the house from the last trip to Jordan! Then me, Mom, Lisa, Betsy, Liz and Maureen all went to Joe's in Hanover and had a celebration lunch! I got more beautiful flowers from Mom and Liz, so pretty!! We ate well, and I even got a slab of chocolate cake and a candle from the staff there! I may keep my hair short and use that evertime we go somewhere to eat!!! ;)

But for now, I am done. January will start more appts with all the docs, and then re-mammo in April or May of 2008! Yipee!! For now Lefty, AKA Pinky, must rest!

4 Time Turkey Trot Champ!!

Emma is the undefeated Turkey Trot champ in Marshfield, 4 years in a row! She has won our turkey for Thanksgiving since the age of 3! She was a little nervous going in to the race this past Saturday, with 3 previous wins under her belt, but she held strong! Yeah for Emma!!

On another note, I have only 5 radiation treatments left!! Two this week and 3 next and I am DONE!!!! Thank God! I don't think poor Lefty can handle much more! After the 28th, I start on the Tamoxifen, make my follow up appts for mammos and MRI's and meet with the surgeon. Then I meet with the Oncologist every 3 months or so. Phew, that was a long 9 months! My hair is growing back in, very salt and peppery, it is longer than Dave's now, which does not say much :) I have actually used the hairdryer and some products, so it does not stick up!! I can't part it yet, maybe by Christmas! Will post some photos of that soon!

Happy Halloween!

As most of you know us, Halloween is the #1 holiday in the MacCutcheon House!! Emma was dressed up as a Goth/Scary Cheerleader, gone are my princess days I think! She was cute! And Charlotte came to our neighborhood with Arnold to Trick or Treat, Charlotte and Emma had a ball!! Charlotte was a scary Vampire, with fangs, cape and scary vampire hands! Mimi came over too, to check out the girls in action! We managed to do the entire neighborhood of 2 streets and took in about 150 pieces of candy!! Dave was the candy hand out guy this year, we had about 65 kids, usually we switch off, but we had no time to switch, the girls were just running with all the other kids to every house! I was pooped! Enjoy the photos! (P.S. 16 radiations to go!)

Radiation Started, only 31 to go!

I started my radiation last week, 2 down, 31 to go! Yikes! The radiation is easy, it is just the daily grind of driving to Plymouth, 14 miles, about 23 min each way. They are very nice in the Radiation Therapy Department at Jordan, there are 2 girl rad therapists, and 2 guy rad therapists that work there. Steven and Mike are my 2 new best friends, since I don't seem to get the girls that much! At this point in my treatment, everyone has seen, touched, stuck, incised, examined, biopsied, xrayed and MRI'd my boobs, so why not Steven and Mike!! I have gotten to the point I may jump of the table and head to the hall with no shirt on, boobs flapping in the wind! The only new issue is that my hair is growing back in (good, yes, but a ton of grey, or white, as Emma calls it!) But the bad news is I have to remember to shave under my arms now for Steve and Mike, my new BFF's. I would not want them to see me un-shaven! :) I had a very smooth summer, if you know what I mean!

I just can't wait for November 28th when this will all be over....well, this part of it that is! From the Mammo that started it all in April to Nov 28th will be over 7 months of doctors, hospitals, chemo, blood tests, MRI's, mammos, biopsies, surgery, radiation ect ect. UGH! After that I am sure I continue with my mammos every 6 months for a bit, and visits to my oncologist, and then on to my hair stylist to color my white when it gets longer!

All Has been Quiet....Getting Ready for Radiation!

Hello to all!

Well, my 3 chemos are done, got 75% of my drugs in when we decided, enough was enough!! I am happy to say we are now moving on to radiation therapy, that has to be a piece of cake after chemo! I went the other day for the simulation, got a few tattoos, and will start October 10th. I have to go 5 days per weeks for 6 1/2 weeks, which gets me finished the Wed after Thanksgiving! Yippee! Then only a few more weeks after that and we can kiss 2007 behind us!! What a sucky year!

