Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Hi all!  So I just thought I better update you on how my mom has been doing with her hormone/chemo drugs.  She has been on Ibrance and Femara for a while now, and she has good and bad days.  She still has some side effects from her rounds of chemotherapy, but they seem to be getting better little by little.  Her hair is starting to come back, which she is really excited about!  Her blood counts seem to be doing okay.  They drop a bit here and there with her chemo pill but she has stayed clear of illness, knock on wood!  Her next PET scan is set for November 6th, so pray for good results!   My mom and my dad have also started the Livestrong program through the YMCA.  They absolutely love it!  It is an exercise program offered free to cancer patients and their spouses.  Instructors show them how to use the exercise equipment, and have a routine each day for them to do.  They have done different classes also, like spin class!  Of course my mom with metastatic cancer and dad who just had a heart attack would be doing this.  Why would they take a break? :)

It is also breast cancer awareness month, so we thought we would take a moment to remind you to Get Your Mammograms and Check Your Boobs!  :)  I'm really sorry but I am going to rant for a tiny bit...  These new guidelines drive me crazy about the new recommendation of waiting until 45 instead of 40 for mammograms.  You don't know how many lives I have seen saved from mammograms!  Every day I see people that are beating cancer because of these tests!  Since I am on a rant haha, I am going to also say a word about alternative medicine.  I think if it is someone's decision to try alternative medicine such as diet, supplements, chiropractic care, etc., that is great.  If it is what makes them comfortable and it is their own decision without influence from friends/family, that is wonderful!  However, I will just comment about the experience I have had and also the experience my mother has had.  I have worked with cancer patients for 11 years now.  I have seen SO many lives saved from the conventional methods of treatment.  My mother is living proof!  When she was diagnosed with breast cancer 18 years ago, she would not have made it without surgery/chemo/radiation.  Alternative medicine is fine, it is not for everyone however.  My mother has worked as a chemotherapy nurse for 9 years, and between her and I, let's just say her decision to choose radiation and chemotherapy as a treatment instead of diet, chiropractic care, etc. is based on what she and I have seen throughout years of working in the field.  You know what....people that eat clean DO get cancer too!  Can you believe there are some people that actually think they will be free of disease for the rest of their life because they "eat clean?!"  It is a great thing to do for your health but does not make you insusceptible to disease!  I know my mother has felt guilt and pressure from sources in her life that tell her these alternative methods of fighting cancer are the only way she will live, and that is completely unfair.  Whatever a person's decision is as to which type of treatment they choose should be supported and not questioned.  I am not saying it isn't okay to offer suggestions or share different findings, but to make someone feel guilty about their decision is not okay.  Wow that was way more than a little rant!  Sorry!  Now for the positive stuff!  My mom appreciates all of your kind words, letters, notes, calls, texts, everything she has received from all of you!  Even the comments and likes when I post this on Facebook make her day so much brighter!  Thank You!  We will keep fighting with her and encouraging her!  She has great days and bad days, but every day we have with her we cherish so much! 

So here are some fun pictures of the kiddos and my parents!  Thanks for all of your love and support!