One month Follow-Up... CANCER FREE!!

As promised, I have a few more details from what I wrote in my previous post.  I have been so caught up in getting back to taking make-up exams that I've yet to complete from spring semester that I've neglected everyone in blog-world.  MY APOLOGIES!! 

On September 30th, I had my one-month follow-up PET/CT and bloodwork.  It was all fine and dandy... I'm getting used to the whole process versus my first scan experience.  It helps to know what to expect.  I got my port accessed first, they took a few tubes of blood for just about every blood test imaginable, then scooted right over to get my PET/CT done.  THANKFULLY that was lil Whitney Port's LAST POKE!! They first had to do a glucose test (which was fine) then I drank a gross Tang mixture, got injected with radioactive sugar, sat in a dark room for an hour, where after 20 minutes I drank another Tang mixture..... then it was time.  ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM in and out of the tube for 20-30 minutes with some CT contrast injected (which of course, made me feel like I pee-ed my pants) and I was DONE.  Upon finishing, I got the results to most of my bloodwork from earlier, with all results falling within their "normal" ranges.  We had to wait until the Dr. Marks appt. on October 4th  to get the complete/official results but knowing the bloodwork that came back was "normal," I was able to have a bit of peace of mind.

On October 4th, we went to see Dr. Marks who gave us the fabulous results that I was cancer-free!!  Laura peeked in before he stopped by to tell us the news!!  It's the most amazing feeling to know that the 6 months of non-so-fun ABVD chemo has paid off!  They did say that I did have a little bit of residual in my lungs from the Bleo.. but I'll be fine.  Dr. Marks said I could get my port out as soon as I would like because I wouldn't have a need for it so we scheduled the appointment for 2 days later!! 

After the appointment, Mom and Dad took me to Mallorca to "get tanked"... as Dad would say!! hah  We had a lot to celebrate and a lot of amaaaizing scallops and sangria!! :) 

 We finished off our day with some retail therapy at Ross Park Mall.  Even though I don't have cancer doesn't mean retail therapy isn't a must!!  Heck, I got to keep that cancer away somehow! :)

October 6th was my port removal.  I was back at Shadyside Hospital bright and early.  Instead of having me in an outpatient room, I was in the recovery area pre and post op and therefore my parents couldn't come back to keep me company and calm while waiting :(.  I got settled in, they placed my IV and before I knew it I was in the operating room.  I was nervous as heck and my knees were knocking.  As much as all of this has made me a lot more tolerable of medical procedures on myself, I can't help my nerves.  They put a one time dose antibiotic in my IV alongside with versed and fentanyl for a conscious sedation (they said they gave me a lil more than they usually give because I was so nervous--oops).  They numbed the area with lidocaine injections, then it was a quick cut, pull, and stitch.  I didn't feel much and before I knew it, it was over.  

Friends... meet "WHITNEY PORT"!!!!

They used the same incision to take the port out that they originally made when placing the port.  Steri-strips and dissolvable stitches were used to close the incision.  I'm now trying my darndest to make that incision go away.  I don't mind it.. it's a battle scar, but let's see how well Mederma works!! 

This pic is from when I first took the Steri-strips off on October 19th (13 days after port removal).  There is a lot of dried glue and minimal bruising surrounding the incision.

 This was taken October 25th (19 days after port removal).  Glue/scab and bruising is gone with one dissolvable stitch remaining on each end of the incision.

Taken November 5th (one month after port removal).  The magic of Mederma is pretty amazing.  One dissolvable stitch remains and the incision is healing very well.

Phew, this was quite a lengthy post but I had a lot of catching up to do!! 

Happy Friday everyone!! Enjoy your weekend :)

CANCER-FREE!!!

This was a big week...

