Weigh-In...

Okay, I started on Weight Watchers last week and weighed-in for my first time today. Down 5.8 pounds!! Yay...that makes me feel really good :) John also did very well with a 6.6 pound loss! We're both headed in the right direction.

As for the nutritionist I visited on Wednesday...that too went well. She basically said that with signing back up with Weight Watchers I was on my way to a healthy lifestyle again. She said that I wasn't on any dietary restrictions, but to basically eat in moderation. Boy, where have I heard that before? At my meetings. She also said that there are a lot of old wive's tales on the internet about certain foods triggering cancer and she said not to worry about that. She gave me examples of good foods vs. junk foods and to obviously make wise choices. She said to look for the nutritional value rather than just what the lower point foods were. In the past I would eat whatever as long as I was within my points range. Now I'm choosing healthy foods and staying within my points range. Although it's challenging that I hardly have any taste buds left, I'm being pickier with my choices.

Today is a very good day :) I'm still wired on my Decadron, but will be coming down soon. I hope to try and get in a little walk before I go in for a nap.

Peace to you all ♥ Love, Genie

Jordan's Field Study...

It hasn't been the best week of my life, but it wasn't the worst either. I wanted to check back in and let everyone know that I've been right on track this week, making wise decisions, and staying within my points range (except when we went to Marie Callender's brunch to celebrate Jordan's belated birthday). However, that's what the Weekly Points Allowance is for and I still didn't use them all. I check back in tomorrow morning at the Weight Watcher's scale, and hoping for the best.

What I mean by not having the best week, I mean that although the acupuncture helps, I couldn't calm my stomach in time and vomited two days in a row :( That's very unusual for me. The nurses said to keep an eye on it, to try and take some Zofran next time, but it came on so sudden that I couldn't react in time. Hey...maybe it'll help with my weight loss!! Just kidding...just kidding.

Jordan came with me to chemo and acupuncture today. She was out of school for a Field Study Day and she was to observe what exactly happens in chemotherapy! Acupuncture was just a bonus. Now that she got it out of her system, I'm sure she's not going to be begging me to go anytime soon :) Just kidding. Sonia stopped by again with Jamba Juice in hand and she visited with Jordan & I for a little while. I think Jordan enjoyed the whole experience, she actually said that it wasn't so bad after all!! She keeps mentioning that the medical field might be something she's interested in someday. I say....yay!!

Here's to FAITH. I have FAITH that I'm right where I need to be right now. For some reason I am suppose to be a voice to others and educate them about cancer. I have FAITH that I will make it through and that my scans will look good. I have FAITH that the Lord is looking out for me.

Peace to you all ♥ Love, Genie

Let's Get Healthy ~

I've unfortunately struggled with my weight all of my adult life. I have, however, been successful in losing a great deal of weight and at one time made it to goal and became a lifetime member of Weight Watchers. During that period of time, my sister-in-law Monica and I actually met Sarah Ferguson (Duchess of York) and modeled for a fashion show at the Convention Center! What an awesome experience for the two of us, it was lots of fun. Since then, unfortunately, I have again struggled with my weight and managed to gain it all back.

Since this may be a crazy time to think about dieting, I still must get as healthy as I possibly can. Although I'm very restricted (can't exercise much & sleep a lot of the time), we still decided to give it another try, so John and I rejoined Weight Watchers again. Yesterday we walked into our old center where we used to go, and we felt right at home. We met our leader, Teresa Rose, when Johnny and Jordan would play on a blanket in the back of the room, if that gives you any idea as to how long ago. It was so good to see her, I just knew she'd take good care of us and help me manage this the best way possible. She knows that I'm struggling with little to no taste buds now and that I can't exercise, yet she's still willing to help us out in anyway possible. What other leader would personally email you at home just to check on you?

Besides Weight Watcher's, I've made an appointment with an Oncology Nutritionist for Wednesday. Hopefully she can give me some tips on what foods will work in my favor and which foods to avoid now that I have cancer.

