Update on Sammy

This is a quick update on Sammy: My vet spoke with the oncologist. We cannot give him a CT scan unless we put him under and a biopsy is too invasive it's a watch and see. He only has one of the long list for Cushing's Disease which is thirst. We've upped and switched his food again so he's eating more so that might be the cause of it too.

I do hate putting the weight on him because I have a feeling his quality of life will be more of a challenge with his arthritis than his possible cancer. Thank goodness for his shoes but he's getting stuck and tangled a lot more now a days. The good news is that he seems happy and content in his senior years and that's all I can ask for right now.

Vet Oncologist

December 18, 2010 I'm celebrating Christmas with Sammy. It's sad thinking this might possibly be my last Christmas with him.

I realized today that I have a much, much more difficult time talking about Sammy's possible diagnosis than my own. I've only shared with a few close friends and then on here, of course.

Looks like Sammy might get to visit with a veterinary oncologist. I always said that Sammy copied me with his multiple surgeries and now his possible cancer diagnosis. We have a vet oncologist in town and my vet will do a phone consult with her. I never would have entertained the idea of chemotherapy on Sammy but it seems as if chemo is different on dogs. The good news is that they do not lose their hair and I think that is saying a lot. We're nixing the idea of a CT scan too since he'll need to be put under for that.

HOPEFULLY he does NOT have cancer but to be continued...

Happy Holidays! May 2011 bring everyone nothing but good health and happiness. If you have good health and happiness you're the richest person in the world!

Sammy & Cancer

I do not have children so Sammy is in essence my child. I never knew him as a puppy but remember him as a vibrant teenager that loved to play fetch, go for swims and explore. He was my chemo dog when I went through treatment. He had the same lump on his right side where they felt the lumpectomy removed all the precancerous cells. I watched him slow down as he aged. I would be with him when he had his grand mal seizures. I was with him when he vomited and hand a difficult time breathing and had to be rushed to the ER to be later diagnosed with laryngeal paralysis. Decisions had to be made whether or not he would have the invasive surgery at 10 years old. Looking at quality of life he had the surgery and surprisingly recovered well AND that took care of his grand mal seizures!

He has slowed down and is showing signs of stiffness in his hind legs. He's now sporting some cool sneaks to help with traction and getting up off the floor. He looks pretty good for a 12 year old lab.

His last visit to the vet showed high elevation of liver enzymes and higher ph in his urine with crystals. Long story short he has nodules on his liver that looks normal in older dogs but would need to be biopsied or CT to make sure it isn't malignant. They also feel his adrenal gland may have cancer.

I promised myself that he would not have further surgeries after his last one. This surgery would be real invasive. My gut tells me to look at his quality of life and forgo the surgery, especially since we're uncertain if it's cancerous. Giving him an invasive surgery would be like giving my 85 year old grandfather an invasive surgery. He could die on the table. More testing and research needs to be done but I am uncomfortable with any further surgery for him.

Though I've been able to find balance with cancer and my life and with work it always seems to keep creeping back into my life. This is one scary stuff...especially now that it's attacking my baby.

Focusing on the Neck Up & November 2010

Now that I'm "put back together" I can focus on the neck up. I've always had bad oral health prior to chemo. Both my parents have bad oral health so again I am genetically at a disadvantage when it comes to oral health. They recommend getting your teeth clean prior to chemo because you will not be able to get them clean during treatment because of the low white blood count. Our mouths is a breeding ground for bacteria and germs, especially when they clean near the gums.

I am currently having oral work done. I don't think chemo helped my situation but it isn't the only culprit. However, I know two women that swear that their oral health declined immensely post chemo. I'm writing on this topic hoping anyone that stumbles across this takes extra special care of their oral health before, during and after chemo.

Unfortunately I am a type A personality. I've been grinding my teeth since college. All the grinding has caused my bite to become off. I'm currently having that corrected without jaw surgery which used to be the only option out there. They can now use TAD Temporary Anchorage Device to move the jaw. The TAD has its pros and cons too but I did not any more big surgeries.

