Heather at hgfotography

Heading to Heaven in high heels...

2010-02-28T18:40:00.000-08:00

Sadly, and not in her own words- this is the final entry on Heather's blog. Our girl lost her hard-fought battle with breast cancer last night. Heather went to heaven with the same grace and qualities we all loved about her here on earth..beauty, dignity, grace, strength, the list goes on and on. All who have followed her journey on this site and in person know about the legacy she has left. Heather showed us how to get the most out of life under any circumstances, we can't forget that. Let's take what we've learned and be the best we can be- for ourselves, our families, our communities and especially for Heather.

Long time no post...

2009-11-06T06:09:00.000-08:00

Well I did it again, I said I wouldn't go so long without posting but I did. A quick update: my ct scan was good a couple weeks ago. They said the tumors shrunk about 17% from the first two cycles of the study. My pain is getting a little better, I've started using Fentanyl patches instead of so many pain pills. I still take a few but I've been able to cut back even more. I'm on my week off between cycles 3 and 4. Round 3 was better than 2 and 1 but I am hoping 4 will be better. Other than being tired and having some pain in my neck I am feeling pretty good this week. Like I said last time I had to get shots to boost my white count, now I am just getting two shots instead of 5, but my hemoglobin is down really low so I had to get a Procrit shot to raise that. That will also be a regular occurence unless I can get my counts up in that too.

On another subject, I'm sure most of you know I love clothes! When I'm having a really bad day with all this cancer garbage I head out shopping for some retail therapy, even if I just look. Well, my new favorite store has opened in Grand Island. You might have seen it in the paper when they did a feature on it. Stefani's Closet Boutique is my new favorite place to go. It's by Whiskey Creek and Meyers Jewelry right in the parking lot by the China Buffet and Kmart. She has a lot of really cool shirts, jeans ,purses, jewelry, coats and lots of other awesome stuff. It's stuff you don't see anywhere else, I love stopping in after chemo to see what's new. Apparently my Hope Angels even know I like to shop there. They must have flown by and picked up a gift certificate this week. Thank you so much, you guys keep my spirits up! This weekend on Friday and Saturday is the grand opening, and if you buy a purse/handbag you get a free wallet. Just had to share that, hope you can check it out!

Hope you all have a good weekend! It seems like I hardly see anybody anymore because I'm sleeping half my life. I don't start cycle 4 until next Friday so hopefully I have a good week until then. Thanks for checking in, Heather.

Feeling better and a green smoothie

2009-09-24T09:02:00.000-07:00

I finished my second week of treatments and now I am on my week off. I did much better the second time around, my neck didn't swell quite as much and I didn't get hardly any chest pain. My white count was way down to 2 so I have to get 5 days of Neupogen shots to boost it back up. My last one is today, I'd start cheering but I think this is going to be a regular occurence. The Gemzar chemo drug is known for dropping white counts. I have also been able to cut back a little on pain pills. I'm still taking a lot but at least it's not as many. I do think the pain is getting better from the chemo, I think it's shrinking the tumors and easing up on those areas where I had such severe pain.

Okay, now for the fun news. I got a new recipe from the rawbodytwins.com for a Green Citrus Smoothie. It is really good and doesn't even taste green. You can just taste the citrus. As many of you know when all this pain got so intense in late July I dropped off the raw bandwagon and just started eating comfort food. I finally, after two months of eating junk, decided to get back on the whole food/raw eating way. I have only been back on for 5 days but I already feel so much better and clearer mentally. I can't really say about the energy because with my white count down so low I don't have any energy whatsoever. I pretty much sleep all night, then go back to bed after the kids leave and sleep for another 2-3 hours.

Anyway, here is the recipe. It makes a double batch so I just drink one and then I have tomorrows already done in the fridge, just grab it and go. It would be a great and filling breakfast for those of you going to work in the morning.

Green Citrus Smoothie (by the raw body twins)

1 banana
2 peeled oranges
3 handfuls of spinach leaves
1/2 cup of pineapple
about 1 1/2 cups of cold water.

Blend all of that until it is a smooth liquid. Then add 2 handfulls of ice cubes and blend it again to make it colder. I use quart jars and plastic lids (from Walmart). So of course I added a picture. Hope you try it and I'd love to hear comments if you like it. It works the best if you have a good blender so it gets really smooth.

Well, I better get ready to go get my shot again. Have a great day! Heather.

More pics with the new camera...

2009-09-17T06:29:00.000-07:00

As if I weren't far enough behind in scrapbooking right now, I took some more pictures of the kids last night. Tanner was dove hunting with Matt so he didn't get any again. Anyway, someone called last night and wanted to buy a lens of mine so I had to go out to the studio to look for it. Also, Canon 20D still for sale with 28-80 lens, fits all Canon lenses film and digital.

While we were waiting, we took a bunch of pictures with the new 5D mark ii. I love it! It is super sharp. The kids were starting to do goofy stuff so we quit. Ellie wanted her picture taken with the number 5 that I haven't used since I first started. Cauy put on the cowboy hat and the girls put on the pettiskirts and we ended up with a lot of goofy pictures. I prefer black and white close ups but kids always like props.

I go back tomorrow for my second week of chemo. Tomorrow, (Friday) I will get Gemzar, Carboplatin and the study drug. I hope this time goes better and I don't get the chest pain. The boys have football bright and early Saturday morning so I hope I feel good. I don't know how long it will be before we do some sort of a scan to find out how it's working, I suppose at least a month or so to give it some time. I actually think the pain is getting better. I'm still taking the pain pills but the breakthrough pain is minimal.

Have a good weekend! Heather.

Hooked up and ready to go!

2009-09-11T10:41:00.000-07:00

Well it's Friday and I am hooked up to my chemo pump yet once again. This time is going to be the one that makes a big difference! I am officially starting the BiPar trial today. The clincial trial nurse randomized me yesterday and I drew the inhibitor experimental drug. Only half the people on this trial get it and I got it! This clinical trial is going to be in 66 sites in the United States and Grand Island (Saint Francis Medical Center Cancer Treatment Center) is the only site in Nebraska to receive it. Dr. C and his team pushed hard to try and get it here because there are several of us who are case specific (triple negative metastatic stage 4 bc) and they believe it's going to do great things. The study in earlier testing showed that women with this specific case had longer overall and progression-free survival when treataed with the inhibitor plus the two chemotherapy drugs Gemzar and Carboplatin.
We are so lucky this has come along. I feel very confident that it is going to shrink the tumors I have and keep them at bay for a long time! I am starting this trial as I approach my year anniversary of my recurrence, which by coincidence in the article Dr. C brought me to read about the study says; approximately 15% of all breast cancers are triple negative, of those 30% will develop metastases and of those the survival rate is about 13 months after development of the metastases. However, they think it's more like 3 years here. But in other words, I am really hoping this works.

Also, on a completely different subject, I did get a new camera body. Even though I'm not really working, I still enjoy taking pictures of our kids and wildlife/nature ect..., and the occasional session for a niece/nephew or friends' senior, as I did in August. I just snapped a few pics of the kids as they were waiting for the bus the other day. I haven't gotten to use it much yet but am hoping to take some pictures of some flowers and nature this weekend to try it out. By the way, I am selling my Canon 20D body with 18-55mm lens if anyone is interested. It takes awesome pictures. It would be a great camera for someone who has a Canon film camera with interchangeable lenses as they will work with this digital body. Let me know if you're interested, asking 450.

Have a great weekend! Heather.

New news...

2009-09-09T14:12:00.000-07:00

I had a neck Ct yesterday and it showed two main tumors in my neck that have doubled in size since my last scan. That's not such great news but I am starting chemo on Monday so hopefully we'll shrink them back down right away. I should know by the end of the week if I get the inhibitor experimental drug or not. The other bigger tumor is in my chest and it's 4cm by 2 cm. They are getting great results already from the other two women on the trial in GI. This could be it!

We had a great time in Colorado. I am going to put a couple pics on from the trip. It was so beautiful there, I'm ready to go back.

Hope everyone is doing well, have a great week! Heather.

Been a long time!

2009-09-05T18:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated on here. It's been a rough 6 weeks. I've since had two epidural steroid injections. I'm hoping this second one will start to help. The neck pain had started to get better but the pain in my wrist and thumb has gotten worse. I'm taking so much pain medication that the morphene pain pump is next on the agenda I believe. I was hoping to get by for a while without it but I don't think I can do it.

The run went great, we had about 59 people come and run/walk. Thanks so much to everyone who came and to the sponsors for helping out with the shirts and medals. I wish I could have run in it but it just wasn't going to happen this time. I've kind of let my exercise and nutrition go out the window since this pain got so bad. I'm going to turn it around though, I am starting back on eating healthy again (all whole plant foods) after labor day.

Since my last post my tumor markers have kind of gone wild. They were in the 70's back in May, then jumped to 141 in June, down to 136 in July, now in August they are a whopping 327. You can't put a ton of stock in the tumor markers for most people but for me they have been pretty true to what's going on with my case since my recurrence last September. Speaking of which it's almost a year since that happened.

We did two weeks of radiation to try and shrink the tumor on my c6 nerve. However, my throat got so sore and I developed thrush in that time, I could hardly even drink water, we decided to quit. I will be starting on the BS101 Triple Negative Metastatic BC trial next week. Depending on whether I get the inhibitor or not, I may have chemo twice a week for two weeks and then a week off. I am hoping this will be the ticket because I am really getting tired of feeling crappy all the time and having so much pain. It's not me!

I haven't been working except I did get to take three close friends daughters' senior pictures. It made me feel so good to be able to do what I love and create some special images for them. I did have to split up the sessions and just do little sessions at a time because I get so tired and my arm and wrist get so sore, but it was worth it.

I'm in Estes Park right now with my parents and Sage and Ellie. They invited us out here for the weekend to relax and get away for a while. It is beautiful out here. I hope everyone is having a good labor day. I'll update when I find out what I'm getting on the trial.

