Pretty In Pink

Today I went to my oncologist for my annual appointment. I find it not stressful seeing him. I think it's because I know I'm cured. 

Dr Bachrach and I went through the formalities. You know, "how are you", "what have you been doing", "what's new". After the pleasantries we got down to business.

He went over my blood work. Nothing to really report. It seems the one thing that keeps popping are my liver enzymes. Well, those numbers have been elevated for over 30 years. It has been discussed that when or if those numbers change then we will address it at that time. As far as cancer is concerned, no sign of it! My CA125 is in the normal range! Can we say hallelujah! 

So, here I am today 9 years cancer free! 

Ribbons Of Hope

Giving Back!

A "Ribbons of Hope" warmer is $35 and $7 will 

go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) to help other women!

As a Breast Cancer Survivor I know early detection is key!

1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer.  

I ordered one in honor of my mother, my Aunt Marthetta and myself!  

If you would like to honor someone in your life that was touched by breast cancer, order a Ribbons of Hope to help others in their fight with this disease.

Ribbons of Hope

As a breast cancer survivor, I'm honored to display this warmer in my home.  

I love the name, "Ribbons of Hope"!

It will be a reminder of the family that I lost to breast cancer and 

how far medicine has come to help someone like me. 

I'm an  8 year survivor and living life!

Cancer Is No Fun!

Today I visited with two sisters in my ward that have been diagnosed with cancer. The first sister I visited with was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Last Friday she had bilateral mastectomies.  This is bringing back so many memories.  It saddens me to know that she has to endure what I went through 8 years ago.  It's unknown at the time of this writing if she will need chemo and/or radiation.  I'm praying that she needs neither.  Fortunately, I did not need radiation, but I did have 6 rounds of chemo.  I lost my hair, lost weight (which I was thankful for), felt like crap, and had no energy.  It is NO FUN!

During our visit she was uncomfortable from the procedure, which is to be expected.  Also, having expanders doesn't help as they can and will be uncomfortable for a few months.  Her spirits are unpredictable and that is to be expected due to the physical and emotional strain that it takes on a body and mind.  My heart is full of sadness, concern and love for this sister.

After my first visit I stopped to see another sister in our ward that was preparing to have her second round of chemo tomorrow.  This is my first visit with her since my return from Florida.  I knew of her condition before I left, but at that time she did not want visitors. Ironically, she called me the day I left for Florida and my visit with her had to wait another week until my return.

I had been told a few different stories concerning her diagnosis, so I decided to ask her myself what is her story.  I feel this is important to share as most of us women have aches and pains that we ignore because they are female pains that we get used to.  She shared with me that she was having pains in her abdomen that she shrugged off.  After some time she began being sick to her stomach and unable to eat or keep little bites of food down.  On one particular day they were going to go to their cabin in Northern Arizona when she had a pain attack that was unbearable. Her sister took her to urgent care where x-rays were done.  After seeing the results they instructed her to see her physician. Her physician told her the results.  She has a mass on her right side 5cm - 7cm and a mass on her left side 7cm - 9cm with a lesion on her lung and liver.  Her diagnosis is Ovarian Cancer. It was decided to do chemo first and try to shrink the masses prior to surgery and then chemo following surgery.  At the time of this writing she has had one round of chemo and preparing for round two tomorrow.

As I mentioned earlier she called me the day I left for Florida.  The purpose of her call was to ask where she can get head coverings or scarves since she is now losing her hair.  I brought my little tub of head attire with me for her to choose what she would like to have.  When I was diagnosed I was given several things from another friend that went through breast cancer too.  I think it's time to pass it forward.  I let her select the items that she wanted.  I wish I had taken a picture of my selection before she took what she wanted but here is what I have left and I'm hoping these can also be passed on to help someone else.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

I am a 6 1/2 year survivor!!! My Grandfather survived it, but my Mother and her two sisters did not! My commission of select Scentsy Items will be donated to help find a cure for Breast Cancer. If it's PINK it qualifies! Contact me today!!! OR shop online at: https://gr8scents.scentsy.us/Scentsy/Buy 

Something to Think About!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

5 Year Mark

Today I had my 5 year check-up.  I'm CANCER FREE!  Yes, I had breast cancer...but breast cancer doesn't have me!

Scentsy Donates More Than Half a Million to Breast Cancer Early Detection and Research Scentsy Sets Goal to Donate $1 Million to Breast Cancer Charities by 2013

I am so proud to be a part of this AMAZING company! As a breast cancer survivor, it's so important to know that we have companies like Scentsy willing to help find a cure for this disease.  Thank you Scentsy! 