My oncology visit the end of December will be my first since my 5 year cancerversary. I will need to bring my oncologist a small gift of appreciation. I spoke to her during my last visit and she would like me to go into my 5 years with a clean scan. I was leaning on not getting that many scans because CT emits a great deal of radiation. MRI because I'm allergic to the gadolinium. I will get a scan done BECAUSE I trust her AND I know someone that found out she had a recurrence through a yearly routine CT scan. She had over 17 nodes involved! Imagine if she waited! She is only 3 years out but diligence paid off, especially because her oncologist doesn't really believe in scans. She fought for a yearly one and thank goodness she did! I think finding about her recurrence through me into a funk a I didn't really celebrate my 5 year cancerversary too much.

Birthday cake from Mad Cakes courtesy of my sister and Steve. Delicious!

I did have a rocking great birthday month though! On my official birthday I went for a jog at Town Lake, Shell and Nicole came by with cupcakes, met Cara for a late lunch and then gathered Deborah for Harry Potter. Beyond that I did a great deal of eating! Thankfully I didn't gain a lot of weight. I guess the braces and working out helps. I've taken a few indoor rowing w/CTTS and I like the variation. I've gone jogging a few times at Town Lake with my new sneaks and found it refreshing and okay on my knee. I've also signed up for Mamma Jamma 2011. I'm seriously thinking of 100 miles... :)

Co-birthday celebration with my "sis" Kelly at Sherlock's.
We jammed to Space Rockers, a silly cover band. She's the one my big head is blocking. :)
She is officially 366 days younger than me.

November 16, 2010 = 5 Year Cancerversary

November is always an interesting month for me. It's my cancerversary (month I was diagnosed) and it's my birthday. I always take a positive twist on it and celebrate LIFE and SURVIVORSHIP all month long. 5 years is an exciting yet scary time for me. It's exciting because every year post diagnosis without a recurrence is important. Every 5 years is even more important because typically a recurrence usually occurs within the first 5 years. Of course the work I do I know that there are no guarantees. I've seen too many women rediagnosed around 5 years. I cannot get complacent but I also can't live in fear.

At this point I have less than a year left of Tamoxifen. I'll be done with Tamoxifen prior to my 35th birthday next year. I officially get to stop it mid August 2011. I told my doc that I want a year break before we discuss further treatment.

My life is so different from when I was diagnose. I've changed my career, don't sweat the small stuff, single, new car (April of this year new because my 1999 Accord finally broke down,) new love for biking, braces (October of this year,) and my new family the Pink Ribbon Cowgirls.

Below is a quick recap of my life since September:




Mamma Jamma September 25, 2010 I rode 72 miles in 6 hours in 90+ degree weather and humidity. Throughout my ride I kept thinking about all the girls I've lost along the way. It's weird how it felt like they kept me company on my ride since I rode most of the way on my own. Many thanks to all my friends that donated. I was able to raise just over $1000 which was my fund raising goal. This ride was very important to me both physically, mentally and emotionally.

October 23, 2010 Support Crew Ride. A motorcyclist gave me a big bear hug.


November 7,2010 I participated in my 6th Race for the Cure, 4 as a survivor.

Scary Halloween

I flip flopped all month long about what to do for Halloween. My first year moving out from my parents I decorate and had a big bucket of treats but no trick-or-treaters came. I'm not usually home for Halloween but I decided to give out treats after speaking to a friend of mind last minute. Last minute like 5:32pm today. I slapped on my running shoes and jogged to my nearest HEB.

I was astonished at the bad ingredients in my beloved childhood candy bars. Most of them had hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup in them. I will have to purchase my candy from Whole Foods next year and I really hope companies will start cleaning up their products.

Nutella used to have hydrogenated oils in it but it appears like they changed the oil. I'm uncertain how clean the new oil is but hopefully it is for the better. I actually do not buy Nutella but used to eat that as a child.

I really like how some people are giving out play doh, pretzels and other healthier and cleaner options. I will join them in the future if I choose to give out candy. Of course you can't be good all the time and you can't take Halloween away from your children. You can teach them about making healthy choices and about moderation of not so healthy stuff.