Well, it looks as though I'm headed in the right direction. My goal this year is to fight this cancer and get into shape at the same time :)

Today I'm focusing on HEALTH. Let's get HEALTHY together!!

Peace to you all!! Love, Genie

Happy Birthday Jordan ♥

The day of treatment I have trouble sleeping, thanks to the Decadron that's in my system. Since it's a steroid, I can't get a good night's sleep. However, once it's completely worn off, you know the routine...I'm VERY tired for a couple days. Well, I'm still in my Decadron state and if I don't write about my baby girl's birthday, I might miss it altogether, and when I wake back up it'll be too late!!

It was about 9:00 this morning (13 years ago!) when John and I had just dropped Johnny off at my brother's house in Gilroy and decided to grab a bite to eat at McDonalds, breakfast of champions! As I lifted my leg to get back into our van, my water broke. Oh no! We were still an hour away from Kaiser in San Jose. I saw the doctor the day before and he placed some type of gel down there to start the labor, so we knew that it was going to happen, but we were still far away. We made it to the hospital, and thought that Jordan was coming right then...but she wasn't. After 10 hours of labor, she graced us with her presence at 7:23 p.m. My baby girl was born :)

Jordan was a feisty young thing, to say the least. She was the ornery toddler that my mother always warned me about! Although she was absolutely beautiful with her striking blue eyes and blonde hair, she had a little mouth on her. For some reason she thought she was in charge and would hold her hand on her hip and sass us as if she ruled the house!! My oh my, we had our hands full. However, it's almost hard for me to remember those days because of what a WONDERFUL young lady she's turned out to be. I guess she got it all out of her system while she was still young. I wish my mother was still around to see her now :)

I've written before about Jordan's cooking skills, but she is way more than that. From the moment Jordan gets up in the morning, her game is on, she's all business. She usually wants to get to school early because that's the kind of girl she is; whether it's to help others, or to actually need more explanation on her higher math, she's all business. Her education is very important to her and we love it! With a 4.0, she's on her way :) When she gets home, she immediately plops her backpack down, puts her headphones in, and pounds away at her homework. For a couple hours, I'm not to disturb her, because like I said...she's all business. Now that I've been home a lot, I can see her usual routine, and classmates usually call for her assistance...it's amazing. I can't remember the last time we asked her if her homework was done. What's that?! We absolutely do not remind her of things like that...it's almost insulting to her. LOL. Jordan's favorite thing to do...read. The girl is so into books, I think she's turning into a bookworm. Besides school work and reading, Jordan enjoys music, watching anything that has Will Ferrell in it, and goofing off with her brother.

I'm very proud of my young lady and I hope she has a wonderful day...Happy Birthday Jordan!!

Today I am BLESSED. It's obvious that I am BLESSED to have the family that I have and I am also BLESSED to have you all as friends. I am also BLESSED to have the lord on my side.

Peace to you all ♥ Love, Genie

No Worries...

Not much to blog today, although, if I don't post something in a couple days I'm afraid some of you may worry so I thought I would check in. Today was chemo #11 (middle of 4th cycle) and it went well. John was with me and it was a short one, only 2 hours. I got some good advice from my nurse for my upcoming Bone Scan. It's scheduled for Friday, 3/05 and my CT Scan is for Monday, 3/08. I'm not as nervous about the CT Scan as I am about the Bone Scan. The Bone Scan is very long (approx. 45 minutes) and I must lay still. If I move a muscle, we have to do it over again. I remember that they strap you down on a flat table. Since the cancer is in my tail bone area, it's no wonder it hurt like crazy last time. Mary suggested that I take a couple Vicodin for the pain in addition to the Valium to ease my claustrophobia. I don't necessarily like being so drugged up, but I must get through these scans and if that's what it takes, then so be it. I'll have a driver (obviously) and I'll be in good hands.

