SolandMonica.com

Sorry it’s taken me a while to update you all on how I’m feeling.  I wanted Sol’s band to have some air time and get tons of votes.  So if you haven’t voted yet, do it now!  🙂 

I’m physically feeling a lot better.  This last chemo really had me down for about a week.  My symptoms kept me close to the restroom.  Oralia, Sol’s mom, was here for about 6 days and took Kai on many long walks and got up with him many times in the middle of the night.  I know Sol and I both really appreciated having her here.  School resumed on Monday, so it’s back to the grind.  It has actually been a great few days at work.  Praise! 

So physically I’m doing fine, but emotionally it is really hitting me.  I spent most of Friday in tears.  I have spent the last three months just doing what needed to be done, but never really took the time to think about what was happening.  It finally hit me that I have cancer.  I started thinking about everything that I’ve been through and continued grieving the loss of my baby.   I am having a really difficult time letting go and not feeling guilty.  I know that it was the right decision for saving my life and being here for the family I have, but it is so hard.  The road ahead scares me as well.  Two more chemos, surgery, radiation, reconstructive surgery…it all freaks me out a bit.  My mind is on overload and the road ahead is long. 

Please pray for my mind and heart.  I don’t know how I’m going to walk into that doctor’s office on Monday.  It’s going to take strength beyond what I have right now.   My schedule for next week is Monday – doctor’s appointment at 4:00, Wednesday – bloodwork, Thursday – Chemo at 8:45, and Friday – Neulasta shot at 2:00.  It makes me ill just thinking about next week.

Thanks for your prayers and support and for just listening to my ramblings.  It means a lot having all of you out there – just a click away. 

God Bless you all – Monica

Category tags: Cancer Update---- 5 Comments »

Thanks to everyone who voted in Round 1 of the Star 98.7 Rock Star radio contest! Because of you and your votes, we have moved up to Round 2 out of 175 bands that were eligible at entry. It’s down to only 25 bands now.

This is great news, but now we really need to kick it up a notch. The band with the most votes in Round 2 will compete with 4 other bands picked by the judges for the grand prize. The winner gets a record deal with Dave Matthews’ label ATO Records, $25,000, and a West Coast tour.

The voting process is exactly the same as it was before. The main catch is: you have to “confirm” your vote by opening your email and clicking on a link in a response email that the radio station sends you. Your vote doesn’ t count unless you click on the link in the response email!

Anyways, here’ s the link to the radio station contest:
http://www.star987.com/pages/rockstar2/vote2008.html

We are the 10th band from the top of the page.

Again, all your support is greatly appreciated. Please do what you can to get the word out to anyone you know who might be vaguely interested in helping out. And if you have more than one email address, or if your household has more than one email address, be sure to vote with all of them. Each valid email address gets counted as a vote. Thanks so much!

INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO VOTE AGAIN:
After you confirm the response email, the web page with the poll to vote will no longer contain the poll “circles” to make another selection; even if someone else besides you voted on that computer! In order to vote again, you either have to use a different computer, use a different browser like Firefox, or clear your “cookie” files.I’ve tested the process of clearing your “cookie” files and I know it works. It’s a good house cleaning thing to do on your computer anyways, so if you want to know how to do it here are the instructions:

How to manually delete cookie files in Internet Explorer 7

1. Exit Internet Explorer 7, and then exit any instances of Windows Explorer.
2. Click Start, click Run, type inetcpl.cpl, and then press ENTER.
3. On the General tab, click Delete under Browsing History in the Internet Properties dialog box.
4. In the Delete Browsing History dialog box, click Delete Cookies.
5. In the Delete Cookies dialog box, click Yes.

How to manually delete cookie files in Internet Explorer 6

1. Exit Internet Explorer 6, and then exit any instances of Windows Explorer.
2. Click Start, click Run, type inetcpl.cpl, and then press ENTER.
3. On the General tab, click Delete Cookies in the Internet Properties dialog box, under Temporary Internet Files.
4. In the Delete Files dialog box, click to select the Delete all offline content check box, and then click OK.

Category tags: Fun, News, The Band---- 3 Comments »

My doctor’s appointment and Chemotherapy were both today. It was one of the roughest ones yet. The doctor didn’t come in to see me for over and hour. However, he did answer many questions that I had. Some of which I am very excited about the answer. Here are a few of the highlight questions:

1. What happens after surgery? NO MORE CHEMO!!! PTL!!! (only two left) After surgery they’ll determine whether or not to do radiation…most likely yes.

2. Do you recommend a lumpectomy (only lump removed) or mastectomy (whole breast removed)? I will still have to have the recommended mastectomy to be sure that it has all been removed. They want to remove a little bit more than the original size of the tumor, which is just about the whole breast anyway. They might just go in and find scar tissue, but will have to remove all of that anyway.

