Victoria's Fight

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...

Victoria just finished up her second round of chemotherapy and seems to be doing really well. She didn't sleep well the night before chemo, primarily due to the week ahead of us that we have coming up going to and moving back from Italy. We had to be out to the Cancer Treatment Center at 6:40 a.m., so they could draw her blood, send it to the lab, and have the results back, to ensure she was healthy enough to receive chemo. Our medical oncologist was very happy with the results as both her white and red blood cell count was in the 85 percentile of all women. Needless to say, she was very exhausted going into the chemo. Shortly after she was pumped full of all the fluids, drugs, steroids and whatever else they administer prior to beginning the chemo, she was out cold. I was happy to see her get a good nap in her chair. The side effects have been on the lesser side of extreme. The chemo takes a lot out of her, so she is very tired, her stomach doesn't feel right, her appe...

Saturday, February, 18, 2012. Victoria and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. The day began about as normal as possible. Victoria's Mom arrived in the morning to take care of Brodie for the remainder of the day and night. I had an eventful itinerary planned. Beginning with lunch and horseback riding in North Scottsdale, accommodations at the swanky Hotel Indigo located in Old Town Scottsdale and an evening of dining at the quaint Petite Maison French Restaurant. We enjoyed our lunch and horseback riding and after checking into the hotel we spent about an hour lounging on the outdoor patio, taking in the beautiful Arizona sunset, and having our fill of one of our favorite activities, people watching. With about an hour to go we decided it would be wise to retreat to our room to get ready for dinner. As you may recall from my last post Victoria's hair has been falling out. Understandably, Victoria wanted to wash and do her hair for our dinner. I heard a phrase ...

Yesterday, Victoria and I went to see a Genetics Counselor. The purpose of the appointment was to determine if Victoria is a candidate for genetics testing. We went to the appointment expecting that she would be a candidate mainly because she has breast cancer at such a young age. There are many factors that go into determining if one should have a genetics test to determine their risks for various types of cancer. Many people are tested that do not have cancer, due to the fact that a certain type of cancer, or lots of cancers run in the family, or even just based on their family origin. Victoria is a candidate for the testing, primarily due to her age, as cancer does not run in the family, she is the first with breast cancer. Her blood was drawn and is sitting in a lab in Salt Lake City waiting to be tested. Specifically, what she would be tested for is a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene. To simplify a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene does not guarantee somebody will get ...