The last few weeks have been busy with school, activities (CCD, Swimming, Soccer, open house at school, horse show) (I will put up some photos!) and last night (9/29/07) My mom, Mimi, came over for a sleep over with Emma while Dave and I went to Boston, stayed at the Hyatt overlooking The Charles River in Cambridge and had a very good meal at Morton's Steak House.....it was so good!!!! Thanks Mom!!!

Will keep you posted once I start radiation to let you know how it is going! It should be easy, get Em on the bus, head to Plymouth's Jordan Hospital, get zapped for 10 min, head home!

Enjoy the Emma photos from her horse show!

I think 3 Chemos Will Be Enough, Thank You, Pass The Radiation, Please!

Emma 1st GraderAdeline May Crawford!

Well, the last (3rd) chemo was a doozie. I was so physically exhausted for about 10 days after & my stomach felt like it was burning for those 10 days (ice cream=cool!) Thank God Dave just happened to be home during that time, I could not have done it with out him, nor my mom or sister! I think I slept about 15 hours a day for 10 days! My head also started to break out again, so I guess it was not the Nuelasta. I got on antibiotics quickly, so the head was not as messy, thank goodness!!! So my Oncologist and I decided 3 was enough since I am doing it to lower my chances of a re-occurrence. My nodes are negative and the tumor margins where clear. So we agree to move onto radiation: 6 1/2 weeks 5 days a week! UGH! Easier than chemo I think! So my hair should start to grow back in by the beginning of November, I think, just in time for winter!! Burrr!

On another note, Emma is back in school, an Official First Grader!! She is so grown up, and loves her teacher, Mrs Brady! I need to get back to the gym and Weight Watchers, to much "feeling bad for myself eating" I guess! Now that I have more time, I must get back on track! We are off to Aruba in April 2008, must work at it now!! Most people lose weight on chemo, not me, I gained 5 pounds!

We also have a new member of our family! Tarah, Ken & Big Sis Isabelle had a baby girl on 8/18/07, missed my birthday by one day!! Adeline May Crawford! She is a doll!

3 Chemos Down, 1 To Go!!

Today was number 3 chemo....all went well, in and out in the usually 3.5 hours. We are skipping the Neulasta, so no bone pain this time (yeah) and hopefully no head/scalp issues! I just hope my labs will be as good as they have been without it! I did speak with my Oncologist, Corrie, and we decided that if the head thing happens again, I will be done with chemo and we will move onto the 7 weeks of radiation. I can not do that pain and illness again, it was so horrible! I compare the pain on my head to nerve pain like Shingles, I can't live another week like that! But anyway, Dave came in with me, we dropped Emma at my office, and my girlfriend Nicole, who is 22, took Emma for the chemo time and they had a ball!!! They hit Quincy Market, Build A Bear, somehow acquired a Black Cat Webkinz, then they went to the Aquarium and had a ball, where yet another stuffed seal appeared!! Emma is good! Dave and I managed a nice lunch at the chemo side table....Bertuccis (hot rolls, butter, garden salad with chicken and chicken & ziti dish!! Yummy! So lets see how this week goes with out the Neulasta, I will keep you all posted!!
Kristin

Our Weekend in North Conway, NH!

We took a nice long weekend to New Hampshire for Dave to do his much trained for race UP Mt Washington. The sad news is the race was cancelled both days d/t horrible weather at the top (70-80 MPH sustained winds, zero visibility, freezing rain/snow, wind chills below zero!) Yes, this is August! Emma and I made it to the top though, being the dedicated wife and daughter! They did not cancel till we just arrived up there. So, we turned around and went back down, us and about 100 other dedicated family members, clutching the wheel and trying not to ride the brakes as to burn them out! Poor Dave, he was so sad, 6 months of training! But to cheer him up, we took him to StoryLand for the day, and had a great time! That place is so cute, and Emma loves it! The next day we decided to surpise Emma, and we took her on a mystery ride, and ended up at Santa's Village about 1 hour from North Conway. This is a small park, all geared around Christmas. Fun rides, no lines, we all had a great time. That day was actually my 42nd birthday, ugh! It was fun to be there and recall the memories of my mom and dad taking Lisa and I there as kids!! We also saw a big Moose on the way to Santa's Village, chomping grass at the side of the road, then we saw a Black Bear on the side of the road on the way back!! He was poking his head up and down, waiting for traffic to clear, like a good little bear, before crossing! The whole w/e was very cool, we were in jeans and polar feece all weekend, very Fall like! It was good to get away, my head is feeling and looking better (thank God!) I just have a bad head cold to deal with now, even after going thru a million anti-bac wipes in NH! Next chemo is Monday 8/27....skipping the Neulasta this time, we think that is what gave me the bad head reaction. So we shall see! Enjoy the photos from our weekend, and a few from my birthday cake with my mom, sister Lisa, neice Charlotte (4) and Emma (6 1/2)!