Heather.

Rehost of Run/Walk Form

2009-08-07T10:18:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't written in so long I have been miserable with neck and arm pain. You know the neck pain I have been complaining about since May? Well Monday we did a neck MRI and lo and behold there is a small tumor mass that is wrapped around my C6 nerve coming out of my neck that is pressing on the nerve causing the neck, arm, shoulder pain and the numb right hand. It had gotten so bad in the last three weeks that all I have done is lay around on ice and heat and take pain pills. I went to see a pain management doctor on Tuesday and he gave me a steroid injection in the epidural space in my neck. It's supposed to help the pain and reduce the inflammation and hopefully I can regain a normal life again. It hasn't helped yet much but he said it could be 2-14 days before it starts to help.

I guess I will also be starting radiation to that area to try and shrink that tumor. It's in a bad spot around the nerve and it's sitting on an artery so it's not possible to biopsy or remove it.

I tried to go out and exercise once in the last two weeks so you know I must not be feeling good. I'm going to try and go walk right now, I'm so stiff from laying around.

The WR fun run/walk is coming soon!! I've gotten a lot of response for walkers and runners and I'm so excited. The shirts have been ordered but I did order just a few extra. But remember you can come and walk or run without having to sign up. Just show up a little before 7:30 on August 22nd and join us. I only needed pre registration if you wanted a shirt. I hope to get at least 50 people there if not many more. I already have around 40 signed up so I'm hoping lots more get up and come out, you can even bring little ones in strollers if you want! Just be there!

There will be 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place medals in each gender age category, 19 and under, 20-29,
30-39, 40-49, and 50+. By the way, the shirts are white with the design just in the corner left side. I did it that way so it wasn't so large on the front and you can wear it again and have it not be so big. Hope you like them.

Have a great day! Heather.

http://www.yousendit.com/download/Y1Rva0ZkNEhQb0pFQlE9PQ

Wood River Run/Walk Form

2009-07-26T16:52:00.000-07:00

here is the download for the run/walk form. if you want to print it out from here i hope it's easier. it will only work for one week and then i can rehost it. it was in the sunbeam last week and i will have copies in Wood River this week at several places. By the way, I emailed it in to have the copies made and somehow the font got switched in cyberspace and when I picked up the forms they have hearts all over the font. Just for clarification, I did not use some goofy font. I don't know what happened. Have a good week, Heather.

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=batch_download&batch_id=Y1RyZGVTSWU3bUIzZUE9PQ

Cairo 5K

2009-07-23T20:17:00.000-07:00

Well Saturday morning was the Cairo 5K run for their Cornstalk Days. Some of us Wood Riverites went up and ran it. It was very early to get up as I've been sleeping til 10 or 11 everyday. My goal was to finish the whole 3 miles without stopping and finish under 30 minutes. I was happy with how I did, I finished with a time of 29.29 and made it the whole way. I really enjoy running and it makes me feel better. I plan on being the healthiest cancer patient I can be. Thanks to Jodi I have pictures to put on here, I'm a bad photographer to be caught not taking a camera! Anyway, have a great week!! Heather.

Also a reminder to everyone about the Wood River Fun Fest Run/Walk, it is on August 22nd at 7:30, there is a form this week in the Sunbeam to fill out and send to me. I will also have forms several places around town. I would like to get a shirt count by August 1st.

Few new pictures of the kids

2009-07-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

We went down to the cabin on Sunday night and I just shot some pictures of the kids. Only 3 of them wanted to take pictures so I'll post a baseball picture of Tanner so he doesn't feel left out. I've been really tired this week probably since I've been trying to make it across Hawaii. Maybe I need a kick in the butt and should slow down a bit. I might take a couple days rest since I am running in the Cairo Fun Run on Saturday morning. Have a great week and hope you enjoy the new pictures. Heather.

Good results from PET.

2009-07-13T13:11:00.000-07:00

I went in for the PET scan this morning and they already called with results. They said there was a considerable decrease in metabolic activity. Dr. C said that the chemo I am on right now is still working and we will stay on it until I form a resistance to it. We will save the study for then. So that's good news. I will continue the two oral chemos and the every other week Avastin IV. Will keep you updated... Heather.

by the way, I made it across Rhode Island today. I am two miles into Hawaii...

Pet Scan Monday.

2009-07-11T17:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday! I have some new info about the study. I will be having a PET scan Monday morning to see what's going on in my neck. Depending on what they find I may stop all my chemo treatment for 30 days and start up on the study. The study requires that you are off all chemo for 30 days prior to starting. Grand Island was accepted into the study and I will be able to do all of my treatment and appointments here. The next step will be to find out if I get the PARP inhibitor with the chemo or not. 50% will get chemo and the inhibitor and the other 50% just get the chemo.

I started a new exercise this week. I got a trikke for my birthday and I've already put 16 miles on it in the last 3 days. I am going to exercise (run, walk, trikke, and rollerblade) across the states. I started with two small states; I'm done with Delaware 36 miles and am working on Rhode Island 27 miles. If anyone wants to join me I'll keep posting the mileage to go across each state. After those I am going to do Hawaii 75 miles. I know I'm a nutcase, it's okay go ahead and think it. :) I didn't start with Nebraska because it's 400 miles across.

Anyway, have a good day and I'll post with results late Monday. Heather.

If you want to know what a trikke is go to www.trikke.com
It's amazing what you can do with a blackberry... my videographer is 8... (Cauy).

Markers down a little...

2009-07-08T09:11:00.000-07:00

Just got a call from the treatment center and my marker test they drew on Monday is down from 141 to 136. Not a drastic drop but at least it's going in the right direction this week. :) I did just finish the book, "The Race is Run One Step at a Time" by Nancy Brinker. It was all about Susan Komen and her breast cancer story. It was written by her sister who also had breast cancer after Susan died and how she created the Susan G. Komen Foundation. I had known about the foundation but really didn't know about Susan's story. It was very good.

I also read "How to Prevent and Treat Cancer with Natural Medicine". It is a very good book dealing with diet/nutrition and exercise in the prevention of cancer and also using them to weather the effects of treatment. I did find something I wanted to share.

' "When time runs out is really up to God, but we urge our patients to remember the old saying "God helps those who help themselves". We stress that the more changes they make in their way of living to keep themselves strong and healthy, the better their chances that they'll be one of the lucky ones who migrate to the right end of the bell curve for long-term survival." '
"How to Prevent and Treat Cancer with Natural Medicine" by Dr.s Murray, Birdsall, Pizzorno, and Reilly.

Have a good Wednesday, I'm headed out for a run. Heather.

Still waiting to hear on the study...

2009-07-07T21:20:00.000-07:00

I went in Monday for another Avastin treatment and it went pretty well. Dr. C decided to do a PET scan next Monday since my markers keep going up, I have so many new little bumps and I have so much neck pain. Maybe we'll see what's going on in there if anything. We're still waiting to hear from the study. Hopefully it will start soon, but the last we heard it could be the end of the month. I don't really know much I just wanted to share a picture of Angie and I from the Relay for Life. I am putting on the picture of us from 2007 too. Have a good week! Heather.

Happy Fourth of July!!!

2009-07-04T11:28:00.000-07:00

Hi and Happy 4th! I hope everyone is out doing something fun today. We're going to canoe down the platte river, should be fun hoping for no rain. Just went out and rollerbladed 7 miles! It's so nice out, not too hot just comfortable. I know I probably look dorky out there rollerblading but I don't care cuz it's fun and good exercise. Sage and I went out and cleaned the studio the other day, funny how it gets so dirty when nobody is in it. Anyway, she wanted to earn some firework money. I'm really anxious for this firecracker lighting to be over, it makes me a nervous basketcase. I took a few pictures of Sage when we were cleaning so I'll post them.
Heather.

"The Unhealthy Truth"

2009-07-01T17:35:00.000-07:00

I know by now most of you know that I have dove into reading about nutrition and have made many changes in our diet at home. I just finished reading "The Unhealthy Truth" by Robyn O'Brien. She is a mother of four in Boulder, Colorado who has changed her families' nutrition and uncovered vast information about allergies linked to food. I was very impressed with her book and suggestions for busy moms how to incorporate better food choices into our kids diet. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about the chemicals and toxins we are eating and how to transfer over to a healthier diet. She also suggests you start with small changes such as not buying anything with yellow#5 or getting rid of rBGH milk. Just a suggestion, hope you read it. Heather.

Not so great results and other exciting news!

2009-06-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

Hi, just wanted to let everyone know I the CT scan on Wednesday of last week but my results weren't optimal by any means. All of the tumors that showed up on the PET scan in April are apparently still there. Then all of the new little bumps that I have been complaining about in my neck are showing up on the CT now. At least I'm not crazy and imagining things. Also, my CA 27.29 blood marker tests came back and they made another small jump from 119 to 141. It's not out of control by any means but I'd prefer it went in the other direction. The amount of disease I have is still fairly mininal but it doesn't seem to be going away. We are still waiting on any news about the new trial. It is supposed to be enrolling in July so that's right around the corner.
I just went out and rollerbladed 6 miles. It is such a beautiful day! It's a little warm but that's why we're headed to the pool after lunch.

Ok here's the other news! I'm so excited! I had read the information for the Wood River Fun Fest and I noticed there was no news about a fun run like last year. I called someone from the committee and she said they didn't have enough volunteers so they weren't planning on a run for this year. So now I am the new "Fun Run Chairlady"! I am going to start organizing a run/walk for the morning of the parade on August 22nd. I can't wait! This is right up my alley with my new found love for nutrition and exercise. If anyone has any ideas for me let me know. We are going to use the same route as last year but last year we only had like 13 people. This year we are going to have many more than that! I will keep people informed on here and I will also put something in the paper. I also want to do t shirts so I may need to find some sponsors and I have no idea of how to do any of that so I guess I wll learn.