My friend that I met the first day named Jeannie, stopped by during treatment today. It was good to see her. I've seen her a couple times since, she always wants to know how everything is going. I don't see her all the time because some treatments are on Thursdays and some are Fridays. She's a Thursday girl. I keep meaning to ask her how often her "maintenance" treatments are and how long she was going before she went into maintenance. Also, when did her hair grow back. I have lots of questions, just keep forgetting to ask :( I guess I should use the cute little notepad and pen that Sonia brought me last week. It's a SF Giant's notepad & pen at that!! I did, however, add the cute little PINK boxing glove to my key chain that was also in the bag. She says we're gonna fight this thing and that I needed the proper equipment to do so :) Gosh, I love that girl, she's a trooper. I've met the wost wonderful survivors during this experience...I'm a very lucky girl.

Today I BELIEVE. Roberta brought me over the most beautiful cross that reads BELIEVE and "you are in my prayers" on the back. I do BELIEVE. Although the thought of the scans coming up absolutely terrifies me, I BELIEVE that the cancer is getting better. What scares me is that I don't want to get my hopes up too high, that's the old Genie. However, if I can just concentrate on the fact that it's not spreading, and that I know I feel the tumor shrinking & that my counts are going down, I know they will be good scans. I BELIEVE and I need to continue to keep God in my heart everyday...he is the key to healing me.

Peace to you all ♥ Love, Genie

Valentine's Day

It's ironic that I wrote about LOVE yesterday, when I honestly wasn't thinking about today being Valentine's Day! Well...how appropriate. I woke up with love in my heart and gifts from the heart. One in particular I must share with you. Among the wrapped gifts, the cards and chocolates, was a plain piece of binder paper that was folded in half. I noticed that Johnny had it in his hand moments earlier. He said that this was his gift to me. I opened up this paper and moments later there were tears streaming down my face. I asked him if I could blog this, and although he shook his head in disbelief, he said I could. Yes, this is personal, but I want to share how much love is in my family...

MOM
I am your son and I love you
I wonder about you while I'm at school
I hear your thoughts
I see your determination
I want to find a cure
I am your son and I love you
I pretend it doesn't bother me
I feel your pain
I touch your beautiful bald head :)
I worry when you worry
I cry when you're in pain
I am your son and I love you
I understand that I will never understand what you're going through
I say what I mean
I dream that you are better
I try to make you laugh
I hope you will continue to fight
I am your son and I love you

Do you see why I would want to post that? It's beautiful.

Johnny - I will NEVER stop fighting!! And although you do it when I'm not around, thank you for reading my blog son, it's for you.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone ♥ Peace to you all!! Love, Genie

Banner Day...

Yesterday was one of my favorite days in chemotherapy so far. Although it was 5 hours long, the time flew by and I felt the love :) Monica my sister-in-law joined me again and she never complains, although, like I said...it's 5 hours long! She brought her fold-up chair that she brings to the baseball games and she made herself comfortable. Then, we almost finished a movie, I think it's called (The Princess Bride) on her tiny little ipod, when a friend from work showed up! Genea is making special bracelets for "Team Genie" and will be selling them to raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness! Isn't that awesome?! And she brought by some samples to get my opinion. We chatted with Genea for awhile and then John showed up to say hello on his way to work. At this point, I was already breaking the rules with 3 visitors instead of only 1. Genea left shortly afterwards and right after she left, my good friend Sonia stopped by to say hello and show support!! John then had to go on to work and the two gals and I visited for the remainder of my treatment. Wow, Genie the rule breaker!! Besides ending up with 4 visitors yesterday, our cell phones were ringing off the hook at one point! LOL, I think the nurses didn't mind because we're usually so well behaved :) But I think it was a Banner Day in my opinion!!

