SolandMonica.com

Thank you for the kinds words, success stories and prayers. After much prayer and consideration, I have decided to have a double mastectomy. I don’t want to to be thinking about the “what ifs” all the time, and I don’t ever want to go through this again. The HMO authorization came through on Monday, and today I got the call that surgery is officially scheduled for 7:30 am on Friday, March 7th. I have to be at the hospital to be admitted at 5:30 am! Talk about early! At least I don’t have to fast for very long and I think I might be the first one on the list, so it could happen on time!!! I am getting pretty nervous and scared. I will be glad to finally have the cancer out of my body, but am nervous about it none-the-less.

My parents are arriving on Thursday, March 6th. There is actually going to be a prayer meeting for me that night at a friend’s house, so you can join in where ever you may be. If you’re local and want directions, let me know.

I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow with the Oncologist. I don’t expect there to be much to talk about, but who knows. I’ll keep you informed.

Here is my new schedule:

Friday 2/29 – Oncology Appointment at 9:45 am

Monday 3/3 – Bloodwork for surgery

Thursday 3/6 – Prayer meeting

Friday 3/7 – Surgery at 7:30 am

Thank you for your prayers and for your support,

Love,

Monica

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Well, today I had a post-chemo/pre-surgery ultrasound. From what they told me, the tumor didn’t change significantly from the December ultrasound. I was a little sad that it hadn’t shrunk, but it’s still good that it’s less than half it’s original size.

I received some good news while at the doctor’s office. I got a phone call from the geneticist, and I am NOT a carrier of either of the known breast cancer genes. This doesn’t mean that I don’t have a genetic connection; just not one that’s known yet. I still am considered at high risk, so I will have to be checked more often.

I have surgery scheduled for March 7th and am getting very anxious about it. I know it’s what needs to be done, and I’m glad to finally have the cancer removed from my body, but it’s a major surgery, and to be totally honest, I’m really scared. I still have some decisions to make about surgery, so I would appreciate you prayers regarding these decisions.

Here’s what’s coming up:

February 22nd – Blood work

February 29th – Oncology appointment

March 7th – Surgery

Looks like my Fridays are booked up for the next three weeks.  Thanks for all of your prayers!

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I am happy to say that there weren’t the side effects that I was expecting.   Praise!  I am now done with chemo and it’s effects.  My hair is going to start growing back in a few weeks – which I expect to be very itchy!  I should stock up on some anti-itch stuff now. 😉
I have decided not to have an end of chemo party, but rather have a BIG party when this is ALL over.  To celebrate the end of chemo and Valentine’s Day, I bought myself a present.  Sol and I are going to see “Wicked” tonight.  I am really excited.  I love the theater and have heard wonderful things about this musical.

I met with the surgeon on Tuesday and have a surgery date scheduled – March 7th.  That is going to come really fast; it’s three weeks from tomorrow.  I can’t wait to have this cancer out of my body.  I know that we took the best road in terms of treatment, but now it’s time to get rid of it for good!   After surgery, I have to wait 6 weeks to heal and then take on radiation everyday for 6 weeks.   I’ve counted it all out on the calendar and that takes me through the end of May.  So plan on a party sometime in June!  🙂

We are heading to Fresno this weekend to work on the house and hopefully sign a contract with renters.  They saw the house and want to move in right away!  What a praise and relief!  We had the carpet taken out and tile put in throughout the house this past week and can’t wait to see the result.  We are thankful to Sol’s family, especially Oralia, for all their help in getting this all put together.  It means so much to know that they are there helping out with our needs!  🙂

Well that’s about it for now.  I am really thankful to be feeling well and moving on to the next phase of this treatment.  Thanks for your thoughts, prayers and encouragement.  It makes this road so much less lonely!

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Well, it’s Sunday night, and I’m feeling pretty good.  I’ve been craving everything sweet and greasy, but not feeling nauseous.  That’s a good sign, although I’m still not positive it’s all over.  Last time I was puking Monday night, so I’m still pretty nervous about what might come.  I am really thankful to have tomorrow off…Lincoln’s Birthday…and plan on resting much of the day.

Tuesday I have my appointment with the surgeon to set up the surgery date and discuss possible courses of action.  I am fearing that appointment because it means that it’s really time to do this.  I have known it was coming, but am really anxious for some reason.  My parents are planning on coming down for the surgery.  I haven’t seen them since Thanksgiving, so it will be nice to have them here to help and support me in this time.

I still can’t believe that chemo is really over.  It doesn’t seem possible!  Anyway, as I write this I am smiling knowing that it IS over!