My Friend Vicki

I visited with my friend, Vicki Thompson, at Banner Gateway, December 16th.  Vicki has stage 4 breast cancer and is not doing well.  I've known for some time that her cancer had metathesized to her liver and that her time would be short.  This has been a difficult time for me because the last time I saw Vicki was after her oncology visit in June, which happened to be the same time I had blood work done for my upcoming appointment.  So, needless to say I haven't seen Vicki in 6 months.

We had a nice visit.  Her spirits were high and she, of course, was thinking of others instead of herself. She asked me to bring her a Scentsy catalog so she could place an order. This made me feel uncomfortable because I knew that she would not be with us much longer.  I knew that if I place the order, she would not be here when it arrived and this bothered me tremendously being a breast cancer patient myself.

I'm so glad I took this opportunity to see and visit with her, as this was the last time I saw Vicki before she passed away on December 26, 2010. Her funeral service was this evening at Wyman's Funeral Home in Mesa.  It was a nice service with a lot of friends and family.  She will truly be missed.

My Family Cancer History

When I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer...I truly was not totally surprised!  I had this "gut" feeling, yet it did hit me like a ton of bricks.  Some breast cancer patients have no family history and others are like me with an undeniably obvious family history.

Here is my families story.
My grandfather, Wade Henry Blevins discovered a lump in his breast.  It was diagnosed as cancerous and was removed.  No treatment followed because in the 1960's the rule was this: if the lump was removed and no outlying tissue had cancer cells then they "got it all".  My grandfather lived to the age of 69 and passed away from emphysema in March 1979.

My Aunt Dorthy, my grandfather's daughter and my mother's sister was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1977 at the age of 35.  Her story is all to common.  She had a lump and was sent to have a mammogram.  The tests were negative and no other tests were prescribed.  Three months later her breast was red, inflamed and her nipple inverted.  At this time she had a biopsy and was positive for breast cancer.  She had a radical mastectomy, underwent chemo therapy and radiation.  She was stage 4 at the time of her surgery, September 1977.  Thirteen months later, October 1978, Dorothy Lucille Blevins died at the age of 36.

My mother, Ramona Marie Blevins, was diagnosed with breast cancer May 1985 at the age of 46.  She had a lumpectomy and had no chemotherapy or radiation.  In the 1980's they still had the opinion that when the lump was removed and no tissue around the margins had any signs of cancer...you were considered "cancer free".  Almost 5 years to the day, my mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  The cancer metastasized.  She had to have brain surgery and the cancerous tissue removed.  My mother's cancer then further spread to her other vital organs and she passed away June 19, 1996 at the age of 57.

My Aunt, Marthetta, my grandfather's youngest daughter and my mother's sister, was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of  52.  She had a mastectomy, chemo therapy and radiation.  She was later diagnosed with lung cancer (my cousin Wendy, Marthetta's daughter, says it was not related to the breast cancer).  My Aunt Marthetta Ruth Razza passed away January 29, 2005.

I am the third generation member of our family that has been diagnosed with breast cancer. I was 48 years old.  Ironically I had my biopsy 10 years to the day of my mothers death, June 19, 2006! 

My Grandfather: Wade Henry Blevins

My Mother: Ramona Marie Blevins
My Aunt: Marthetta Ruth Blevins Razza

Myself: Karen Marie Larid Pelley

My Diagnosis Story

Everyone has their own diagnosis story. Mine may be the same as yours or maybe slightly different or completely different. Yet, it's my story.

I noticed a lump in my left breast in the Spring of 2003. I was concerned, due to my family history, but I think I was in denial too, you know...it couldn't happen to me. December 15, 2004, I had my yearly mammogram. Nothing unusual happened. Just the routine mammogram visit. Waiting in the lobby for my name to be called. When my name was called I went into the room, removed my top and bra putting on this gown that stays on about 2 minutes until you have the mammogram. Why you have to wear it? I have no idea. It doesn't stay on and it just gets in the way. Of course, the lump was in the back of my mind. As we were going through the questions I pointed to where the lump was located. The technician took extra views to ensure that she got the full picture. After a few minutes the test was over and I was on my way home.