• 1 month follow-up PET/CT last Thurs, Sept 30th
• Results w Dr. Marks Mon, Oct 1st
• Port Removal Wed, Oct 6th

I just wanted to let everyone know everything went well and I AM CANCER FREE!!!  The PET/CT came back clear (with some residual in my lungs left from the Bleo, Dr. Marks listened to my lungs and I'm fine) and the bloodwork was clear as well.  I therefore was able to get my port out as soon as possible, and after the Dr. Marks appointment, we scheduled it 2 days later.  I'm in recovery mode now but recovering just fine!!  I'll post more details of all of the 3 above events at a later time.  

The next stop on my cancer journey is follow-up bloodwork, PET/CT, and appointment with Dr. Marks in 3 months (JANUARY).  I will be getting follow-up periodically for the next 5 years.

SOOO everyone put on their happy dance pants-- TERESA IS CANCER FREE!!

VOTE VOTE VOTE

Voting for the Talbots shopping spree giveaway has begun!!!! 

CLICK HERE to bring up my voting page, then click on the "like" button next to "VOTE FOR TERESA"!! 

Voting ends September 30th.  

Make sure you get your vote in and send the link to everyone you know!!

I forever thank you, Teresa

CANCER IN STYLE // I WON // VOOOOTE!!

I wanted to say a quick THANKS to Terra of STYLISH WHITE FEMALE for choosing me as one of the winners of a pair of Talbots denim and a $50 gift card!! 

The challenge: come up with an outfit incorporating a favorite pair of jeans and tell a little story about where you're going in the outfit... 

My entry:

I call my look “Neutropenic-friendly Lunch/Shopping”. In February, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. I just recently finished 6 months of chemotherapy. During the 6 months, the chemotherapy brought down my neutrophil blood cell count and caused a weakened immune system… aka “neutropenic”. I am permitted to go out in public, but have to be careful to keep a distance from strangers because I don’t know what I could catch from them. My friends and I often go on “neutropenic-friendly lunch and shopping trips” in the non-busy weekday afternoon for some AMAZING retail therapy…the BEST kind of treatment.

I included a few of my purchases in this look that I’ve acquired over the past 6 months that I LOVE to include in my everyday look and will work well into fall. 
PS. I found a lot better deals than what is listed through this site!!

From the Marc by Marc Jacobs handbag (love Marc Jacobs!), to the pearls (always a must for me!), 7 For All Mankind jeans (makes even an out-of-shape cancer patient’s butt look good!), above the knee boots (just bought this amazing Michael Kors pair), a Diane Von Furstenberg scarf (worn on my beautiful bald head), and finally… the Burberry watch that I just received as an end-of-chemo gift from my boyfriend’s aunt. The blouse is absolutely adorable, I don’t own it…but with Polyvore, we can dream. :)

Since diagnosis I continually said…
“IF I’M GOING TO DO CANCER, I’M DOING IT IN STYLE!!” 
I feel like I stuck to my word pretty well.

To read about my entire journey with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, please go towww.HLteresa.blogspot.com!!

Did I just pull the cancer card?? Yes, I’m pretty sure I did.

So what's next?? I need you to VOTE FOR ME on Red Chair Confessions (Talbots blog) on Sept 23-30th!!  My entry will go head to head against the other winners' entries...  The top 5 contestants with THE MOST VOTES will win a $250 gift card and a "special prize"!!  I need my entire support group to get behind me to help me WIN WIN WIN!  You all have been so great through the whole cancer thing, and I know you won't let me down.  

(I'm not sure if you can vote multiple times.. if so, vote as much as possible.  If not, pleeease tell everyone you know to vote for me!!... actually, tell everyone you know to vote for me, either way!!)

PS. I went to Talbots today to pick out my free pair of denim-- The ladies of Westmorland Mall's Talbots were soooo helpful and fun to play dress-up with... I chose the Signature FIt slim-leg ankle jeans (size 4)!!  They'll go great with boots, flats, or heels-- perfect in my eyes.  I'll definitely be back to visit them when I receive my $50 gift card, and hopefully the mega-prize gift card too (if I win)!!  

