1 year later.

I was diagnosed with cancer Tuesday November 25, 2008.

It has been an entire year since I was diagnosed.

I have now had 1 partial glossectomy. 2 neck dissections. 1 peg placement. 2 port placements. 37 radiation treatments. 8 rounds of chemo. (I like to sing that little diddy as if it were to the tune of the 12 days of Christmas)

I can thank God that I have now been in remission twice.

I like remission, very much so! I have all the faith that God likes me there too.

Icky Feeling.

I am feeling a little under the weather. My throat is raw and I am loosing my voice. I am hoping that I am not coming down with a cold and this is just treatment side effects. However if it were a cold it may go away quicker. I don't really care what it is I just want to feel good by Thanksgiving.

Here are the pics of my neck...right after my very last radiation!

Full Circle.

I cannot believe that I am saying this! Well more like typing this... I am done with treatment!! 28 Tomotherapy radiations & 9 IMRT treatments! YUP...that is a total of 37 radiation treatments & 8 Chemos! I am done..over...fini!

I have officially been dealing with cancer for one year now. This brings it to a full circle. I went in for my biopsy Thursday Nov 20th, 2008. I sure do hope that this is a sign from God saying that he has only given me as much as I can handle and a year was it :O)

Guess what?! I am in remission again!!!!

Bye Bye Chemo Chair!

I am not sad at all to say goodbye to my chemo recliner, tv, blanket, nurse, horrid beeping machine and most of all not sorry to say goodbye to the Carboplatin and Taxol!


YIPPPPEEEE! I am so excited to be done with 8 rounds of chemo!

Last week of treatment!

So this is it. This is how it feels knowing that this is the last of it...the last of waking up every day thinking about how the next treatment will affect me. It has most definitely taken it's toll. Going in to this last week I will post a few pics. And of course I will be taking pics on Thursday...so I can track my progress on healing (whenever that begins!) I know some of you are probably sick of looking at these pics of my neck, while others request them. I do it mostly for myself. I look in the mirror every day and it seems as though everything is the same...whether it is me getting worse or better. I have a hard time keeping up. Plus when things seem like they cannot get any worse..I always manage to find a picture that proves me wrong!




I have officially been stickered...yes this happened last Tuesday after those temporary markings all rubbed off while I slept. So those are sticker markers on there...plus a few lines of marker :O)

My chest is peeling a bit more that I would have liked...oh well there goes that just got back from the beach look ;O)

Shouting from the rooftops!!!

I only have 5 more treatments to go!!!! I will be done with treatments in just 1 week!!!

New tattoo and a rainbow with wings

This morning I had my swallow test. Rachael the therapist said I did excellent & passed with flying colors! That is such great news. I wasn't too worried other than the fact that my throat was a little raw and was concerned if that would make a difference. After the test I had about an hour to kill and I was going to go get some fresh air & read...but I felt really flushed and not so good. So I stopped off at Radiation and asked my nurse to take my temp. Which surprisingly was 98.7. Bow can that be when I am sweating bullets?! UGH! They took all my vitals and sent the doc in (since Mondays is the day I meet with my RO) he said all my vitals looked good & told me that my throat would gradually get better now since by boost was going to be shooting the side & back of my neck. So that mean no more inside mouth sores & pain down throat!!! Was that music to my ears or what!!! The day just got better from there! When they took me into the room with the machine that would be giving me my boost they said it would take about 30 minutes to get me marked & all lined up today, but after today the boosts will literally only last a minute, so after they line me up on the table I should only be there about 10 min each day!! WOOOO so at this point I only have like 80 minutes of laying on a table!! And like 8 minutes of radiation! OMG! I just cannot believe it!!!

The best news of all NO MORE MASK!!!! Yup, that's right since they are shooting the side of my neck where they removed the perotid gland there is no need to strap me down! I just lay on the table on my side they line me up & bam it's over!!!

Here is my new tat! You likey?



So that meant that today I got to walk out of the Brown Center caring this little baby

The giant hole where my mouth goes is for this little contraption


Back on Sept 15th when I got this mask made I tried to describe that Popsicle cork thing...so yes a picture is worth a thousand words.

What in the world am I going to do with this stuff you ask...got a few ideas up my sleeve...burning, running over it with Nick's truck?! Who knows anyone got any good ideas to celebrate???