A month later, January 17, 2005, I had an appointment with my Primary Care Physician. I wasn't there for anything breast related, I was having skin problems on my scalp and was trying to get that cleared up. While I was there I asked the doctor about my mammogram. He said it didn't show anything. I asked him about the lump and he said, " it's an inflamed milk duct". I asked him if I should be concerned since I have a strong family history of breast cancer. He didn't seem overly concerned, he told me just to "keep an eye on it". So, not thinking or being my own advocate, I believed what he said. Again, I think I was in denial at the time, it couldn't happen to me.

Thirteen months later, my new Primary Care Physician, Dr Wiens, gave me an order for my routine mammogram. It was scheduled for January 19, 2006, at the same place I've had my mammograms for the past 5 years. However, these results were a little different. Was I concerned? Not really! I've had results before that required me to have additional images. The only thing different this time is that I needed to have an ultra sound. So, I made the appointment and had the ultra sound February 6, 2006. When the results came in, I was told to have another ultra sound in 3 months. This was very unusual, this has never happened to me before! Now the "red flags" come up!

May 30, 2006, I had my second ultra sound. The technician took me back into the room, I had to take my top off and put on this gown. I laid down on the table and she put this gel goop on my breast and proceeded to take images. I could hear the clicking of her fingernails on the keyboard as she took the images. At one point she asked, "Have you noticed any changes in the lump?" "No, not really!", I said. Of course, that was the first time that I was really alarmed. I knew at that moment that I had breast cancer. The technician said nothing, but it's the way she "said nothing".

I was called by my doctor's office and told that I needed a biopsy. Wow, a biopsy! My heart sunk. Of course, now I knew I had breast cancer. I scheduled an appointment to see Dr. Johnson, a general surgeon and I arrived, Monday, June 19, 2006 at 11:00 am. While visiting with Dr Johnson, he was so confident that I did not have breast cancer. He was very kind, he stayed upbeat and positive. He asked me if the lump had changed and I told him no. He was very reassuring and said he thought it was going to be nothing, but deep down I knew it wasn't alright. He asked me when I would like to have the biopsy? I said, "Today!" He said,"Let me check my schedule." After a few minutes, he said, "We can do it right now!" What a relief! I did not have to wait for another appointment. Dr Johnson and his assistant got everything prepared. The doctor sprayed me with a freezing spray then gave me a shot of lidocaine to numb the area. He did a hollow needle biopsy and took eight samples. While taking the samples, the assistant said, "That one's green." I thought to my self, was that good or was that bad? As I lay there, I felt that was another clue that it was cancer. After the biopsy was finished, the doctor told me that the results would be back Friday and he would call me with the results.

Around 11:00 am Tuesday, June 20, 2006, Dr Johnson called with the results, not Friday, but Tuesday the very next day! I could tell he was having a hard time. He said, "Karen, it's positive, you have breast cancer!" I was numb! I thought I was prepared for those words, but I wasn't. I don't think anyone can truly be prepared to hear, 'YOU HAVE BREAST CANCER!"

Now the hard part I had to tell my husband, Doug. How am I going to tell him? What do I say? I had to collect my thoughts, I was literally in shock. Doug noticed on the caller ID that Dr Johnson called, so he came into the family room. I told him, "I have breast cancer." That was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life, tell my husband that I have breast cancer. Of course, we cried and cried! Immediately after telling Doug, I called my dad and sister and we cried together too. This was a very difficult day!

It was not until about a month later that I realized something. The day I had my biopsy, June 19, 2006 was the 10th anniversary of my mother's death and she died of breast cancer!

Welcome to my Life After Cancer Blog!

I've been thinking about this over the course of this year and decided it's time to share some of the UPS and DOWNS of my roller coaster ride with cancer. What better forum than MY OWN BLOG! I'll share my story with you and some of the feelings that I experienced. If you are a cancer patient or know someone who has or had cancer, this is for you! I had two famous sayings that I said while going through my chemo and surgeries, "When Life Gives You Lemons ~ Make Lemonade!" and "When you laugh, the world laughs with you. When you cry, you cry alone!" I found that a sense of humor was the best cure for me, and I believe that humor and a positive attitude also helped my family and friends share in my experience as well.

My blog will start off with my story, from diagnosis to what I'm doing now. I'll share my family breast cancer history, and I'll post new things about breast cancer as well as updates on me. If what is said here touches at least one life for good, then I've accomplished what I set out to do. I look forward to reading your emails and with your permission I would like to, at times, post your stories here for others to gather inspiration, insight, compassion, and understanding.

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Thank you so much for visiting!
Karen ~ Breast Cancer SURVIVOR