Have a great day! Heather.

Post Relay for Life and isn't my niece cute!

2009-06-22T17:02:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been a long time again! It's so busy now that school's out and baseball is in! Tanner has been playing about 6+ games a week between Wood River league and the GI Riverdogs. Cauy, Sage and Ellie combined have 3 games a week so it keeps us pretty busy, but I love going to baseball so I wouldn't have it any other way. Unless of course I could take chemo out of my schedule, that would make it easier. I can't complain a whole lot other than the fatigue and headaches. O yeah and the new allergies I developed, so if you've talked to me in the last week I've sounded stuffed up except for when I actually remember to take the Clarinex D that the doctor gave me. It seems to help more when I remember to take it.
The Relay was fun on Friday night. There were so many people out for it. Thanks to all those people who come and a special thanks to all those that do so much work getting ready for it, like Cindy S. for example! You go over and beyond girl, thanks! I'll share a picture of my niece Emersyn from Friday night, of course it's already on my website homepage I couldn't resist she's so cute. Notice her shirt says "Fight like a girl"!
Dr. C emailed me today about the study I am hoping to get in. They are telling him they will try and have it open in July sometime. I will keep you posted on that. I am having a CT scan on Wednesday that will be of the chest and neck because I have some new bumps on the right side of my neck and it has been really sore. Also, they drew my blood to check my tumor markers today so those results should be back hopefully by Friday if I'm lucky. Hope those are down with these new 3 drugs.
O by the way, yesterday was my 35th birthday, thanks to all those who sent me texts and wrote on my facebook wall. It was a nice day spent at baseball with family. Matt and my mother/father in law got me a Blackberry Curve. I've been playing with it ever since. I love it. Technology is amazing! It kept me entertained at chemo this morning trying to learn what it does. I can remember when I was about 20 and thinking 30 was so old, it's amazing how much your thinking changes as you get older and especially now with the cancer. I don't look at 35 as a bit old now and knowing how blessed I will be when I make it to 40 and on!! I know I can beat this and I will continue to do everything I can to make it happen! Thanks again for the birthday wishes and watch for the CT update, pray for good results! Thanks, Heather.

Post Cattlemen's Ball and Post Avastin 2

2009-06-09T19:04:00.000-07:00

Wow, talk about a post with a lot of pictures! I couldn't help sharing all the good pics I got at the Craig Morgan concert at the Cattlemen's Ball on Saturday. It was a lot of fun. The style show was very fun but I don't have any pictures of it, maybe if I can find someone who took pictures I can get some to post. I did get to wear a really cool shirt made by Tiffany Olson of www.stateteez.com . She has some cool t shirts she makes you'll have to check it out. I did post the picture of Angie and I from the Craig Morgan concert two years ago when we saw him in Kearney during our summer of chemo in 07. I thought it was funny that we were standing the same way this time. Course this time we have real hair! I am almost recuperated from Saturday, it was a long day but really fun and so glad I was able to help and participate.

Yesterday I had Avastin infusion number 2. I feel pretty good today other than being tired. I'm starting to get a bit achy in the arms but other than that can't complain too much. Dr. C did tell me about a new study he learned about at a big conference of Oncologists last week. It is specifically for Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer and Triple Negative. You can't get any closer to what I have than that. It isn't open yet but will be this summer sometime. He is going to try and get me into it. It has what they call a PARP inhibitor pill half of the people take in addition to taking two chemo drugs. It's supposed to prevent the DNA of the cancer cells from replicating itself. Sounds promising!

Have a good week and I'll keep you informed on what I hear about it. Heather.

Week One of New Chemo

2009-05-28T15:22:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's right new chemo again, for those of you who don't know yet. After the first three weeks of the Xeloda my markers remained unchanged from 118 to 119. Dr. C decided to step it up a bit and added Cytoxan oral chemo and Avastin IV chemo to the Xeloda. He decreased the Xeloda to 3 pills a day instead of the 8. This first week was kind of rough with headaches and fatigue. I should be used to the fatigue by now but it's different with each type of chemo. I'm tired of getting headaches, those are getting old. Today my headache got worse because I took the kids to the Cairo pool for a couple of hours and the sun got to me. I want to keep it as normal as possible around here but I'm afraid this regimen may be harder than the last.

I just started a new book today, "This Time's a Charm" by Donald Wilhelm. It's about a guy who has had cancer 5 times. He has lymphoma that keeps coming back. He has a great attitude and positive outlook. I'm anxious to finish it. Even though he has a different kind of cancer, there are so many similarities, I feel like I'm going right along with him through so much of it. I had kind of sidelined the thought of writing my book after this 3rd bout began but he has convinced me to start it back up.

I want to share a quote I read in a book the other night. It's from Living Beyond Breast Cancer by Marcia Weiss and Ellen Weiss. She says, "You can wake up each morning and worry about dying, or you can wake up each morning and celebrate living. Before you know it, several years may have passed. Do you want to waste that time with mourning or use your time to celebrate?" This is something her oncologist said to her. It really hits home after hearing that the medical side opinion of my situation is 1-4 years with what they have to treat me with right now. I plan on blowing that out of the water with whatever I have to do. The days I don't feel good are harder to be positive but the good days I feel like I can do anything!

Hope everyone has a good week! Heather.

Day 3

2009-05-13T11:31:00.000-07:00

Just checking in, wish I felt better but i'm draggin today. I went up to the high school and walked 3 miles but i feel like i could just go back to bed. I hope everyone doing the cleanse is doing good. i am not doing a good job as a "faux leader" because i've been so tired. Try reading Kris' blog everyday. She had a great post about gluten yesterday. She has some great suggestions today if you feel like you're hitting a wall! http://crazysexylife.com . I am going in tomorrow for blood draw and to see if they can look at my neck/throat area that is really sore. Hope it's nothing but since that's where some of the tumors are it's hard to think that. Anyway, have a great day it's beautiful outside! Heather.

Day One

2009-05-11T20:05:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone that is doing the cleanse of some sort had a good first day. I have a bad bad virus on my laptop so I am posting on the other computer. I will post more after I get rid of it. I've been burning backup cds all day. I have to get my laptop wiped clean so I need to get all important pictures and stuff off of it tonight.

I feel okay today. The last few days have been rough, lots of headaches and dizziness with the Xeloda. Have a good day two and have a good week. Heather.

Adventure starts next Monday!

2009-05-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share a couple of things about the Adventure cleanse next week. There are 4 levels you can choose from if you want to do this with us. It sounds like there are a lot of people who want to try it!

Adventure Level one - 50/50 - raw to cooked ratio

Adventure Level two - 70/30 - raw to cooked ratio

Adventure Level three - raw till dinner, then 80/20

Adventure Level four - 100% raw with a mini juice fast

Level one is pretty much half of the food and juce you eat in a day is raw fruits and vegetables. You could have fresh fruit until afternoon, then a salad for lunch, maybe some nuts and dried fruit for a snack and then for supper chicken and steamed veges and more salad. Kris wants everyone to eliminate all meat and dairy for this month but she also said if giving up meat is too difficult limit it to two days a week.

Level two is a little more raw foods than level one. You can have cooked veges or grains during the day as long as it's not more than 1/3 of what you're eating total for the day.

Level three is what I do and will do during the challenge also. Raw til dinner means that everything you eat or juice during the whole day is raw; fruit, veges, nuts, dried fruit (just make sure it doesn't have added sugar or sulphurs) you have to read labels on that. Then have a big salad or dish of veges for supper and you still have 20% cooked to use after you eat some raw supper. Always eat your cooked food after your raw food, it will digest better.

Level four is 100% raw with a mini juice feast on Wednesdays of each week during the cleanse. I wouldn't recommend this level to anyone just yet...

An example of what I eat as a level 3;

Upon rising until about 4pm

Fresh fruit (a lot!)

Fresh vege and fruit juice from the juicer (bottled juice is heat processed with added sugar)

Lots of water with lemon

about 4

dish of cold veges like cauliflower, carrots and broccoli with salad dressing from previous blog

about 6 or 7

gigantic salad; lettuce, spinach, mixed greens from Sams, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini,

red onion, red bell pepper, with salad dressing from before.

about 9 or so
Raw Revolution Bar ( like a raw brownie) they have them at Hyvee in the Health Market and once you try them you can get them on amazon.com

Exercise is important to make time for too! I feel great even on this new chemo and I have been lifting weights and running and it's helping! Have a good weekend and see you Monday! Heather.

Good morning Monday!

2009-05-04T08:17:00.000-07:00

Wow what a busy weekend! Tanner played in the Kennel Klassic baseball tournament in Gi this weekend. They won their first three games and got second place in the Championship game. It was fun! Wish it could have been a little warmer. The girls went to prom on Saturday night. They were crown and flower bearers with Cade Huxtable. I haven't gotten to all the pictures yet but I'll post a couple. They had pretty turquoise dresses and I fixed their hair and nails. They felt like princesses. We had a wonderful surprise when we came out of prom. There was limo waiting for us, (courtesy of our great friend) thank you again!, to take us for a ride. It was very special!

Also, cleanse (detox) starts next week. Here's Kris's blog to share a little more about what is allowed to eat. http://my.crazysexylife.com/forum/topics/adventure-cleanse-tuneup-act-1

I will also post a more simple list later this week. Even if you can switch your diet to 50% raw foods/50% other it would be super! Hope everyone has a great day! Heather.

Quick update

2009-05-01T08:48:00.001-07:00

Brain MRI was clear! Some good news for the week! Have a good weekend! Heather.