Where Have I Been, You Ask?

I am usually really good about updating the blog, but this last chemo sent me into a tizzy! I had my second chemo on the 6th, and was tired the rest of the week, the usual. Also took my Neulasta on Tuesday to boost the white blood cells. But on Friday 8/10 I woke up with horrible red dots all over my head, ok zits and white pustules, for you visual folk!! I was working that day, so I wore the wig, and by the afternoon my head was on fire, more inflamed, more zits. I was aching all over, and had to leave work early (ok, so my friends at work escorted me from the building!) I called Oncology, and she called me in some antibiotics....but from there I just got feeling sicker. I slept all weekend, cried alot b/c of the pain in the scalp, nothing tasted good, my temp was up and down, resorted to taking narcotics for the pain (ok, I do like them, but had to make it sound better!) Was online with Oncologist all w/e, sent photos of my pretty head, she wants to share them with her colleagues since she has not seen a case of folliculitis this bad in a long time. She thinks is could be the Neulasta, we are skippping it on the next chemo!! So today I went into The BI with Mom, and Corie looked over my head and we added a few more drugs to my ever-growing Rubbermaid carry case of pills (of course I have the Sun-Sat individual pill box, this is just the box to CARRY the bottles!) I am staying on the Kefzol antibiotic for a few more days, I have new and improved Narcotics, a topical antibiotic, a topical steroid, and not to mention a cooling and soothing masque! It has to get better from here! I will see my Onc again on Thursday a.m.!

After my MD appt, mom and I went shopping at the cancer store on the cancer floor (who knew thay had one!! I wonder what store they have on the behavioral dysfunctional/mental unit!? ).....mom got me 2 cool hats, 2 cool scarves (they make them bigger at the cancer store so you can wrap better!!) and a cool bag. Thanks Mom! I will bring them to NH this weekened~~~ Dave is racing UP Mt.Washington, and then Story Land and Santa's Village, hopefully a mellow and head pustule-free weekend! Chat soon!!!!

Now it will come up all the time I am sure!

If you just see the last blog ("hair today"...), click on August on the left and the newer blog will show up. Not sure why it does it for some people and not for others, just a learning experience I guess! I have finagled it a few times, maybe it is just me and my chemo brain! Doing well today, feel fine, little tired, no nausea (took the drugs to ward off the evil spirits!) Going to rest while, flip on TV and smut shows, Em is in Camp till 1 pm! Chat soon~~~~KM

Chemo # 2 Over, and I LOVE My Bald Head!

Me, Mom Peg and Diane!

