Malcolm-1 Cancer-0

Hola a todos, hope everyone is doing well!  I have officially recovered from cycle #4 of chemo!! No more Adriamycin (the red devil) and Cytoxan! Hallelujah, God is SO good!  Although there was a slight change in appointment dates from Thursday to Friday 9/24, everything was smooth sailing.  The infection fighting cell count was 2300 (from 800) which was more than enough needed in order to proceed with treatment.  Won't He do it? Big shout out and huge thank you to Kati Mitchell and Rachel Palmer for assisting with rides to and from the clinic.  I appreciate the time taken out of your schedules to help a sister out, and I also enjoyed the company 😊. Usually the day of a treatment I feel decent until about 10:00/11:00 pm the night of- so you know there was a celebration in order!  That's right! My girls and I dined in downtown Jackson to commemorate friendship and health. Malorie- we missed you! And my partner in crime joined us for dessert!  Thank you for the be

Photo credit: Murphy Mejorada Our earthbound journey is a beautiful collection of pieces that mold and sharpen our frame of mind- an endless pursuit of purpose, strength, and wisdom. Sometimes illness lurks closely behind and presents itself with a poignant sting. It rears its ugly head with the intent to shatter every fragment of hope. Yet, there are those of us who choose triumph over tragedy and prevail with an unwavering faith. Meet Dina, a 26-year-old breast cancer fighter whose name rooted in Ukrainian heritage fittingly means “power and faith.” It was slightly uncanny that an illness and social media would open the opportunity to reunite two former ballet friends, but it did! I have the great privilege and permission to share with you a piece of Dina’s journey and how she’s an inspiration to many including myself. As a portrait artist and entrepreneur, Dina’s day consists of a myriad of projects where she is constantly in a state of envisioning and creating new piece

Evening folks, Thursday August 9th Teresa and I went to the clinic prepared for Cycle #4 of chemo.  Since Dad was out of town for business, Teresa kindly volunteered her time to accompany me to this appointment.  Thank you x a million, girl!  Anyway, I always have labs drawn the same day as a potential treatment. The blood work results revealed a second drop in my infection fighting cells; it was determined that I would benefit from another Neulasta injection to beef up the cell number prior to getting the fourth hit of chemo. With our newfound spare afternoon we decided to go out for lunch and treat ourselves to pedicures.  What a crazy way to catch up! Cycle #4 of chemo will instead take place on Thursday 8/23 (*fingers crossed*) .  On the bright side after this three week delay, I'm now back on my old schedule where Dad will be in town for the majority of the chemo dates.  Thank you to those who volunteered to bring me when I found out that the schedule was initially offset.

Good news : The repeat PET scan and breast ultrasound last week revealed shrinking of the affected lymph nodes in my right armpit- the chemo is in fact working! The two masses in my right breast are minimally changed in size, but at least they are no longer growing.   Thursday August 2nd, Dad and I went through the motions of going to clinic for the fourth cycle of chemo.  I was particularly amped about this cycle because it meant that this was the last infusion of the Red Devil (Adriamycin) and Cytoxan combination.  Adriamycin is the main culprit behind the severe nausea and vomiting, strange colored urine (TMI? apologies), and hives/bruising.  As you can imagine completing 4/8 treatments was a milestone to celebrate.  Well, God had other plans. Prior to starting a single treatment, my labs are drawn to ensure that there's an adequate number of white blood cells (infection fighting cells) and stable electrolytes.  Chemo annihilates quickly dividing cells such as those that c

Outfit compliments of Jenna! Hello all, after a long hiatus from the blog- I have returned.  Things have been going well for the most part.  Pinky and I have amped up our pilates classes, I've regained most of the water weight lost from the previous treatment, and I had a great month working in Cardiology clinic with the pros. Thanks to you guys, my little record collection is growing as well!  Kelly Pip has made sure that I have an adequate amount of Disney in my life (the Lion King album rocks!), and Sharkey is hitting me with some classics- Adele 19 and Prince's Purple Rain for the win! Thank you 😘 Also had the opportunity to visit with life long friends from Baton Rouge as well.  Devynn and I met in preschool.  Pretty sure I walked up to her on the playground, called her an endearing name that wasn't her own, and kept harassing her until she became my friend.  Her mom Ms Doe (Doretha) turned into a second mom/aunt, and Marcus joined the party a few years l