Plan B

2009-04-30T08:18:00.000-07:00

I went in for all my tests yesterday and got to visit with Dr. C for a long time about what we were going to do. He decided to put me on Xeloda which is an oral chemo I will take everyday for two weeks and then one week off, then start over and over and over. Anyway, at least it's oral and not the iv kind yet. It still has some crappy side effects but hopefully I will weather those as well as I did with the Sutent. He decided to save the 2 iv drugs i was going to start for later when we need them more. I have a brain MRI today at 4:45 and then I will start taking the Xeloda. There probably won't be anything in the brain but even if there is he said it would be minimal at this point. So everythings good right now, I feel really good, all of my bloodwork was great. I got my cholesterol checked the other day for the first time ever. I didn't think it would be high because I don't eat meat or anything that would make it high but I was pretty impressed with my numbers. My total cholesterol was 139, my LDL was 64, HDL was 60, triglycerides were 75 and my ratio was 2.3. So other than the little cancer deal I feel like I'm pretty healthy! Have a great day! I'm still going to lead the cleanse group (basically just healthy eating and exercise) so let me know! Heather.

Updated results

2009-04-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

Well the call I got this morning wasn't really what we were hoping for. I have 6 + new tumors in my neck and chest and lung area. Not sure why these are growing but apparently I have become resistant to the Sutent oral chemo. Tomorrow I will go in at 8:30 to the hospital and have CT scan, Muga heart scan, EKG's and blood draw, then I will go to Dr. Copur's office and see the PET scan results and he will tell me what we are doing next. I will then start two new chemo drugs by iv port infusion tomorrow afternoon. I will post as soon as I find out what they are and what the plan is. This is just the next step in the journey, I'm not thrilled but it's what we've got to do! Thanks for all the calls and texts already, Heather.

Serious!

2009-04-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

I'm serious about getting together a group for the "adventure cleanse". Here's Kris's blog to see kind of what it is. http://crazysexylife.com/2009/the-officical-adventure-cleanse-start-date-may-11th/

PET Scan Monday

2009-04-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

Well, I had my monthly doctors appointment on Tuesday and my Ca 27.29 tumor marker levels in my blood were elevated again this month. They went from 52 in February, to 85 in March, now to 118 in April. It doesn't necessarily mean anything yet but we are going to do a PET scan on Monday to see if there is something somewhere causing the levels to rise. Again it could be nothing but I don't ever seem to get that case. I do feel pretty good. I am still fighting the fatigue but I have been exercising every day and that is helping.

The raw diet is going great. I have even gone rawer if that's a word. I'm about 95+ % raw every day. I am going to participate in an "Adventure Cleanse" starting May 11th. Kris Carr who wrote the Crazy Sexy Cancer books is doing this cleanse as part of her new book she is writing. I belong to her website and I signed up to be part of the study for May. It's pretty much the same thing I am doing now but just cutting back on a few fruits that have high glycemic indexes. Sugar feeds cancer even if it's natural sugar. That's my downfall in this raw diet. If I'm going to "cheat" I eat a whole pineapple, not Reeses Peanut Butter cups which would have been my choice before. But since I should be cutting back on the natural sugar too I suppose I will need to cut back on the really sweet fruits.

I do eat a gigantic salad every night for supper, full of raw vegetables; organic baby greens, butter lettuce, zucchini, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, red onion, alfalfa sprouts (that I grew myself in a jar)... But the key to my salad is the dressing!! If anyone would like to try it, it's absolutely fabulous!! Matt and I drink it out of the bowl when we finish the salad. I wouldn't be able to do this without a good healthy dressing because I've been a ranch girl my whole life!!
Anyway, here's the recipe, it's very watery so you need to use quite a bit and keep stirring your salad. Let me know if you make it and like it!! It's actually a twist on the Olive Garden Italian dressing that I have made raw and healthier. You also want to put it in a jar or something in the fridge and shake it up good every time you use it.

2 cups Apple Cider vinegar ( I use Braggs from Hy Vee in health food section or Natural Food Store)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup agave nectar (also from HyVee or Natural Foods)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil organic if possible dark bottle the best
1 T fresh minced garlic
1 T fresh squeezed lemon juice
2t dried parsley
1/2 t dried oregano
2 shakes red pepper flakes or powder
2 t sea salt

Blend in the blender and refrigerate for an hour. Shake every time. It's delicious. Don't worry about the olive oil it's good for you! It's very tangy. It's also good on a bowl of just broccoli, cauliflower and carrots for an afternoon snack, I do that almost every day!!!

Love, Heather.

PS. If anyone wants to do the Adventure Cleanse with me starting May 11th-June 11th let me know and we'll start a group and do it together. It's not hard and I promise you'll feel great and lose about 10 pounds!!!!

Dr. Copur, Eileen, and me...

2009-03-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

here's a shot from last month's appointment that I just hadn't got up yet. My hair has grown a little since then.

Just checking in...

2009-03-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

Wow it's been a busy month since I've been on here. We went to Disney on our wish trip the first of March. It was awesome! The kids loved it. We were able to go to all four Disney parks, of course the girls liked Magic Kingdom the best because of the princesses and the castle. The boys liked Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom the best I think. They like the rides. I went on the Tower of Terror with the boys and it was pretty fun, kinda scary but we loved it. We took a car trip to Cocoa Beach for the day so the kids could see the ocean, I think that was one of my favorite parts because it was so beautiful and relaxing. We probably missed out on a lot of places but we had to take it easy because I got tired out so much. It was definetely a wonderful experience for all of us! Thanks so much to everyone who helped make it possible for us to go!

I'm finishing recovering from my last surgery a week and a half ago. That should be my last surgery and now I can concentrate on getting back to normal. I'm still on the oral chemo, 3 pills a day, and it's still pretty difficult with the fatigue. I hope once I'm all healed I can start getting some energy back. I did have a CT scan on the 13th and they couldn't find any sign of mets anywhere, which pretty much means either the tumor I had is gone or is so small that they couldn't find it. That's super news! I have my monthly appointment at the treatment center tomorrow for my checkup, but I think they want to keep going with the oral chemo so nothing comes back or new tumors don't start.

I'll add a couple of pictures from Disney, I have been too tired to start editing them yet but I'll grab a couple. By the way, diet is doing great! I was very impressed with Disney that there was so much fresh fruit and veges available I never had to eat anything the whole week that wasn't on my raw food plan! Right now I'm reading, "The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell Ph.D and also Tragedy's Gift by Kevin Sharp.

Thanks for checkin in on me, Heather.

Awesome new song...

2009-02-18T09:04:00.001-08:00

You can click on the link if you want to see the video...

Fight Like a Girl (Bomshel)

Video Code provided by MusicRemedy.Com

Starting a new week.

2009-02-15T20:25:00.000-08:00

I have blood draw on Tuesday and hopefully my white count will be back up. Tanner turns 11 tomorrow, wow if that doesn't seem crazy! We had a little party for him tonight with the wr family with fresh fruit and raw chocolate sauce from pure maple syrup and raw cocoa powder, instead of cake. It was good. I gave him the decision and that's what he chose.

My energy level seems to be up a little so hopefully that gets even better. I found Dr. Ruth Heidrich on the internet, she's a 73 year old marathon runner, vegan and breast cancer survivor. I ordered her book so I'll be interested what I learn from that. Here's something from her website;

Ten Rules To Save Your Life

1. Eat a diet of fruits and vegetables, preferably organic.

2. Eat them raw as much as possible.

3. Eat them whole, never processed or refined.

4. Emphasize high-antioxidant foods: berries, leafy greens, and add nuts/seeds

5. Make your beverage water and/or green tea.

6. No drugs including caffeine.

7. No alcohol or cigarettes..

8. Exercise daily, time and intensity depending on your level of fitness.

9. Sleep should follow natural rhythm with no alarm clocks or other disturbances.

10. Breathe air as clean and pure as possible.

Not like it's new stuff we didn't already know. Anyway, here's a picture I found on another cancer girl's blog. I liked it so here it is to share... Heather.

Trying to upload the video

2009-02-12T11:35:00.000-08:00

http://www.nebraska.tv/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?ClipID1=3439668&h1=Big%20Picture%3A%20Women%20and%20Cancer&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=158433&LaunchPageAdTag=News&activePane=info&rnd=48395887

Reading again...

2009-02-12T11:18:00.000-08:00

Well, last night I was rereading Kris Carr's first book, "Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips" when I came upon a quote of hers that really hit me.
"Incurable isn't a declaration, it's a Dare!" I've decided that's my new philosophy on this whole deal, even if they say they can't cure me my goal is to prove the statistics wrong. She also says,

"Some of you may have been stamped with an expiration date that just doesn't jive with your future plans. Like an old carton of milk in the back of the fridge, you've been told that your days on the shelf are numbered. If I were your angel, I would remind you that nobody can predict the future. Don't be gunned down by what you hear. It's just information. It's not impossible."

I recommend this book to anyone not just us cancer folk, she lays out the nutrition for you exactly how I eat now and how we should all eat. Let me know if anyone wants to borrow my copy. :)

Well off to the track to walk, have a good afternoon before the snow! Oh yeah, and hey cancer, I triple dog dare you! (Ya it's okay, go ahead and say it, I know I'm a big dork!)

Happy Valentines Day early...

2009-02-11T19:50:00.000-08:00

Hi, just wanted to share a couple of pictures of my niece Gracee. She came over today to visit so we went out to the studio for about 20 minutes and took some Valentines pictures of her. Also, if you get a chance to see NTV news tonight at 6 and 10 I was in an interview for the treatment center and my nurse navigator Eileen. It's part of the Women and Health series they are doing on NTV. Here is the link to the article http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=9830029

the video will probably be on their website http://www.nebraska.tv/ tomorrow or so.

Have a good Valentines day. My white count was way back down again so I've got to take it easy and try to stay away from germs this week. Hopefully bring it back up by next week so I don't have to get any shots. Heather.

P.S. did you get a juicer yet???

Go go green magic!

2009-02-07T12:37:00.000-08:00

just two quick things, wow my green juice tastes really good today 28oz.plus what looks like a layer of pond scum on top, and the 5th grade boys basketball picture is done and you can just download it off of here or off of facebook, i put on the high resolution. i got a lot of good pics of the boys playing so i will post those when they are done. Have a good day. Heather.