Think Before you Pink

October is breast cancer awareness month. I'm sure you've been inundated with pink ribbons, pink bags, pink cookies, pink, pink and more pink. I think it's wonderful to raise awareness but I also think it can be over kill for one month. Breast cancer should be on people's minds throughout the year as they schedule their yearly mammogram or remember to do their self breast exam.

I also know that other cancers feel left out and that is very unfortunate. Breast Cancer Action came up with things to think about before you buy for the "cause." I think money that goes towards direct services or funding is very important. The Mamma Jamma Ride is a great fund raiser that keeps the money here in Austin. A large percentage donated to an organization is also important. Of course ideally cleaner or safer products are ideal. I will eat some pink breast cancer m&ms though I also know that I'm also ingesting food colorings and such. Think before you Pink.

Before You Buy Pink

Pinkwasher: (pink’-wah-sher) noun. A company that purports to care about breast cancer by promoting a pink ribboned product, but manufactures products that are linked to the disease.

Critical Questions to Ask Before You Buy Pink

1. How much money from your purchase actually goes toward breast cancer? Is the amount clearly stated on the package?

When the package does state the amount of the donation, is that amount enough? Fox Home Entertainment, for example, sold “DVDs for the Cure” for $14.95 and donated 50 cents to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Is this a significant contribution, or a piddly amount? You decide. If you can’t tell how much money is being donated, or if you don’t think it’s enough, give directly to the organization instead.

2. What is the maximum amount that will be donated?

Many companies place a cap on the amount of money that will be donated. For example, Give Hope Jeans, sold by White House Black Market for $88, donated “net proceeds” from the sale to the organization Living Beyond Breast Cancer. But they’ve capped their contributions at $200,000. This means that once they had reached the $200,000 limit they stopped contributing, no matter how many pairs of jeans were purchased.

In some cases, that cap is a generous amount. In some cases it’s not. But you should know that, whenever there is a cap, your individual purchase may not contribute anything to the cause, depending on when you shop and whether the cap has already been met.

3. How are the funds being raised?

Does making the purchase ensure a contribution to the cause? Or do you, the shopper, have to jump through hoops to make sure the money gets where it’s supposed to go? Lean Cuisine, for example, had a pink ribbon on its boxes of frozen meals, but the purchase of the meal did not result in a donation to a breast cancer organization. Instead, consumers had to visit the Lean Cuisine web site and buy a pink Lean Cuisine lunch tote. Only then would $5 of the tote purchase be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

4. To what breast cancer organization does the money go, and what types of programs does it support?

Does the product’s package tell you where the money goes and what will be done with it? For example, Penn is selling pink tennis balls and the package states that 15 cents of your purchase will go to “a Breast Cancer Research Organization.” It doesn’t tell you which organization or what kind of research will be done. Will the money go to fund the same studies that have been ongoing for decades (which already get enormous financial support)? Or will it go to under-funded, innovative research into the causes of breast cancer?

If the donation is going to breast cancer services, is it reaching the people most in need, in the most effective way? The Breast Cancer Site store, for example, donates money to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, which helps pay for mammograms for women who cannot afford them. But mammograms are already covered for low-income women through the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program. Although this screening program does have limitations, what is most needed is the funding to get low-income women treatment if breast cancer is found. Click here to learn more about this issue.

5. What is the company doing to assure that its products are not actually contributing to the breast cancer epidemic?

Many companies that raise funds for breast cancer also make products that are linked to the disease. Breast Cancer Action calls these companies “pinkwashers.” BMW, for example, gives $1 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure each time you test-drive one of their cars, even though pollutants found in car exhaust are linked to breast cancer. Many cosmetics companies whose products contain chemicals linked to breast cancer also sell their items for the cause.

Think before you spend your money on pink items. Download a handy PDF of critical questions, find out the real story behind where the pink ribbon came from, learn more about cause marketing and make a direct donation to Breast Cancer Action.