I'm finally past the half-way point!

Monday marked my 10th round of chemo out of 18, so I'm officially more than half way done with my 18 rounds!!! I'm tolerating the Taxol much better than the AC...I've made it through four rounds without having to take any anti-nausea meds. Besides some fatigue, and these super annoying diaphragm spasms that still haven't gone away, I'm feeling pretty good.

My surgery date is scheduled for April 22nd. I'm pretty nervous for it. I've heard that chemo is the worst part of the breast cancer process, but I'm thinking that chemo is easy compared to having both of my breasts and lots of lymph nodes removed. Besides the fact that one of them grew a tumor, I happen to really like my breasts, and am not looking forward to parting with them. I know that it's all part of the process, and it's definitely worth minimizing my risk of recurrence to do so. I just hope that my reconstructive surgeon can make me some fabulous replacements!

In other news, after being a one-car family since October, we FINALLY got our new car! Brian ordered it through the military auto sales program in the Middle East while he was there, so we saved a pretty penny on it, but it took its sweet time being built and shipped across the US. We picked it up after my chemo last week. I've never had a brand new car before, so that's been fun (and it smells sooo good!) I'm mostly happy to have a car in the garage for me to drive when Brian is at work.

My sister says that I need to do a better job updating my blog. It's true...I do. I just haven't had much to update (which is maybe kind of a good thing!) Thanks for sticking with me on this road...I've still got a long way to go, but I'm getting there, and trying to keep a smile on my face through the process.

My newest family member needs your prayers

I haven't done a good job updating my blog lately...most likely because I spent almost all of December medical appointment free, and was living it up! My wonderful mother and father in law came to visit from Maryland for the first week of January, so Brian and I showed them the beautiful (albeit sometimes very rainy!) Pacific Northwest. We had a great time with them, and even after spending my first 18 years here, I saw some things for the first time (like the Seattle Underground tour and the Museum of Flight.)

I now have two rounds of Taxol under my belt, which means only 10 more to go! I'm tolerating it much better than the AC...just pretty tired for a couple of days following the treatment. While the AC knocked out the breast tumor, the Taxol targets any cancer cells in my lymph nodes, which tend to be more stubborn. Here's hoping that the Taxol is just as affective as the AC was.

And as if my family needs any more challenges, my cousin gave birth on Monday at 35 weeks to a beautiful baby boy, Jake. He suffered from several bouts of apnea, and was taken to Children's Hospital in Seattle for some tests. Last night, an MRI revealed that he has an inoperable brain tumor and will not survive off of life support. Our entire family is devastated...please keep Jenny, James and Jake in your prayers.