No hair, lots of vegetables and exercise!

2009-02-06T18:27:00.000-08:00

Well I can't believe it's February already. It seems like the time goes so fast. Course when one sleeps until 11 most days I suppose the days would go fast. I can't wait for a day when I can get up early and stay up and not have to go back to bed! It's in my future soon I just know it! The increase in the oral chemo has started to leave some effects of fatigue and the mysterious missing pigment polka dots on my arms. It's crazy what the drug does taking the pigment out of my skin color and out of my hair, which by the way I finally shaved. Oh well, no tears this time, don't even miss it.

I'm really getting into this diet, loving the vegetables and fruit, especially the fresh juice! Right now I am reading a few books by Dr. Russell Blaylock, his website is http://www.russellblaylockmd.com/

he has done so much research on cancer and nutrition it's just amazing. I am learning so much more and applying it to my own eating and for Matt and the kids. I'm gonna kick this cancers butt no matter what!!!! One book that is extremely important I recommend is called Excitotoxins, which discusses how horrible MSG is in most processed foods even if the label says "Contains no MSG", it's scary what it's doing to us and our children. I recommend it for everyone to read. I will never buy a package of frozen chicken nuggets or anything of the sort again!!!!! Much less do I ever care if I have another diet pepsi. Now if you know me well that last statement is fairly shocking, but I mean it!

I've been trying to ease back into the exercising when I'm not too tired. Thanks to the nice days I have been able to get up to the track at the hs to walk/run some days. The other days I am loving the WII Fit. The boxing is of course my favorite. I am also back into the Turbo Jam again, but being careful on my port side, (I promise Dr. C). It just makes me feel so much better. Hopefully once I get my health and fatigue under control I can start taking pictures. I hope that's soon.

Here's a picture of my salad from tonight. I just snapped it with my little tiny Olympus camera, it was just so pretty full of colors. I know it's kind of strange taking pictures of my food but I miss doing it. Also, here's a picture of my Turbo Jam lady Chalene Johnson. I have her on my desktop right now to motivate me to try and workout when I feel good enough. Her picture is my goal of what I want to look like someday, she is in such great shape!!! However it will take like 16 years to grow my hair that long again since it's not even peach fuzz yet.

Hope you are all enjoying this weather! Heather.

Good results.

2009-01-26T15:36:00.000-08:00

First of all here is a quote that was on the homepage of a website I frequent inspired by the book "Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips" by Kris Carr. The website I go to is mycrazysexylife.com . There are a lot of people on there with and without cancer and many people who are avid juicers and raw foodists also. I meet a lot of good people on there and learn a lot too.

"Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it."~Oprah Winfrey

Thanks Oprah, I'm on the second time and I better do better this time huh? I'm doing everything I can this time; ie; whole crazy nutrition turnaround and juicing.

Also, I had my CT scan on Friday. The tumor in my chest is still there and it hasn't shrunk since the last CT scan two months ago. It's good news though because it is still under control as it is not growing and it doesn't have any new friends. :) Also, I see the doctor tomorrow but I think I am still going to be getting off of the Taxol (nasty infusion chemo) and upping the dosage of the Sutent (nasty oral chemo; however does not require being poked in the chest and sitting hooked to a chair for two hours almost every Tuesday). :) So granted the side effects don't get too bad on the Sutent this will be the plan for as long as it works.

Anyway, I am extremely fatigued just about every day but I would like to go back to work this Spring maybe a day or two a week if I can swing it. I'll let you all know when I get to that point.

Have a good week, listen to Oprah, read a book about juicing, and eat lots of raw fruits and vegetables! Heather.

Very tired but feeling pretty good.

2009-01-19T18:16:00.000-08:00

I have been super tired lately but feeling pretty good health wise. I am going for my CT scan on Friday to see what progress we have made the last two months. Say a prayer that the tumor is gone so I can get off the taxol. It eats up my white blood cells and thats why I've had 5 shots in the last two weeks. So not fun! I know upping the Sutent dosage (oral chemo) will make me more tired but hopefully I can adjust well.
I am really enjoying this raw food diet. I feel like I'm doing my part to help fight this! I am eating so much healthy food and NO processed food! If anyone is interested in reading about it go to www.rawfooddetoxdiet.com or google raw food diet. Just in case you're curious what I eat here's what I had today;
First thing: 24 oz. juiced apple, lemon, kale and celery
5 oranges and 1 banana
raw cold broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots
some egg whites
treat; some 85% organic dark chocolate green and black brand.

We got a Jack La Lanne juicer for Christmas and I use it every morning. There are so many health benefits to juicing, just finished reading the Juicing Bible. Very interesting.

Will let everyone know how my CT scan turns out. This is my week off taxol and hope never to return. Have a good week.

Heather..

Happy New Year...

2009-01-09T12:41:00.000-08:00

I was able to have chemo last week and this week. However, my white count was down again so I got to have shots of Neupogen this week on Wednesday and Thursday to boost my white count. Hopefully it works so that I can still have chemo next week. They already said I will be getting the shots next week too. The Neupogen stimulates the bones to release new white blood cells so my count should go up. This week went pretty well other than that except I'm extremely tired today. I keep laying down so I'm not getting a whole lot accomplished today.

I went to Omaha yesterday to see the surgeon about finishing the reconstruction, I will probably be doing that surgery in February or March. I'm anxious to get it done and finish the whole surgery stuff.

My hair is falling out quite a bit these days. I think it's about time to say goodbye to it and just shave it. I was doing the comb over onto the right side, now the left side is going. Oh well, I'm ready for something different. I'm the lady of many hairdos.

That's about all for now. Hope you all have a good weekend.

Heather.

Merry Christmas late...

2008-12-27T15:07:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a good holiday. I did but the week didn't start off so great. I went in for treatment on Tuesday and couldn't have it because my white blood cell count had gotten too low. They sent me home and I go back again this Tuesday and hope it's back up. Dr. Copur did say he would like to get me off of the Taxol and just raise my Sutent dosage maybe in another month. We'll have to see what the next CT scan says at the end of January. If it all goes well, then I will just take the higher dose of the oral chemo everyday and wouldn't have to do the infusion chemo on Tuesdays. That would be great if I could do that. I don't want to get my hopes up either because I don't want to be disappointed if it doesn't happen.

I've been bad about posting lately. I've just been so tired. The fatigue is the worst side effect of the chemo so far. Also, I quit drinking diet pepsi almost two weeks ago so I'm sure the lack of caffeine is contributing to it. For anyone who knows me well you know how much I loved my diet pepsi! I've just been doing a lot of reading lately and trying to do as much as I can to improve my health.

I started a "raw food diet", which consists of all raw foods such as fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, dried fruit (without added sugar) and nuts. I have read two books this month about it; Living on Live Food, by Alissa Cohen, and The Raw Food Detox Diet, by Natalia Rose. They both stress eating all fruits and vegetables, (no cans or jars), and a little bit of nuts and sprouts. Alissa feels people should eat 100% raw where as Natalia is more for a transition to raw foods and talks about people being 85-100% raw. I have been doing this for almost two weeks and I have already noticed an improvement in my skin and have even lost a couple of pounds. They both believe in not cooking food because it destroys enzymes. I do steam my zucchini at supper because I just can't eat everything cold. There are many health benefits from eating this way. One of the most important things about it is cutting out all processed foods becuase they contain so many preservatives and sugars. Anyway, it may not be for everyone but I hope it helps me.

My hope angels are amazing! Not only do they surprise me every week at chemo with a present, on Christmas I received a very special gift. I love it, it is beautiful! Thank you so much, I was so surprised to receive it. I really appreciate all you do for me! It all makes me feel so special and loved!

Hope everyone has a safe New Years! Heather.

I miss taking pictures!!

2008-11-24T17:26:00.001-08:00

I was pretty tired today after going to a baptism and a birthday party this weekend. But I decided to take the girls out and clean a little at the studio. It's amazing how many crickets can end up out there after the studio being left alone so long. After cleaning I took a couple of pictures of the girls before we came in for supper. Just thought I would share a few since I'm not working and posting pictures in the client galleries. I don't even have to beg, the girls love getting their picture taken. Chemo tomorrow so hope it goes well, next week is my week off! Heather.

Gotta have a little fun...

2008-11-20T17:18:00.000-08:00

Well chemo went pretty well Tuesday, I can tell I am more tired this week I think it just keeps adding up. I've probably been trying to do too much and I get even more exhausted. Anyway, I decided to go get some fresh air Wednesday night and sit in the deer stand by myself. It was so nice and peaceful out there, it was a nice day too so it felt really good to get out. It's so relaxing to sit out there where the only noise is the squirrels crunching as they run in the leaves and of course the occasional shot in the distance. I took my camera of course because I love taking wildlife pictures. I got a couple of some does and fawns, and a few of the pretty sunset through the trees. Right before dark I saw a 4 by 4 buck come out of the trees and stop right out in the cornfield straight in front of me. I figured it was the only chance to shoot one to fill my permit for this year so I decided to shoot. He ran a long ways and went into the trees so I assumed I missed. My brother in law picked me up and we went to look for blood but we couldn't find any. Of course it was pitch dark by that time. Anyway, he went back this morning and he looked right where I told him it ran into the trees and he found it. I hit him right behind the front leg but he must have just ran like crazy. So I am including those pictures too, but since it was today I didn't have my hunting clothes on, so I look kind of silly in my regular clothes with a deer.

I'm so glad I got to go out, laying around in the house gets pretty old. Hope I don't upset anyone that doesn't like hunting with these pictures. Thanks, Heather.

