Kids on ice - oh, so nice!

Well, it seems that it's been quite a while since my last post and a lot has happened since then.  We are the proud parents of five kidsicles!!  That is, five frozen embryos for future use.  

Ok, so here's the back story.  For most women, estrogen is a great thing.  It is, at it's core, what makes us women, right?  However, for me and many other women with breast cancer, estrogen is trying to kill me.  While I enjoy the benefits of estrogen such as soft skin and healthy bones,  I'm pretty sure I'd rather be alive with dry skin and brittle bones. So, my doctor has decided that what's best for me is to remove my ovaries tubes at some point during this process.  That means that my ability to procreate naturally isn't an option.  So, we decided to go forward with in-vitro fertilization so that we have the option to have biological children one day.  Lucky for us, we received a scholarship from Fertile Hope to help with the costs.  Thank you, LAF!

The IVF process wasn't bad at all.  I'm not sure if it's because what I've already been through or if it was just easy for me.  Those stories of massive bloating, uncontrollable mood swings and painful injections were mere legends to me.  The most annoying part was having to get up every day at 7:30 AM to inject myself with drugs not the injecting part itself.  The needles were so thin that the shots were nearly painless.  The actual procedure involved sedatives so it was quite fun.  

I was a little bummed at first that I couldn't use my birth and pregnancy story to guilt my future children, but after all the annoyances of needles, vaginal sonograms (oops, is that TMI?), the financial burdens and all this cancer business, I'm pretty sure I have plenty of ammo to guilt our children into making their beds and doing their homework.  

Next stop...chemotherapy!

Cancer 2.0

Well, FUCK (the only appropriate word really). So, I certainly never wanted to have to write this post, but here I am, over five years after my initial breast cancer diagnosis, with a second diagnosis. Back in September, I noticed a lump on top of my reconstructed breast. After many tests and a surgical biopsy, I learned that I had breast cancer....AGAIN! It's unclear at this point whether or not this is a recurrence of the old cancer or a brand new one. Either way, it sucks....really, really hard.

The past month has been full of tests, scans and doctor visits. I am happy to say that there is no evidence of cancer anywhere in my body and three surgeries resulted in clear margins and the removal of all the cancer in my breast (along with the implant -- I'm totally uniboobing it right now. It's pretty effing awesome).

I really considered not blogging about cancer this time around, but I thought that it would be cathartic and a great way to keep people in the loop of my treatments and musings on stuff. So in the coming days I plan to share my treatment plan and other fun things like injecting myself every single day for the next three weeks in the hope to create some kidsicles. So, come by often or subscribe to my feed. And, if you'd like to read about more fun stuff like crafting or puppies and kitties, be sure to check out the Pretty Bird Press.

Much love,
Sarah