Open Houses for a Cure

This year has been a whirlwind. In April, Jay and I found out we were expecting our 4th baby. We were so excited and shocked and really couldn't wait to tell the big kids. They're over the moon excited!

As the pregnancy progressed I began having some pretty significant breathing issues. It was chalked up to being pregnant by multiple doctors and I took some allergy meds and kept on with life, very winded but still going. Finally at my 20 week anatomy scan, because of my "advanced maternal age" of 37, I talked to a new MFM doctor and she referred me to an ENT to dig dipper into these breathing issues. About 2 days before that appointment I noticed a really swollen lymph node on my neck. I didn't think much of it but mentioned it to the ENT anyways. After lots of testing it turns out that I have significant narrowing in my trachea, which has made it difficult to breathe but it also showed a chain of enlarged and abnormal lymph nodes from my neck to under my arm on my left side.

I had the lymph node in my neck biopsied and on Aug 21 via a MyChart test result we found out that I have breast cancer. The next few weeks were scary and exhausting. Jay made so many phone calls and we managed to get into Duke very quickly for more testing. The diagnosis process was a challenge because of the pregnancy. I was unable to do the standard Pet scans and diagnostic imaging. So I had multiple MRIs to keep the baby safe while figuring out exactly what we were dealing with. After lots of testing and imaging the final diagnosis was Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. The cancer had spread to my lymph nodes, spine, and pelvis. This explains the unreal back pain I had been having but had thought it was just pregnancy pain. They say it's incurable but that does NOT mean untreatable. We pray everyday for complete healing.

“They say it's incurable but that does NOT mean untreatable. We pray everyday for complete healing.”

My oncology team at Duke has been wonderful. Within days of my diagnosis they were ready to start chemo. After working with my OB team they came up with a plan for treatment before baby is born. There are very few chemotherapy treatments that are considered "pregnancy safe" but there are a few. So, on September 11, I had my first chemo treatment. I have completed 3 as of now. I have trachea surgery scheduled on Oct 23rd (bc being able to breathe will really make this all so much more bearable). And my last chemo treatment before the baby is born will be 10/26. After the 4th chemo treatment we have to take a break to get my blood counts back where they need to be so that we can deliver our baby girl at around 37 weeks (around Thanksgiving). Baby girl is doing great, she IS a fighter. She is being monitored weekly now and is measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule which is such a blessing.

Once she has arrived I will have more scans done to see how my body has done with these chemo treatments and then we will make a plan for moving forward.