3. When do I need to meet with a plastic surgeon? The sooner the better. He can explain all the options, and we can schedule the surgery for a day that both the surgeon and plastic surgeon are available.

4. Can I shave with a razor (I read it was unsafe)? Yes, but only when my white cells and platelet counts are up. Not the first week after chemo…closer to when I am about to have chemo. (I haven’t shaved since October, but it’s been cold.  You can’t really tell, most of it is gone, but the stuff that is still there is LONG! 🙂

As for Chemo, they had a hard (and painful) time finding a vein. They stuck me 3 times, bringing me to tears, before they found a vein. It was still uncomfortable, but better than being stuck again. Usually I never have that problem, but for some reason today I did. In addition to that, a little more than halfway through chemo, I got extremely nauseous and had to be given more medicine. It was terrible. It’s the most nauseous I’ve felt so far. It wore off as I drifted off to a short sleep.

I am very tired and am going to be hitting the hay, but wanted to let you all know how it went today. I have been feeling better this evening, and we even had friends over for dinner. Now it’s time to take a few pills and go to bed!

Love to you all, and thanks for all of your prayers. You don’t even know how EXCITED I am that there will be no chemo after surgery! 🙂 It’s the best news! Praise the Lord!

4 down, 2 to go,

Monica 🙂

Category tags: Cancer Update---- 3 Comments »

 We hope and trust that you all had a wonderful Christmas.  It was rather quiet here…just the three of us.  Kai was pretty fussy.  He hasn’t been sleeping well and stayed up way past his bedtime due to the Cortes family traditional celebration.  We are titling our Christmas “Kai’s Cranky Christmas”.  It wasn’t really that bad, but it wasn’t the joyfest of wrapping paper tossing I thought it’d be.   Here’s a picture of Kai on his new tricycle:

Later in the afternoon, after Kai’s much needed 3 hour nap, we went over to the Moure Family Dinner.  We lived with Alice Moure for a month when we first moved down here, and she invited us over for Christmas dinner.  We played games, sang Christmas Carols and they all prayed for me before we left.  It was very touching and special.

That brings me to today and tomorrow.  Today I had blood drawn.  My sugars, I’m sure, are through the roof…good thing they’re not looking at that number!  🙂  I have my doctor’s appointment at 9:00 and then Chemo is scheduled to begin at 10:30 tomorrow.  Oralia is on her way here to be with us for a few days. 

A few specific prayers: 

Sleep – Kai isn’t sleeping, so no one is sleeping.

Nausea – Last time it lasted about ten days.

Fatigue – not Kai related.  It hit me harder last time than any other. 

Courage – I’m really scared and need my postive spirit to return.  Even with the great news (which is still truly great), the tears have been quick to come these days.

Thank you to all of you for your prayers and encouragement.  I have truly been blessed!

Check out the rest of our Christmas pictures under the photos tab.  🙂

Category tags: Cancer Update, News---- 1 Comment »

A quick update about my band:

The CD release party went well on Wednesday.  Thanks to everyone that came, we had a really good time.  The new CD is now available as mp3s and in CD format.  It’s called “Leaves Change in the Fall”.  If you’d like to listen to snippets of the music you can click on this link.  Here are also links to buy the music from iTunes for mp3s and CDbaby for a CD if you’re interested:

Leaves Change in the Fall		Deep Roots

The other CD is call “Deep Roots”.  It was our first CD and has a beautiful song called “Prayers that Follow” that was originally done as a short out-take, but that seems very appropriate these days.  You can listen to it on iTunes or from this link (it’s the last song on the page). 

I also wanted to thank everyone for voting for our video. The radio station hasn’t posted any updates or rankings so I don’t really know how it’s going, but I’ll keep checking and I’ll let everyone know if there are any updates on that. I’ll also probably make another big push for eveyone to vote again before the deadline! 😉

Category tags: Fun, The Band---- 1 Comment »

Well the results…the radiologist told me that the tumor is HALF the size it was in October!  🙂  God is good!  What a great Christmas present!  I am really excited about it, and it gives me confidence and a little more strength to keep going.  Also, I finally felt a little bit better today.  I wasn’t as queasy!  Still really tired (which is why I didn’t post yesterday and why this is going to be short)!  I just wanted to share the good news! 

On Christmas Vacation now!  Yea! 

Next Up:

Bloodwork Dec. 26th

Dr.’s Appointment and Chemo Dec. 27th

Category tags: Cancer Update---- Comments Off on Great News!

I just found out today that I am going in tomorrow for the mammogram and ultrasound.  The goal is to see how well chemo is working.  I am half-way through chemo, and they want to check the progress.   I am praying that they find nothing – that the tumor is gone!  I know God works miracles, and I pray He does one here.  I go in at 10:45.  They are “squeezing” me in 🙂 ,so I don’t know how long I’ll have to wait, but we’ll see.  It’s worth it.   I don’t expect to have results tomorrow, but will let you know when I do.  My next doctor’s appointment is scheduled for the 27th, but I’ll probably call (nag) sooner.