PICS FROM PLAYING DRESS-UP:

I'm a SURVIVOR!!

Please enjoy the video below.. I'm bringing us back to 2001 with this one.

But what can I say??

I'm a survivor
I'm not gonna give up
I'm not gon' stop
I'm gonna work harder
I'm a survivor
I'm gonna make it
I will survive
Keep on survivin'

I thought this would cause a good bit of you to smile,

a few of you to laugh, and many of you to get up and dance.

I'M DANCING... of course.

LIGHT THE NIGHT

Hello friends... I will be participating in both the Uniontown and Pittsburgh Light The Night Walks this year. Please click on the links below to access mine and my team's fundraising pages for each walk, respectively. If you are interested in joining either team, you can do so by clicking on the Team's Homepage and scrolling to the bottom and click "JOIN TEAM" (little red box). Please DONATE DONATE DONATE to my pages and/or walk with me!! WEAR PURPLE TO BOTH EVENTS!!

My Fundraising Page-- UNIONTOWN WALK, SATURDAY SEPT 25th.

Welcome to our Team's Homepage-- UNIONTOWN WALK "Team Teresa"

My Fundraising Page-- PITTSBURGH WALK, TUESDAY SEPT 28th.

Welcome to our Team's Homepage-- PITTSBRUGH WALK "LKS TAU"

You do not have to be an LKS sister to join this team. My sisters kindly set up this team for me!! We would love to have you!! :)

12th and FINAL Chemotx!!

Oh, happy day!!! It has been quite a journey from the very first day when I found a lump under my collarbone. At times, it never felt like final treatment would come.. but sure enough, I'M DONE!! The night before was seriously like the night before Christmas morning. I was so excited.

I went to the treatment dressed in head-to-toe purple. I had my purple wig, purple shirt, purple nails, purple bag, purple dressed parents, purple friends, purple cookies.. it was my purple dream come true. The treatment itself was like any other... poke "Whitney", blood tests, premeds, ABV, moonwalk down the hall with the chemo pole, D. Wait what was that?? Yes I moonwalked and it was fabulous.

I was placed in a VERY VIP room which worked out well for my many visitors of friends and Hillman staff that came by to celebrate with me. It was roomy, had a nice window to look out, a TV bigger than 4 inches, and its very own princess bed.. it was the right way go out. Since the Hillman moved some things around, it worked out to be the exact bed that I was in for my bone marrow biopsy... and oh, how we laughed about how Dad passed out onto the floor one last time (yeah right, years from now we will still be laughing over his shining moment). 

Upon my arrival, the nurses had a princess crown for me to wear and Amanda topped off my look with a purple feather boa.

On my 90 minute "D" bag, Amanda and I stopped by all the nurse stations and patient rooms on the 3rd floor to pass out cookies to spread some cheer and say goodbye. Before we knew it, 6 dozen cookies were gone and everyone was smiling. :)

Then it was the FINAL COUNTDOWN

(cue Europe YouTube video below now--hahaha) 

5 minutes to go... 

then I was done done done!!

Can you tell I was happy?

Next homework assignment for my support group: PRAY that my one month follow-up PET/CT and bloodwork is clean. The PET/CT and bloodwork is on September 30th and I'll get the results on October 4th. If all goes well, port removal surgery will soon follow.

Supporters celebrating PURPLE DAY!!

Thank you to everyone who sent their Purple Day pics!!
Here's what I've collected-- enjoy!!

and a few snapshots with my visitors during my last tx..

THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR SENDING PICS AND FOR ALL OF THE AMAZING SUPPORT.  I COULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN THROUGH THIS WITHOUT YOU!  THANKS FOR CELEBRATING PURPLE DAY WITH ME!!

I'll be posting more about the final treatment in a bit... 

If you sent me a pic and it isn't posted above please resend it.  My inbox was super full with your smiles and I tried to organize them the best I could.  

LOVE, TERESA