Today was Chemo Day #2! Two down, two to go! It went well, I feel great. My best buddie Diane P came with me, we chatted and laughed all the time. It went by fast! The IV went in smoothly (thanks chemo RN Dianne!) & all drugs up and running. They did run one of my chemos a bit faster this time, the Taxotere, and I got wicked hot/flushed and some shortness of breath, but it was over with fast, and they turned me down a bit and I was fine! Diane said my face/neck looked like they was on fire! We need some excitment while getting chemo! We decided next time we may bring our nail stuff and UV dryer and do our nails and the other patients too!! We have the time and we are great nail painters!! I must also say that I love my blad head! I am very comfortable with it, and thank god, I have a round head and cute ears!! I did bring my wig on Friday at work, all the girls helped me because I was in a panic b/c Dr B asked me to wear it and I had not done that yet! It went well, they kept an eye on me all day and primped me as needed! It feels like a hairy hot helmet! But it does look good! Photos of wig soon, I promise! Because Dr. B is such a nice guy, I told him I would wear it, but I was only doing it for him! Just another good deed done for him to mentally file for Holiday Bonus Time! Ha-Ha ;) Check back soon....so far all my hair is gone X the greys! I have alot of grey! I asked if grey is resistant to chemo as it is to color, and she had no answers. If it does not fall out after this treatment, I should keep all my grey fuzzy hair!! Chat soon, Love Chemo-Chick!!

Chemo Chick!

Cheering Fans!

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow!!

As my last blog stated, the hair was holding fast the a.m. of Day 14, but p.m. Day 14 and Day 15 it was coming out in chunks!! It was entertaining to pull clumps and throw it to nature (Emma said the birds can make nests!) But by Monday pm, I had to call Patricia, my wig lady, and have it cut off this am! It was everywhere, you don't even want to know about the shower drain! So now I look just like Demi Moore in GI Jane, just minus her fantastic totally toned body!! It feels so much better off, it was hurting so much.....I wore my wig home, then just put on a headband and then a hat. No biggie! I should be totally bald by the w/e I would think! Here are some photos.....Emma and I in matching headbands the night before the buzz, then me and Dave with matching cuts, and my hat look! Its gonna be a cool summer, I can tell you that!! I'll just jazz up my eyes and lips more, and nobody will notice I am sure!!! Will get wig photos soon, the humidity must lift if I am to wear that thing!!

It's Holding On For Dear Life!

Today is Day 14 from my 1st chemo, and they say the hair comes out at 14-17 days, yikes! But mine is holding strong I think! The waiting sucks, just fall out already! My hair and head are hurting, very sensitive, ouch! I need a haircut badly, but if it going to fall out, why waste the cash? And if it is not coming out yet, why buzz it off to early? I keep running my fingers thru it, just to see, sometimes I get a few hairs and think "its starting", but then I run my fingers thru it later and no hairs at all! I will probably go bald just from running my fingers thru my hair myself! Oh, the dilemmas of breast cancer and chemo! Today may just be a hat day by the pool! Will write more later~~~next chemo is Aug 6th.

Feeling Tired, Bone Pain With A Side Of Lemon Juice!!

Have been feeling tired!! Tons of achy bone pain from the Neulasta, which making lots of red and white blood cells and blue platelets (kidding about the blue, it just went with the red and white!) Very emotional from everything, including the 4 days days of steroids, and the bone pain and PMS. Then went out to Bertuccis for pizza Sun evening and Dave squeezed a lemon into his ice tea, and it hit me square in the left eye, and I lost it in the middle of the restaraunt :( Doing better today......Mom took Em for the day while I went and met with the Radiation Oncologist at Jordan Hospital. I really liked him, went over all the radiation good and bad things. Good, I may get a lift on the left boob from the heat, bad, Dr. B may need to lift my right to match it up later! I go back Oct 11th for the simulation and probably will start by the end of October with that part of this story. Hair is still intact, day 8 post chemo, they say 14-17 days! Yikes! I keep running my hand thru it to see if a chunk comes out, not yet!! Picked up the new wig the other day, it looks nice! Will have to get photos on-line as soon as I need to wear it! I will probably be in hats mostly!! You know me, I am a tom-boy! Will write more soon!! Kristin

Some Weekend Photos! No "C" Talk Allowed!

Butterfly Girl!


Went into Boston to see a Red Sox Game, with a pre-game fundraiser/appreciation for the PMC Ride Dave has done in the past! FREE Fenway Franks, and lots of other stuff to eat! A good time was had by all! Emma learned "the wave" and "take me out to the ballgame"....had to leave before "Sweet Caroline" was sang though! Bummer!


Welcome PMC!

She loves her Daddy!

Days 2 and 3 Post Chemo~~~not so bad!