Hope for Heather website

2008-11-17T13:42:00.000-08:00

I've had several people ask me for the Hope for Heather website. Thanks to Lisa Hermann there is a website that is organized with all the things people are doing to help us out. We really appreciate everything everyone is doing! Some people have asked about bringing meals, there is a calendar on the website that people can sign up to bring a meal if they want. It's been working out great and it really helps to get through the week especially when I'm tired.
It is http://julius.centura.k12.ne.us/~hermann_l/Hope%20for%20Heather/Welcome.html

I have chemo again tomorrow, #5. I am trying to get caught up with editing from the weddings I did back when I was still working. I finished Erin and Andrew and am almost done with Kelle and Matt. I will finish them tonight. Then all I have left is Jennifer and Riley and I will be caught up. Hope everyone else is having a good week! Heather.

Fourth Treatment

2008-11-11T17:00:00.001-08:00

First of all I want to thank everyone who came to the scrapbook day on Saturday. It was so much fun and so fun to see everyone there. I really appreciate everything that was done to plan and pull off such a wonderful event! Thanks to all the people who donated baskets and raffle items. It was amazing!

I had treatment 4 today. It went better than any of my other ones because they changed my premeds a little so I wasn't so tired and anxious today. It is much easier to go in if I know it's not going to be so bad. My first CT scan is scheduled for December 5th. They will be checking for any change in the tumor size, Dr. C thinks the chemo will have taken care of the tumor in my chest. However, I will still have to stay on this chemo anyway because the cancer will just come back if I stop.

Also, thanks to those wonderful Hope Angels whoever they are, they visited today and brought me some pumpkin pie room sticks and a package of broccoli cheese soup. Thanks! The sticks are already making the kitchen smell good.

Angie took me to treatment and to my heart scan today. We had a pretty fun day minus the chemo part. Thanks so much Ang for spending the day with me! She took a couple of pictures of me today to share... me and my wonderful chemo pump and me and Dr. C.

Thanks, Heather.

my lil punkins

2008-10-27T18:28:00.000-07:00

well they're not mine but they are my nieces. i took about 20 minutes and took some pictures of my nieces today in a real pumpkin. i hope this chemo goes well and things get better so I can go back to work someday. i will miss it terribly if i can't take pictures. i enjoy it so much. anyway, here's some to show.... i go to chemo tomorrow so we'll see how number 3 goes...

heather.

After round 2

2008-10-22T07:28:00.000-07:00

I'd have to say I'm the luckiest girl in the world! ( except for the whole cancer thing, that's not so great.) However, I have the greatest friends and support system ever! When I got to chemo yesterday I already had a present and a rose waiting for me. My hope angels were at it again and brought me the most beautiful bracelet with the saying, "Let go and let God". I'm still trying to figure out who they are. The rose was from Angie who I couldn't do this without! Thanks to everyone, the meals and all the support has been so wonderful.

I don't feel too awful bad yet after the second treatment. I don't feel as good as last week but I assumed that would happen. I'm going to try and go walk on the indoor track at the high school today ( I wonder why?) this rain is driving me nuts. Walking helps the muscles work through after the taxol settles in them. I just wish I could do it outside and get fresh air too!

I'll try to post more often this week.... Thanks, Heather.

Starting Chemo!

2008-10-14T09:51:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm sitting in the chair at the treatment center waiting to get hooked up. I will get my first treatment of Taxol here and starting taking my Sutent pills today also. My "hope angels" were here already and delivered me a really neat present. Thanks so much girls I love my present and I really appreciate you thinking of me today!!! Hopefully I tolerate these meds well! Here's our new picture of the Huxtables and us. Will let everyone know how treatment went! Love, Heather.

Had a great day!

2008-10-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

I had an all day wedding today and I had a great time. I love my job and I enjoy working with people and capturing moments for them. It just doesn't seem right if I can't continue doing it. Thanks so much to Kelle and Matt for the wonderful day, your pictures look awesome and I can't wait to get them edited. I had a wonderful time today, it was what I needed to get my mind off of things and I really enjoyed you two and your wedding party!! Thanks again! Heather.

Brain scan clean!!

2008-10-03T20:29:00.001-07:00

The brain scan turned out good. There was no cancer in there. So this is the plan for the next week;
Monday;CT scan
Tuesday; meet with dr and surgeon in omaha for followup
Wednesday; surgery in GI to put in a new port
Thursday; maybe rest?
Friday; more tests

then the next week they will start me on a clinical trial chemo regimen. They will be giving me taxol and one other drug; either avastin or sutent. I will have chemo once a week for three weeks in a row and then one week off. Then i will start over and keep doing this forever unless something else comes along that looks better for my case or else this one is not working. So that's my new plan. Doesn't sound like a lot of fun but it's my plan for now. I'm not sure how I will be feeling on these new drugs but it sounds like the nausea won't be as bad. I'll keep you posted... thanks, Heather.

Newest info

2008-10-02T07:05:00.000-07:00

Well the biopsy results came back yesterday and they weren't so good. The cancer has come back and spread to the lymph nodes. I am going in today (Thursday) for an MRI of the brain. I meet with my doctor on Friday to decide which treatment they are going to start. If it is in the brain they will do just radiation, and if it's not they will do chemo and radiation. I probably won't be working other than finishing my weddings for this year. My doctor says now that it has come back and shown up elsewhere that it is not curable anymore. They will just keep treating it every time it shows back up. I will write in again after I get the MRI results back. Thanks, Heather.

After most recent checkup.

2008-09-27T19:09:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a really long time. I was feeling great the middle of summer and into the beginning of school. I've been gradually getting more tired over the last month. I had my 9 month checkup a couple of weeks ago. My tumor marker CA 27.29 went up to 76. My baseline is 23, it was 33 in May. My doctor was a little concerned about the increase so I had a PET/CT scan on Wednesday. I had two lymph nodes light up in the scan that they considered suspicious. I met with the surgeon on Friday and I am going to have outpatient surgery on Monday to remove the one lymph node from my neck. They will biopsy it and I should know by Tuesday afternoon if is cancerous or not. They said it may not be anything.

I haven't been working the last couple of weeks. I have been so stressed with these tests I just haven't been able to handle anything. I will try and return some messages before I go in for the surgery but I'm not sure where to put appointments until I get these results back. If it turns out to be nothing then I will just go about regular scheudling. If it comes back positive I will have to meet with my oncologist and determine a new course of treatment.

Hope this fills everyone in and I'm sorry I've been MIA lately. I hope to get through this and get back to normal. Thanks for everything, Heather.

Good results!!

2008-06-02T11:14:00.001-07:00

Sorry it has taken me so long to post back. My test results were all good and I go back in September for the next check up. I am feeling much better now, this last surgery really knocked me down for a while. The last couple of weeks I have been feeling good and exercising which has made me feel even better. I was kind of out of it for a while after surgery during the end of April and the first couple weeks of May. I couldn't deal with anything and I'm sorry if I haven't gotten back to some of you that have called. I am back to work and back to being positive again now that I feel better!! It feels good to be taking pictures again! I shot a wedding last Saturday and I really enjoyed it! Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers, Heather.

Tests done!

2008-05-12T20:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I had my blood work and x-ray done today. Now begins the waiting for the results. Hopefully everything is ok but I don't see the doctor until Monday. I've been working on feeling better, trying to get out and walk and focus on nutrition. I'm going to start pictures next week, I just can't seem to focus on anything until I get this check up over with. :) I'll post as soon as I hear something. Heather.

After latest surgery

2008-04-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

I went to Omaha last Monday to have my final reconstruction surgery. It went pretty well except I have been lying in the recliner since then and still have my drain tubes which I can assure you I hope I never need them again for anything. Hopefully I will get them out tomorrow. I haven't been able to do any work or editing in the mean time especially since the pain medication has kept me pretty groggy. If you're waiting on editing I hope to get it done by the end of the week. Once I get these tubes out it will be easier. I will be going back to work the week of May 12th unless I have any complications.

I'm coming up on my year diagnosis date, (May 14th) which I still can't believe it's been that long. I have my 6 month oncology check May 12th to check bloodwork and possible x-ray to make sure nothing is back. I haven't been feeling well on the whole for a while anyway, so I hope that's not related.

Also, I think there is something wrong with the comment area on here, I am getting a lot of generated comments that have to do with virses so don't click on any of them. Just email me with a comment so you don't risk your computer. Thanks, Heather. hgfotography@gmail.com

My style...

2008-03-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

As I was editing some pictures today, a couple of pictures caught my attention. These are pictures I really enjoy. I love the pictures that aren't perfect smiling looking at the camera pictures. I like the creative crops even cutting the top of the head! Just thought I'd share. :)

New options...

2008-03-12T07:07:00.000-07:00

Well, since I've moved in I haven't really felt good enough or had the time to work on my different areas for pictures in the shooting room. Now that I am starting to feel better I'm starting to get some of those done. I like using muslin backdrops but I love the crisp clean look of paper too. There are a few more areas I plan to have ready by summer but for now here's some shots with some of the different colors and areas. I still need to post some examples of the new chocolate brown color I got but I haven't had a chance yet. I also have been creating some new borders, here is Tobeigh with the butterfly border I designed. It would look nice around your photo for scrapbooks or frames. Let me know if you'd like me to use any of my borders on your photos.

Feel free to suggest what you'd like me to use for backgrounds or props when you come in for your session. I am very open to what you like or have seen on my site and I want you to be happy with your images. Don't be afraid to speak up. :) Heather.

Blue paper...

2008-03-11T08:17:00.000-07:00

I finally hung the blue paper yesterday and I love it! It's so vibrant. Here's a couple shots from yesterday. It must have been "beautiful big blue eyes day" yesterday. Brady is the boy with frosting on his face from eating his "one" year cake at the studio, also he matched the new blue with his Gap sweatshirt. Hannah is the pretty little girl with the personalized quilt her grandma made for her. Many of you might recognize her from the big canvas print I have at the studio on the easel from her newborn shoot.

