Another trip around that big fireball in the sky! As long as I'm still kicking in two days LOL! The big five-three! I know, not a "big" birthday for most, but for me it's the 4th one I've seen since they told me I wouldn't even see five-ohhhh! So every birthday for me is a huge accomplishment.
This year has been A LOT! From a major surgery I was told I would never ever qualify for, to some bucket list trips I never imagined I would ever get to go on, concerts, lots of time with friends and family, and lots and lots of chemo and trying to figure out how to keep this chick alive!
My latest adventure, Alaska, ya'll I can't even begin to tell you how magical that place is! I was very skeptical going into this trip as I am a hot weather, beach and ocean girl all the way and anyplace cold is my nemesis. So to say I was concerned about my ability to enjoy this trip was an understatement. But I packed like a champ with tons of layers, stocking hats, hand warmers, wool socks and fur lined boots and to Seattle we went to board the ship! I went on with a positive attitude and said no matter what we're going to enjoy this trip. I cannot even begin to explain to you the magical beauty of every single thing on this trip. The scenery and the wildlife was like nothing I had ever experienced before. In fact, there were several times when my friend looked at me or I to her and just asked, "is this even real life right now"! We ate the biggest crab legs I have ever seen in my life, saw a moose, watched a pod of orcas, ate a piece of a thousand year old chunk of ice from a glacier, walked a giant suspension bridge in Canada, and I overcame my fear and took a tram to the top of a giant mountain, where the views were amazing. I was never cold, the sun shone every day, and it never rained on us, which the locals at every stop were amazed by the odd weather we were experiencing. God was definitely on watching over us! It by far is now in my top three trips ever taken. Lesson learned for sure. Everyone needs to jump out of your comfort zone and try something totally new! You may just fall in love with it!
But every amazing thing must come to an end... LOL. Mine slapped me right in the face with covid and some chemo on top of it just to make things interesting. Welcome to my world haha! But here is my positive spin on that... at least it happened when I got home and not on my magical vacation! I was in bed for 7 days pretty sick.... the price you pay for magic LOL
I went back to the cancer center last week for chemo, but instead saw the oncologist and we had a conversation about my tumor marker number jumping up like crazy these last two times. It looks like the current chemo I have been on is now starting to fail me. We discussed it and it's time to switch back to the chemo pills I was on a couple of years ago (which failed after a year and a half), but we're going to add an immunotherapy to the pill protocol to see if we can get this combo to bring down the tumor marker numbers.
I am a realist and I know the amount of treatments there are for pancreatic cancer are few and far between and when we run out of first line treatments and start to circle back around to previous treatments things are going to get sketchy as hell! We better start taking them trips a little sooner and faster. With that being said, I am NEVER going to give up and will stay positive! I am hoping and praying that even though the immunotherapy has not been approved for pancreatic cancer yet, that it will work miracles like it is doing for so many other people with other cancers!
Yesterday I had a CT scan, which still does not show the cancer that we know is growing because of the tumor markers. It's just too microscopic at this time to rear it's ugly head to us. I will begin my chemo pills (as soon as insurance approves them). This seems like it's going to be a problem so please say a prayer they finally will approve them. I received my first dose of what I hope to be life extending immunotherapy yesterday! In the chemo chair for 30 minutes instead of 6-8 hours.... what a difference! I will have the immunotherapy every 3 weeks and 4 chemo pills every day. So lots and lots of prayers that this duo will bring down that tumor marker number and start killing those micro cancer cells!
Onward and upward everyone! Love your people, take the trip, eat the freakin' cake and do something out of your comfort zone! Life is a beautiful, awful, amazing, horrible, crazy thing! Go live it to the fullest before it's too late!
Love ya'll! Until next time....