Not to get to excited, because they say with each Chemo treatment, it can get a bit worse, but so far so good here in post chemoland! I am mostly tired, achey and I had a bad headach the first a.m. after teatment, reminded me of hangovers from years past, but with those I (and my friend that shall remain nameless, OK, Robin) had much more fun the night before!!! :) But I gobbled down all my anti nausea drugs, my favorite Ativan (the one that makes you not care if you don't feel well) some Tylenol, had some ice cream..... all was better in chemoland once again! Not very hungry (weird for me!!) Craving fruit today (also, weird for me!) and drinking tons of water. Got some Vit water and antioxident water (hey it was on sale 10 for $10 at Star, can't hurt!) Will write more later if anything exciting happens....like throwing up or hair starting to come out!! Hey, you gotta laugh!! Love, Kristin

Chemo Day #1 Over....3 To Go!!

Well, the day went pretty well! They started my IV fast, Nurse Diane, Very nice!!! Got some Prendisone and Zofran in me. Then started Chemo Drug #1, Taxotere, went in well, no problems! Then went in #2 Chemo Drug Cytoxan, also no problems. Also got another Ativan there, what the hell, makes me feel good and happy (it is also for nausea too). Dave was there to keep me company, he brought me a big Diet Coke a big bag of M&M's, yum! They have wireless there, so he got a little work done! Then my friend Heather (Frick), she is in the pink shirt, arrived (2 years out from Breast cancer herself), and she brought me (Frack) a goodie bag with a Kit Kat, Mounds Bar, Lucky Chemo Socks and Lucky Chemo Earrings! Who knew! Needless to say all chocolate is gone and I am feeling fine! We actually had a good time, laughed alot, had a nice view, ate Subway Sandwiches and cookies! All and all it was a nice day for chemo! I must load up on my P.M. nausea drugs now and get to bed. They say if it is going to be yucky, the next 2 days will be it (for nausea) then in 7-10 days my counts drop and I get tired. So we shall see! Have to give myself a shot of Neulasta tomorrow to boost my cells. Will keep you posted!!

Wig Try On #2....What An Experience!

Well, today I had to go for wig try-on #2. First, you must bring someone who can laugh with and at you, and is your BFF, that person is Diane Puleio. I have know Di for years from working in the trenches in the O.R. at Children's Hospital. She is now my personal wig consultant! We have it narrowed to 1 wig type and 2 colors. Will go back next week and decide on one of the 2 colors. I have included some photos of us....2 are "wigs not to buy" and one is a kind of a nice one of us!! See if you can tell which one I am getting!

The Drugs Have Invaded my Countertop!

Went to the pharmacy today to get my anti nausea drugs, supposedly this regime of chemo I am doing is not bad in the nausea sense! But I got 3 different bottles of stuff to help me stop nauseaing (is that a word?) I'd hate to see how many drugs one gets with a more nauseating regime! One is a fun one, Ativan, it relaxes you while taking the nausea away, like a little Valium. So you don't really give a shit that you feel like throwing up I guess! ;) One scares me more than chemo, Prendisone (steroid)...I take that the 3 days prior to chemo. If I get a moon face or hump back, that one is out the window!! I rather puke! And then Compazine, good regular anti nausea drug.. If it gets bad, then they will add in Zofran, which I really wanted instead of Compazine, but I think she rolled her eyes, and thought, "another nurse telling me what to prescribe" So we shall see! Then I am awaiting insurance approval for a drug called Nuelasta, which boosts my white blood cells after chemo, so I do not get sick. I have to inject it myself...saves me a trip into Boston! So that is it for now! Check back soon for more updates!

Starting Chemo on July 16th 2007

Hello to all my friends and family who have been cheering me on since my breast cancer diagnosis in May. I decided to start this blog so you can just check in and see what is going on in the treatment process. I was emailing everyone updates, but for some reasons, some peoples emails came across in code and were hard to read. Hence, the blog was born! And you all know how neurotic I am, this site will be very well maintained and updated, probably to much! Chat soon~~~~ Love, Kristin