I'm fighting another cold and I sound terrible but I really don't feel that bad, except for about 5 am when I wake up to take more Dimetapp. :) Hope everyone has a great week!

New Pink Paper

2008-03-03T18:45:00.000-08:00

I just got my roll of pink paper in last week and it's so fun to use! Here's a picture of Ann Marie on the pink, she was really working the camera!

I got a roll of blue also but I haven't had a chance to hang it yet.

Also, I turned a picture vintage with some texture of Annie and her brother Louis. The sailor suit was his daddy's when he was young. I thought the texture was kind of cool to make it look old. Another picture I am adding is of Owen and Ian, two cousins who had a quick session last weekend.

Been a while!!

2008-02-24T17:03:00.001-08:00

It's been a while since I've posted. I guess I'm trying to adapt to working again and trying to balance everything. I still get tired easily but it's getting better. I have had a lot of aches in my arms and legs lately, I hope I'm not coming down with something.

I've done some fun sessions lately; Macy in the polkadots was so cute and super easy to photograph. Here's a couple of my favorites from her session. Also, I had a wedding yesterday and I'll share a couple from it too. Here are a few of my favorites just from glancing through them since it will take me a while before they are all done. Luckily, Lindsey and Chad were easy going and let me drag them to the side of the Liederkranz for a picture on the stairs. I could have spent hours downtown grand island doing fun urban shots!! I think I am going to get a large one of them on the stairs for my studio, maybe even 20 by 24! Which one should I put up? Hope you like, Heather.

Templates for Easter and Valentines

2008-02-02T19:34:00.000-08:00

I have been working on designing some templates for Valentines Day and Easter. I have also received some that other photographers have designed and graciously shared. Here's some examples in case you're coming for pictures soon and would like some cards.

Starting to feel better

2008-01-31T18:37:00.000-08:00

I'm starting to get a little more energy back. By evening I'm pretty much done in but during the day I have a lot more energy. I won't be having the second surgery until more like April or first week of May so in the mean time I'll be able to do lots of appointments. I'll be looking forward to February appointments! I've done one appt. so far and here is one little boy from their session. This is Max, he is 9 months.

DONE!!

2008-01-14T16:42:00.000-08:00

I finally finished radiation on Friday. Woo hoo!! I'm very excited to be done. I am still extremely tired but at least I'm almost finished with all of this. I will have my other minor surgery probably in the end of February or beginning of March. I will be working again starting in February. Hopefully by April I will be full time again. I did get to take some pictures of my nephew after his birthday party and it's just so fun to do babies. He just turned a year the day after Christmas and he's so cute with his little chubby tummy. You'll have to look at them on the client gallery page, he did such a good job.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T20:12:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all of you! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas or holiday! I haven't gotten our cards out yet so they'll be nice and late. I have 7 more radiation treatments left hopefully unless they decide to do more, I will know next week. I'm still very tired but I am in pretty good spirits. Even though I haven't been working I got to do some engagement pictures for one of my April brides since they were home over break. They were very fun to work with and I am looking forward to doing their wedding. Even with being tired out from radiation it was so nice to do a session because it reminded me how much I love taking pictures and how happy I will be to be back at work again. I thank all of you for being so understanding and patient throughout this whole journey, I'm looking forward to it being over. I will be happy to get back to all of your children again. Heather.

December 19th

2007-12-19T15:50:00.000-08:00

I'm half done with radiation!! I get Christmas and New Years off and I should be done with this part by January 11th. Then Dr. Bolton said he may try and do some chest wall radiation in after these 30 are done. He thinks that's the most likely place it could come back. I'm looking forward to Christmas and the kids are really excited. The presents under the tree are just torchering them. Hope everyone has a good holiday! Heather.

December 12th

2007-12-12T21:18:00.000-08:00

I'm 1/3 of the way done with radiation!! 10 down 20 to go. Seems like a lot but it's going fairly fast. Sage turned 5 yesterday which seems unreal. I don't know where the time goes. I feel like this year has gone by so fast. The kids are all feeling better and I didn't get it so hopefully we stay healthy for a while. That's about all I know, nothing else going on. Hope everyone is getting their Christmas shopping done, I know I'm not and I'm running out of time. Heather.

December 5th

2007-12-05T13:45:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been a while again. I started radiation last week, 5 down 25 to go. I've been very tired with it so far. I haven't been working and now we've got sick kids. I took Cauy and Sage in today and Cauy has ear infection and sinus infection and Sage has strep throat. So that'll be fun, the doctor put all 4 kids and me on antibiotics. He was worried that I would get it and I suppose that's the last thing I need right now.

We're just using our cell phones now so the 583-6744 number won't work anymore. Hope everyone else is doing good! Heather.

November 20

2007-11-20T17:45:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted for a while because I've been having a hard time. I think it's all gotten to the point where it's hitting me all at once. I have tried to be as positive as i could to this point but i have been an emotional wreck lately. I haven't hardly been working because I just haven't been able to deal with anything. I think the stress of working has been too much with finishing chemo, getting sick, and all the trips to Omaha lately. Now I start radiation next week and that will be 5 days a week for 7 weeks. I just feel bad that I am not able to do very many appointments but I suppose I need to concentrate on getting healthy and not overstressing myself. Thanks so much for understanding, and i look forward to doing all of your pictures when I can. Heather.

November 4th

2007-11-04T17:37:00.000-08:00

Things aren't going so well I guess on account of I've been in the hospital for 2 days. I came in yesterday morning to meet dr. Copur to since I had gotten so sick with the horrible cough. I knew i was worn out but i didn't realize how much. They admitted me into the hospital, then drew my blood. My white count was all the way down to 1.1. That was why I couldn't fight off the cold. They gave me a couple of neupogen shots to boost my count. It was up to 2.4 this morning. Hopefully it will be higher tomorrow. I should be getting out sometime early tomorrow. I will probably have to take it easy for a couple of days.

Anyway, the grand island hospital is brand new and awesome. i'm on the 6th floor and i have a great view of town and trees. my room is huge and i'm pretending i'm on vacation. everythings great except for the whole iv thing in my arm and the constant coughing. i think i'll forget the iv on my next vacation.

Nov. 1

2007-11-01T09:55:00.000-07:00

I'm done! I had my last chemo last Wednesday and it was by far the worst. I got dehydrated an had to go in for iv fluids on Monday. Now I have another horrible cough for the third time this fall. I am so tired of getting sick and just ready for this all to be over. Today I actually feel decent for the first time since last week, except for the cough of course, it's kind of irritating.

I start radiation in a couple of weeks and starting on the way down the hill. I'm going to try to go back to work this week and see how that goes. I will try to get as many people in for Christmas pictures as I can over the next six weeks.

Friday, October 19th

2007-10-19T17:13:00.000-07:00

Well I went back to work this week and boy do i feel it. I am so sore in my arms and shoulders. I thought I could do it but it's harder than I thought. I have a wedding tomorrow so I'm home resting now. I did manage to finally get my nephews pictures done yesterday. You know how the story goes about having a plumber for a husband well it's kinda the same story, they are always the last to get their toilet fixed or their pictures done. Anyway they sure are cute. Here's one from the session,

October 16th

2007-10-17T17:59:00.000-07:00

I am having a pretty good week, still got the cold but not too bad. I did a couple of senior sessions this week, Blake and Ben. I get tired so quickly but I'm glad to be back at work.

October 15th

2007-10-15T18:09:00.000-07:00

I went to Omaha today to my doctor's appt. I feel pretty good today. Took a couple of pictures of Sage tonight when we were cleaning up the studio. I'm hoping I start to feel better, I'm itchin to start taking pictures for Christmas.

October 14th take 2

2007-10-14T16:26:00.000-07:00

okay beware pictures below do not contain hair......

October 14th

2007-10-14T12:31:00.001-07:00

just one of something new, new blend too. what do you think? color or sepia???

October 12th

2007-10-11T20:37:00.000-07:00

I've been holding off updating so I would be able to be more positive. This round of chemo after surgery was definetely not fun. I knew it would be hard but wow. Anyway, I feel a little better today except I got another cold. My next chemo is on the 24th and then i'm done, except for radiation. I am trying to get all my messages returned so if you're waiting to hear from me i'll hopefully get back to you in the next couple of days. It's been hard trying to get people called back when i don't feel good, so i'm sorry if i've left some of you out there waiting.. i hope everyone understands and when i get back to somewhat normal when chemo is over i'll do better.

i got a visit from a friend's puppy today so i used some new props on him for fun. heather.

Sept. 30th

2007-09-30T21:12:00.001-07:00

Well, I go to Omaha on Tuesday and chemo on Wed. Today we put up some shelves in the new studio. while we were out there the girls dressed up and wanted to take pics. i took about 15 pics real quick and thought i would share a couple. I am almost caught up on editing from before surgery since i haven't worked since. i am almost half way through pat and lisa's wedding and i will be done and caught up. once i get back to work in the middle of october i'll get some new stuff for everyone to look at. have a great week. heather.

Sept. 30

2007-09-29T19:05:00.000-07:00

I found out yesterday that I will have the other two rounds of chemo starting next Wednesday. I will take chemo for 6 weeks and then start radiation for 7 weeks. I was pretty disappointed that I needed to do the rest of the chemo but it's all they can do to try and prevent it from coming back is to do the best job of killing it now. I had already grown a coat of brown fuzz on my head but that will fall out again i guess. Oh well, that's what the wigs are for.

sept.22

2007-09-22T09:49:00.000-07:00

I met with both doctors yesterday in Omaha. the pathology came back good. they took out 14 lymph nodes and they were all negative for cancer. the original tumor previously thought of to be 5-6 cm from the mri was now shrunk down to .6cm. they were very happy with the results. they didn't find anything on the left side at all. now i meet with my oncologist on friday next week to see if i need more chemo. hopefully not and i can start radiation and get done with this whole thing. i am home now and taking it easy. i got one drain tube taken out yesterday but still have two left until probably tues. or wed. i'll have to make another trip to omaha to get them out. heather.