My heart is heavy with prayers for my friends and family.   Marriages in trouble, hearts failing, scary medical situations, new cancers popping up…the list goes on.  In all of this, God is still God and is in control of everything.  I have seen His hand on my life and been able to smile in the midst of much disappointment and fear.  I know He walks with me.  I don’t understand what is happening or why, but I know He is with me and take comfort in that fact.

Much Love to you all,

Monica

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Well the day that took so long to come has finally arrived.  I had my LAST chemo today!  Everything seemed to go well.  They had to try twice to get a vein, but found one pretty quickly and chemo began.  It was really busy, so they put me and my friend, Sandy, in a private room as long as we behaved!  😉  We watched a movie to pass the time – “In Her Shoes”.  Sol brought us lunch, and it was over before I knew it.  We haven’t planned the party yet, will be thinking about when would be the best time to do it, so keep checking!

A man from Sol’s Bible study was there for treatment on his 2nd cancer.  He survived cancer of the esophagus, and now it was found in his liver.  It’s been pretty hard for him to hear that he has cancer again, so please keep him in your prayers as he battles not only cancer but also his thoughts.  He seemed to be in good spirits.

Now I am at home – resting.  The daycare called to say that Kai has a fever of 101.7, and his eyes are red.  Sol picked him up, and we are all at home passing the time, hoping we all feeling better.

Well that’s it for now, we’ll keep you updated.  Last time the side effects were worse than any other time, so we’ll see what happens this time.  Hopefully nothing.

The next step is meeting with the surgeon on Tuesday at 9:00 to schedule the date.  I am also waiting for genetics testing results (in 2-3 weeks), and an ultrasound is being scheduled (maybe another breast MRI, too, depending on what the surgeon wants to see).

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Love,

Monica

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It’s been great seeing all the feedback and encouragement about how great Monica looks with her “new ‘do”. I know it helps lift her confidence and has made this whole process that much easier. The thing is, just as many of you have commented, she really is gorgeous. I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite pictures of my beautiful bride in a series of posts. I tried to choose just one picture to start with but it was impossible so I decided to just go with the flow. If you get these updates in your email, click here to see the pictures on our web site.  Without further ado…
This picture had to be the first in the series of course. We don’t have original jpg computer files of our wedding pics, so this is scanned. The quality is a little degraded but she is still radiant! I remember I was smiling so big when I first saw her walk down the aisle that by the time it was all over my cheeks ached. A little secret about Monica is that her eyes are so blue, that any picture taken with a flash comes out with a major “red eye” problem. Our photo management software has a red eye remover that turns everything red to black and it just doesn’t do her justice.
I always loved having Monica there ready to celebrate with me after a show. It made me feel like that much more of a “star” knowing that after the show I would have this beautiful girl at my side. We had a lot of fun dressing up for the shows, and it was amazing to see Monica transform into her evening wear.
Not only is her smile perfect in this picture, but I was so proud of her that I had to include this one. This is a picture of Monica accepting her Hall of Fame award at Simpson University for her volleyball achievements there. Simpson decided to begin a Hall of Fame to honor some of their outstanding athletes who were also leaders and displayed great character, and Monica was the first ever Simpson Hall of Fame inductee! It was quite an honor and she had good reason to be smiling so big. It was fun for me to look through some of our old pictures and dig these up. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do as I dig up more in future posts.

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Well Everyone,

My final chemo is in 4 days.  I am both really excited about being done with this part of the process and also very nervous about the treatment itself.  The past two weeks have been difficult as I have been fighting one thing or another with my health.  Currently I am fighting a cold and need it to go away.  If I am not better by Thursday, they’ll postpone chemo for a week.  They don’t want to cripple my immune system when I am already sick, because this cold could turn into something worse.  So please pray I get better fast.

Anyway, here is the schedule of all of the things going on this week for me:

Monday – UCLA for genetic testing to see if I am a carrier of a BRCA gene linked to breast and ovarian cancer.

Wednesday – Bloodwork in the morning.  Pray I am healthy enough for chemo.  I have been sick for almost 2 weeks now and am starting to feel better.

Thursday – Doctor’s appointment, followed by chemo  THE LAST ONE!!!  (They will postpone chemo if I am not well.)

Friday – Final Neulasta shot!  Yea!  If chemo goes on as scheduled.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and encouragement.  These last 4 months have been by far the hardest of my life.  I don’t quite know what to expect in the months to come, but I’ve been doing some reading about it all – scaring and preparing myself for what’s ahead.

We’ll be planning an “End of Chemo Party”, so plan on being there!  🙂  My hair will start growing back in about a month!  Some say it will be really curly and possibly a different color.  I guess we’ll see!

Much Love to you,

Monica  🙂

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