Victoria's Fight

Terrible! That pretty much sums it up. We knew the day would come and we knew that it would be tough, and no matter how much Victoria or I mentally prepared ourselves we knew that it was going to be an emotional day. Driving to the hospital in the morning Victoria expressed to me how much she loved me and how much she loved our son, she was very scared about the surgery and as positive and strong as Victoria is she was worried that she might not make it through. It wasn't Victoria's first time having a major surgery, but this one especially worried her. I tried to be strong, encourage her, and tell her that she wasn't allowed to think those thoughts. But then I decided to let her be as emotional as she wanted, she needed to get it out and I believe it calmed her down a little. We arrived at the hospital for Victoria's pre-op appointment and she seemed okay. I didn't ask her how she was. Instead I just told her that it would be okay and she had a lot of peop...

I just finished talking with the doctor's and Victoria is doing very well. I'll be able to see her soon. The surgery went well. Three suspect lymphnodes were removed and all tested negative in the early pathology report. I will write more later, but wanted to get a quick update out. Thank you all for your words of encouragement, prayers and thoughts!

Victoria finished her final chemo treatment last Wednesday, 16 May. I'm so thankful that she is finished going through this and that we can close this chapter in her treatment plan and move on to the next. The chemo has certainly taken a toll on Victoria. I think with each treatment it got a little worse. It took her a little longer each time to shake the brutal side effects of the chemo, and by the time this final session came around she was ready for it to be over. Aside from feeling completely wore down and horrible for a week after chemo, Victoria has obviously had the physical changes like hair loss, water retention (causing swelling and weight gain) due to the steroids, and most recently she has lost the majority of her fingernails. The medical oncologist has said that the finger nail loss was due to the Taxotere and aggressive chemotherapy regimen. I don't know if much more can be taken, physically, from a woman. Prior to the loss of her fingernails Victoria co...

Victoria had her 5th, or second to last chemo session on Wednesday. Chemo went well and like all the previous treatments she feels pretty horrible this weekend. I think Victoria has just gotten to the point where this isn’t becoming any easier, but she knows what to expect and handles the side effects remarkably well. Victoria is closing in on the end of chemo and will move onto surgery in roughly 5 weeks. We met with the surgical oncologist on Wednesday for a consultation. He is by far the most serious and straightforward of all the doctors that we have seen. He is also very precise and explains the options in a detailed, yet understandable manner. The surgeon began the consult by performing a physical exam, which would help him determine what course of action to suggest. When we first met the surgeon prior to Victoria receiving chemotherapy he had examined her and basically determined that a mastectomy would be her only option, unless the chemo, in his words, had a “profound ...

Victoria finished her fourth chemo treatment about a week and a half ago. The treatment went well and again the side effects were manageable, but nothing that any of us would look forward to dealing with. Unfortunately, Victoria’s chemo was the Wednesday before Easter, so she wasn’t feeling her best on Easter morning. She still managed to put on her best face and made it to the 7:00 am Mass followed by making conversation at her Father and Step-Mother’s annual Easter brunch celebration. Things are going for the most part very well. Victoria has two more treatment sessions and should be through with the chemo. During our next session we will have a consult with the surgical oncologist who will go over the next phase in Victoria’s treatment plan, surgery, and what options she has. We are anxious to hear what options he discusses, as well as knowing when the surgery will be scheduled and approximately how long the recovery will take. All in all things are going smoothly. Vic...

Victoria finished her third chemo treatment last Wednesday and her cancer is responding well. Her lab work and physical exams continue to come back positive showing that she is receptive to the chemotherapy. The doctor is hopeful that when Victoria goes in for surgery she will have no remaining cancer cells, her chances are about 40%, which to us is exciting that she has that type of probability. Victoria's third treatment also marks the half-way point in her chemo treatment plan, thus the reason for the use of the expression the glass is half full. I can't express how happy I am that Victoria will only have to go through three more sessions. I am so proud of Victoria and how strong she has been through this grueling treatment. Although, I wouldn't say the side effects have become any worse, I would say that she is becoming weaker and it is taking her longer to recover after each session. I can understand why. Imagine being injected with an insane amount of chemi...

There are many difficult things about this disease. Victoria losing her hair, dealing with the side effects of chemotherapy, and when you live in another country…well saying farewell. For us it was to our home, to our friends, to our favorite restaurants, and to our co-workers. Victoria and I have been married for 6 years and over half of that time has been spent in Italy. Our first home together was in Italy, when we returned for the second time we were lucky enough to live in the same house that we called home and share that with our son. We were able to build upon old relationships, and create new ones. We were able to recreate fond memories of past trips and develop lasting memories of new ones. This past week has come to an end and we have returned “home”. “Home” to Arizona. Although, returning home was the right decision for Victoria’s treatment, and we are ecstatic to be amongst our very supportive family and friends, we will always miss our first home, as a married co...