Sept. 19th

2007-09-19T19:29:00.000-07:00

Hi, well one week after surgery and I feel much better. All i have done the last week is lay in the recliner and watch tv and sleep and sleep some more. Gotta love the pain pills. We changed my drain tube dressings and i feel like a new woman. I see both doctors on Friday morning in Omaha to see how the pathology came back. I am planning on coming home Friday afternoon. I hope I can get a couple of the drains out but it's iffy. Have to wait and see. I should be home by late afternoon Friday if anyone wants to call and check in. My cell doesn't work where I am staying so I haven't been able to receive many calls. I will meet with the oncologist next week to find out whether or not i have more chemo, and when i start radiation. Will keep you updated when I find out everything. love, heather.

Sept. 15

2007-09-15T16:20:00.000-07:00

Well, i had my surgery on wednesday and they said it went well. they think they got everything but i will find out more when the pathology comes back towards thursday or friday of this coming week. i got out of the hospital this afternoon and am doing fair. i still have a lot of pain, but am keeping up on the pain killers. my armpit is really sore where they took out the lymph nodes and the drain tubes are horrible. hope i will get some of the tubes out this week, they pull like crazy. other than that i'm in pretty good spirits. heather.

Sept. 11

2007-09-11T17:43:00.000-07:00

I go in for surgery at 6 and am scheduled at 8 tomorrow morning. I should be out around 1. I will try and have someone update my blog with how everything goes. Hopefully everything will go okay. Thanks for all your prayers, Heather.

September 7th

2007-09-07T17:48:00.000-07:00

Well I had surgery on Wednesday to pull out the 4 inch piece of tubing that broke off my port, went through my heart and got lodged down by an artery. I put on a couple pictures from my xray pictures from the surgery but they didn't scan well so i had to try to fix them in photoshop. one is a close up of the artery and the long piece of tubing next to it. the other is the full picture of the chest with the lungs heart and ribs. i labeled the piece in pink.

i haven't been able to work much with all of this, but i should be starting to work again in the middle to end of october. i will be able to do christmas pictures starting then..

thanks to all of you for being so supportive, i know i haven't been very good at returning communication lately, it's just been so hard to deal with everything, it just keeps seeming to snowball.

heather.

Sept. 1

2007-09-01T15:36:00.000-07:00

Well it's been quite a week. Monday I went in for my check and had to be put on antibiotics for my cold i got over the weekend. My car quit on Tuesday right on the interstate and needed a new ignition. Wednesday I went to the plastic surgeon, waited an hour and a half for a 4 minute visit. Thursday I had to go back to the doctor for chest x ray to see why I was still so sick. Friday, the doctor calls back and says they looked at the x ray again and could see that my port had broken and the broken piece had gone down into my bloodvessel. So i had to go in to have a cat scan so they could see where it is. Now I have to have outpatient surgery next week to have the piece taken out. So anyway, my cold is better. :)

August 26th

2007-08-26T19:03:00.000-07:00

I can't even begin to thank everyone for the wonderful benefit last night. It means so much to us that so many people showed up to support us. It is just so amazing. We appreciate everything everyone has done, especially all of the people who organized the benefit. We never imagined it would turn out to be so big! You are all truly amazing!!
On another note, I came down with a horrible cold. I see the doctor tomorrow and hopefully I can get rid of this cold soon so it doesn't interfere with surgery. For those I haven't taked to, surgery is scheduled finally for September 12th in Omaha. It sounds like I will be down for about 4 weeks or so.
Thanks again for everything, Heather.

August 13th

2007-08-13T07:20:00.000-07:00

well treatment 4 is over finally. it was just about the same as number 3. i still don't feel super today but at least it's almost done. the studio is just about finished... hopefully we can get it done and move in by sunday, that's my goal at least. i'm still so tired most of the time and having a hard time getting anything done myself. i'm trying to work some but i think the further i get in this whole deal the harder it is. i just don't bounce back too great anymore. oh well, i'm sure that's to be expected. try to keep you posted. heather.

August 5th

2007-08-05T21:22:00.000-07:00

So Craig Morgan is really good in concert!! We went to the concert in Kearney tonight. It was extremely hot in the expo center so the wigs came off. Note the pic of Craig carrying our wigs to the car. We got in to the "meet and greet" backstage to meet Craig. It was a very emotional night seeing him perform "Tough" live. Here's some pics from tonight. Treatment is on Tuesday this week and I'm not looking forward to it. Oh well, at least it's the last one before surgery. Surgery tenative date is September 14th. Will find out either this Friday or next Monday for sure.

July 29

2007-07-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

I have been doing okay the last few days. My website may be down until tomorow sometime. My hosting company is transferring over everything to their new server so all the pages aren't transferred yet. It should all work tomorrow sometime.

July 25th

2007-07-25T11:11:00.000-07:00

I think I actually feel good today. I did better this time early on but the last couple of days were pretty rough. Hopefully i feel good the rest of the time until my next treatment. i go next time august 7th for the last time before surgery.

July 20th

2007-07-20T12:15:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I had chemo on Tuesday this week. I think this time is going much better than last time already. The nausea isn't as bad because i had more anti-nausea meds this time. Today the pain has settled in my jaw and neck and shoulders so that's pretty much the most of it right now. I would rather deal with that than the nausea anyday.

Dr. Copur did say on Monday that there is a slim possibility that after my next treatment and surgery that i may not have to have the last two chemo treatments after surgery. he thinks that they may not find anything left when they do the surgery. that would be wonderful because any less of this part i have to do would be just fine with me. but we won't know until the pathology after surgery comes back.

they sent in the gene test for me so we should get some results from that within the next 2-3 weeks.
i hope by sunday i will be feeling good again, i felt pretty good in between these last two treatments that i hope i do again. school is coming so fast that i want to be able to take the kids to the pool several more times.

anyway, thanks for checking in on me, heather.

July 11th

2007-07-11T13:57:00.001-07:00

THE PLUMBER IS HERE!!!!!! Can you see me jumping up and down from where you are???? I can finally order the sheet rock today! It should go pretty quickly once we get that started. At least i have been feeling good this last 6 or so days. I'm trying to get some work done. I have a couple more appointments and a wedding this week to go. I go to treatment on tuesday next week for #3. Hope it goes better than this last time. Thanks for all the support, Heather.

July 5th

2007-07-05T20:41:00.000-07:00

I made a quick trip to lincoln today to see my cousin and aunt from texas. I think i overdid a bit today, i am exhausted. Here's a quick pic of me and the girls from last night, (different wig).

The pink shirt picture of all the ladies is from last saturday's 4th of july party at our great aunt's house. thanks to all of you who have bought those shirts, everyone has been so wonderful.

also, have to post a picture of the studio in the process. hopefully it will be done here in the next month!

I feel okay today, i am just completely exhausted with today and yesterday's activities. o, the testing company called today and i was finally approved for the breast cancer gene testing by the insurance company. so i will be getting tested for that hopefully next week. they said it takes up to 21 days to get the results back. heather.

Happy 4th of July !!!

2007-07-04T10:04:00.001-07:00

I feel great today, I'm still tired but at least I feel good. Looking forward to doing something for the 4th . Had a couple of sessions yesterday that went really good. grabbed a picture of myself in one of my wigs yesterday for my profile so thought i'd share.... They get pretty hot but they really aren't as bad as I thought they would be. At least they make them look better these days. It actually looks better than my hair did before. go figure. heather.

Monday July 2

2007-07-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

Kind of a medium day i suppose, i felt okay for part of it but then had to rest again before working tonight. I get so tired on the littlest outings. I did actually do some pictures tonight which kind of takes my mind off of things for a little while. I suppose if i can handle it if i just don't get too tired.

June 30th Saturday

2007-06-30T09:39:00.000-07:00

Hey, so I feel much better today. Tried a new antinausea med yesterday that worked wonders. I don't feel like doing a whole lot but I can at least sit up and feel much better than before. I hope by this afternoon I can get out for a while, I'm tired of being in the livingroom. I will try and get some new pics up here now that I finished my last wedding I shot. It's a better day, Heather.

June 28th Thursday

2007-06-28T14:30:00.000-07:00

Well so this time was worse than last time. The nausea was bad this time. I am just so tired today and the pain and aches are terrible. My jaw and neck are really sore today. That's kind of where it started last time and then moved down into my hips and knees. I am trying to keep a positive attitude but it's just so hard when I feel like I can't hardly do anything. I hope it will be just a couple more days of this and I will feel better. Thanks for all the comments and responses on here, it makes me feel good to read them knowing I have so many people that care about me. I really appreciate it. Heather.

June 25th

2007-06-25T20:54:00.001-07:00

I saw Dr. Copur today and he was very positive that the first round of chemo shrunk the tumor way down. We can hardly even feel it now. My blood tests were good and my white cell counts were back to normal. So I am ready for round 2 tomorrow. Hope it goes well... Heather.

sunday the 24th

2007-06-24T17:27:00.000-07:00

So hey it's been a few days and an interesting few days it's been. I worked a couple of days this week and wow that tired me out. I want to stay busy and work when I can. My 33rd birthday was on Thursday. Then we had baseball that night, Saturday and Sunday. Friday night we did the Relay for Life walk in GI. It was awesome. that was my first one and it was amazing. A big thank you goes out to all the girls that help put together and walked for the Wood River "B" Busters.

So today I got rid of the little hair I had. It's all gone. So now I will be either wearing a hat or wig 24/7. It was just falling out in handfulls so it was time!! I added a picture that our daughter Sage took of me with a hat and a little headband hair deal. She took it in the kitchen so notice the wonderful photographic background of the oven and kitchen wall.

Anyway, I think I'm doing okay with it. I go to see the oncologist tomorrow and tuesday I will have my next chemo.

Thanks for reading, Heather.