Update and more prayer requests:  I am very sad to tell you that my friend lost her baby.  She is devastated and resting at home.  I plan on hanging out with her soon.  In the past two days, I have found out that 3 people (friends of friends) have been diagnosed with breast cancer.  I don’t know if it’s because of my situation that I hear about it more, or if it really is becoming more prevalent.  One girl is my age.  I believe that all of them caught it early (less than 1 cm), so that’s a praise.  Please pray for them and their families.  This road is tough.

Category tags: Cancer Update, News---- 2 Comments »

Well, as is expected, it’s getting a little more challenging each time. The sores in my mouth went away! Praise! But since Thursday, I just haven’t been able to shake the queasy feeling. I’ve been able to eat, but have not felt that great. I am extremely fatigued right now as well. I spent the majority of the weekend on the couch or in my bed. We were truly blessed with the gift of rest this weekend. Jess, Martha and Risa were in town and took Kai on Saturday morning/afternoon and then on Sunday the Cortes family just came and picked up Kai for the afternoon and evening. It was a great gift! A huge Thank You goes out to them all. It was just what I needed. He had a great time, and I was able to get some much needed rest!

I hope that my energy returns, but if it doesn’t, then vacation (which begins on Friday for me) will be much cherished. Kai will be going to daycare as not to disrupt his schedule too much, and I will be resting/scrapbooking/shopping. I have done a lot of my shopping online this year. I just don’t have the energy to go out much and really should avoid the “germy” crowds.

Things are going pretty well; I just wanted to give you all an update. It’d be great to have some energy and a settled stomach, though.

Category tags: Cancer Update---- 1 Comment »

Well today was the third chemo treatment, and it went well.  No terrible reactions, and I’m feeling pretty good.  My friend, Sunshine was able to go with me and we watched “National Treasure” on a portable player (Thanks, Ken).   It made the time pass a bit more quickly.  One of the chatty ladies was there doing her FINAL treatment!  Yeah, there is an end to all of this.  I was nervous getting weighed.  I had gained 9 pounds in the three weeks between the 1st and 2nd treatments, but I held with no gain this time.  Sol says the weight gain is a good thing because most patients lose a significant amount, and I have been able to eat and keep it down.  I’ve had an appetite, when some have none.  I have the next blood test the day after Christmas, and I joked that my sugars would be through the roof!  The Nurse Practioner said he’s not concerned about my sugars (green light to eat anything I want? 🙂 ).  Wahoo!  Sol will keep me grounded…mostly!  😉

Some more good news – at the doctor’s appointment, he felt the tumor and agreed that it was definitely smaller and that it was harder to find defined edges.  Both are great news.  I’ll be having a mammogram and ultrasound in a couple weeks to get that hard evidence we all desperately desire.  Please pray that they find nothing!  Our God is in the business of miracles, and I believe that He is able to do whatever we ask or imagine.  

I’ve noticed that my taste buds are really effected the first day, so the delicious green bean caserole didn’t quite taste as wonderfully as it had on Monday (Mmmm to Lori and Beth)!   It has always come back to normal though; some patients lose the ability to taste for the entire time they have chemo…their food ends up tasting like cardboard.  I have been very thankful to enjoy my food!  Good thing!  So many people have been bring by such wonderful meals…thus the 9 pounds!  I don’t mind, really.  It’s not a time to diet!  I have years for that!

On a very personal note, I have a special prayer request for a friend that absolutely burdens my heart and brings me to tears.  She is 5 months pregnant and has found out through ultrasound that there are some major problems with the baby – including the baby’s brain and heart.  Her heart is broken, and she is worried.  She recently had a fetal MRI and is waiting on those results.  Please pray for a miracle in her unborn child.   I cry when I think about her dispair and her precious baby boy.  Please lift her up. 

Thank you,  you are all such wonderful people and an amazing support group.  I love you all,

Monica

Category tags: Cancer Update---- 2 Comments »

 A very special thing has been done for me.  Arlie Ankerberg, my pastor’s wife, has graciously given me a precious gift to share with all of you. 

 They are flat metal rings with the inscription “Monica’s Inner Circle” on them.  They come on black necklaces, but can be put onto keychains or worn around the wrist.  It is a reminder to pray and is also a token of our appreciation for all the prayers you have already said for us.  I have MANY of them and really want you all to have them.  The cost would be great for me to ship them to all of you, so I am asking those of you who want one to send me a self-addressed, stamped envelope, and I will send you as many as you request.  Here is our address for those of you who do not have it already: 

We really do appreciate all your prayers and support.

Category tags: Fun, Gratitude, News---- Comments Off on Monica’s Inner Circle