The previous day I went to check in with Dr. Hui and she said that things are still moving in the right direction, awesome!! However, with chemo comes side effects that are sometimes not too fun. I'm now experiencing Neuropathy in my feet, which has to do with the nerves. They hurt and I'm starting to walk with a limp, but at least I can still walk :) I also have ulcers in my nostrils and she's keeping an eye on those as well. She says that we've got to make sure that the ulcers don't get worse because they could erode through my nose and obviously that wouldn't be good. She would also have to take me off of Avastin if things worsen and I don't want to do that either since we're really liking this chemo drug.

This morning I had another Acupuncture treatment and so I'm typing this with those wrist needles again and if I type very carefully I won't get zapped :) However, just to report in...OMG, acupuncture really works!! I will forever recommend it to those suffering with nausea, it's been a lifesaver.

Today I want to focus on LOVE. I feel the LOVE of every one of you as you check in to see how I'm doing. I feel the LOVE of those who stop by with meals just to make sure we're eating okay. I feel the LOVE of everyone who joins me in chemo each week, even though it's boring. I feel the LOVE whenever someone asks if there's anything they can do. I feel the LOVE from everyone who says that I'm in their thoughts and prayers. What a blessing!! I truly feel the LOVE and I thank you all. And to answer that question...keep me in your thoughts and prayers, that's what you can do, because together, it's working :)

Peace to you all ♥ Love, Genie

Every Woman Does Count

Tonight I went to my first political rally! I happen to live in Sacramento and was invited to attend on behalf of all the breast cancer survivors out there. My good friend Sonia (who is 5 years cancer free) and my new friend Allison (who is 8 years cancer free) joined along as we stood at the State Capital and rallied together for support. If our lovely (and I use that term loosely) governor has his way, our state will no longer fund mammograms and treatment for women who do not have medical insurance as of July 1st. We went to stand up for women's rights and to put a face on cancer. There's already a program in affect that is called "Every Woman Counts" and if he eliminated that, then the funds will be taken away from those who do not have insurance. We wanted to send the message that "Every Woman Does Count" and that we need to continue to fund and treat those who need it the most, women without health care. We also wanted to get the message across that if women wait until they're 50 for their first mammograms, that there would be a whole lot less of us around. I was diagnosed a couple months ago at age 43, I wouldn't be here if I had to wait. Sonia & Allison were both in their 30's when they were diagnosed. So you see....DON'T wait until you're 50! It's a few minutes out of your day, to equal the rest of your life!! Don't put it off, have a mammogram today!!

I haven't always had health care and it's by the grace of God that I did not get diagnosed during that time. I waitressed for many years and couldn't afford to go to the doctors that often. Had I been diagnosed back then, I wouldn't have known what to do and I probably would have ignored the signs.

Thank you God for only giving me what I can handle. And thank you again for the wonderful friends that I've met along the way.

Peace to you all ♥ Love, Genie

Cancer Sucks...

Cancer sucks, it truly does. No, I'm not having a bad day, feeling fine today as a matter of fact. However, I keep hearing of others who have recently been diagnosed and it makes me not only sad, but furious! It's just not fair. Last night Luanne informed me that a high school friend (Lexy Winters) was just diagnosed with stage 4 Melanoma & has a few months left with us. Lexy was part of our crowd, good guy, wonderful family, raised with morals and values and everything else that makes you a good person. Why would he be chosen? I've come to grips with the fact that for some reason I have to walk through this, but why everyone else? Why Lexy?

We went to the store on Monday and the clerk wished me well, saying that she wished her mom (who also had breast cancer) was out and about. Instead, her mother chose to stay inside, secluded from the world, waiting to die. I was in shock, didn't hardly know what to say. I asked the clerk her mother's name and said that I hope she can find peace and a reason to try harder. I am now adding Jenny to my prayers, for I don't want this cancer to win.

For all those who have been touched by cancer in one form or another, please say a prayer to eliminate cancer someday. Between research and positive belief, I think we can conquer this demon. I truly do!!

Peace to you all ♥ Love, Genie