update and giveaway on the Green Eyed Monster Blog :D

HI EVERYBODY!!
I'm doing just great.  I'll be having a mastecomy and reconstruction sometime in the middle of October - i don't have the date yet.  That's the latest, ...and I'm feeling wonderful and just had a great vacation.  I'd like to do another slide show to music - if i could only remember how to do that............haha
.........in the meantime- my etsy shop is featured in a very cool blog called Green Eyed Monster run by Ash and Kimmy - they are super!!  and i'm giving away a necklace - so read for details below
thanks for checking in .  Love you :D laura

GIVEAWAY NECKLACE from Creativelytangled!
this is a distressed copper heart stamped necklace with initials and a dangle bead

on an oxidized sterling 18" chain or black leather cord.

SEE BELOW TO ENTER:
Link to giveaway: http://greeneyed.com/2010/08/creatively-tangled

Link to image: http://greeneyed.com/wp-content/wpa_custom/22-Creatively_tangled.jpg

Prize: Handstamped heart necklace

Prize value: $38.50

Ending date of the giveaway: 08/10/10

Open to EVERYONE

The prize is from: creativelytangled.etsy.com

*****enter this giveaway,  Leave a comment on the Green Eyed Monster blog... not here!****
I affirm that this is a handmade Etsy item!

GREAT DAY!

#1. PET SCAN, ALL CLEAR .....NO CANCER. THANK YOU GOD!!

#2. published in Etsy's storque today, 7/8/10:
http://www.etsy.com/storque/craftivism/teams-spotlight-etsy-project-embrace-9179/

great article about our etsyprojectembrace team donating money towards cancer research! Check it out if you haven't already.

thanks everybody....................... you're the BESTEST! laura xxxooo

GOOD GRIEF, WHAT'S NEXT???!!!

Hey there! Well, .....I had genetic testing last week for the BRCA gene 1 and 2, the gene mutations for ovarian and breast cancers. My grandmother (maternal side) died at 49 of breast cancer and my mom died at 64 of ovarian. Despite this - I did know that a very small percentage of the population will test postive for the hereditary gene mutation and I was honestly expecting to test negative....... and I was WRONG! I tested positive. That means that my boys and my sisters have a 50/50 chance of testing positive. What I did find out is that I have up to an 87% chance of developing breast cancer.....that's where my "good grief" comes in. I will be looking into what exactly i'm doing next during this month and the month of July, but I'm most likely going to be having a mastectomy at some point and hopefully sooner rather than later. I still have some stuff to learn and specialists to talk to, but that's what I want to do. I don't want to sit and wait around to be diaganosed with breast cancer, I want to take the "bull by the horns" and just do it! From what i understand, it is possible to have resconstruction at the same time.

Hey, i'm all good with it, so don't worry about me. I like to say "it is what it is". I was much more upset to think of the rest of the family having now to test and possibly undergo all this stuff as well. So we pray that the lab tests are correct and they all test negative!

Just for general info for anybody that might be faced with it....my insurance did cover the $3,800 that it costs for the comprehensive testing. Now that the gene has been detected and isolated, the family members would test for approx. $300, since they have pinpointed that particular gene.

I am currently an A cup. I will be taking feedback and opinions on what i should be next (as i would definitely would want to go bigger than that) - please feel free to weigh in on the subject. I've never been anything but an A, so i'm looking for all your "sage advice out there, men, you can weigh in, too!!!! :)

Please feel free to contact me with any questions - I'd like to be able to help anyone that may need it.

The good news - I continue to recover from my surgery and am doing better each day. I also just love my little bit of hair. The only thing is ALOT of you people out there were promising me curly hair - and I'm here to tell you that there is NOT ONE FREAKIN CURL IN SITE.

thanks and please pray for the rest of my family! laura XXOO

no chemo for laura :D

Hey, this is a long story, so i'll keep it short!
My maintenence chemo was being moved about 15 min further away (so an hour & 1/2). I did not do well with the first treatment- it was seriously messing with my brain. I contacted a local Dr. about having it moved closer to home. In the process - he suggested i don't do the maintenence chemo due to me having the brain toxicity and the fact that i've just had 2 surgeries and all my biopsies were clean ... he felt that this round may do more harm than good. SO- I'm opting out and taking my chances. It feels good not to have to go thru it again, but on the other hand - it was a "security" blanket. I see my main Dr and surgeon - Dr. A on Monday and will discuss it with him. I'll keep you posted......
thanks for always checking in with me - i really do appreciate it! XXOO laura

12 days hospital/surgery + 11 days of not eating = 8 pound weight gain......PRICELESS

HEY ALL! I missed you, thanks so much for stopping by. As many of you know i made another trip to the ememergency room at the end of April.... UGGHH! I had surgery, this time cut open, to remove 3 inches of my small intestine and remove some various scar tissue and adhesions that were deciding to dwell in my abdomen. You know i love my graphic photos........sorry and thanks for playing along... haha.
Happy to report the staples are gone and i'm doing well (and yes, lost the 8 pounds plus a little more - i was REAL hungry for most of those 11 days.. not an easy feat!) My pathology report once again came back all negative for cancer. Thank God for that one! I'm supposed to get back on track with my maintenence chemo, which i'm now behind in. I had trouble with the first dose, so i'm going to try breaking it down to 3 times a month instead of once a month and see if that helps. It's messing with my brain, and i really need every brain cell i can manage. Also, i'm in the process of trying to move my chemo closer to home, so i'm still working on that. I'll post that info when i know i'm going again.

Second 2 pictures are from Mother's Day. My older son, Drew, didn't get home - he'll be home this weekend, but Alex came home and i think... got his haircut to look just like me (no, probably not). But, i thought I definitely have to post this picture and you can decide who has more hair! (except he has no grey) Bartt wins the most hair contest... but also the most grey........... - i wonder who made him so grey...... probably me and all the fun i've been this past year......haha!

You're not going to be able to see, but i'm wearing a necklace by Peggy of thebeadaerie.etsy.com and a bracelet from amy from adornbyamysingley.etsy.com. They are both ovarian cancer colors with ribbon charms and just so cute!

my new quicky chemo!

Hey there kids! I had my first round of maintenence chemo, taxotere, today, and it ain't no april fools joke... i have pics to prove it. Well, instead of it being like 6 or 7 hours, it's now only 2.5 to 3 hours......that's a nice change. I haven't had chemo since the begining of Feb. - so i was catching up with some old friends today and everybody seems to be doing good. Pictured second is my friend, Judy, who is very crafty and very talented when it comes to home improvement projects. She made her own kitchen cabinet doors for her kitchen and tiled.. and painted... and counter tops. Whew - i needed a nap after listening to her. She is one month ahead of me, so she's like my 'chemo mommy' and i always email her with the laundry list of questions! She's very helpful, especially that her journey is similar to mine. She's been luckier in the hair department than me! If you look REAL REAL hard, you'll see i have a little crop of hair coming in and finally got eyebrows back this week, so i'm not using a pencil anymore and i don't have to worry about them rubbing off.....at least for the time being.

Pictured first is my Dad, Jim Reese, and his friend Rosemary, they were my drivers today. She is also going thru maintenence chemo- and her hair is coming back in and is cute as a button! She is fun (just like my dad) has lots of energy and my family just loves her!!!

Drew and Alex will be in very quick and back to school Sunday afternoon. Looking forward to some extra laundry.

Thanks for checking in and a very Happy Easter to all - i'm hoping not to be 'tossing' up my dinner or peanut butter eggs..... laura XXOO

online publication

Hey there.
Liz Martin wrote an article about me in the online publication called Moms2Moms

She did a great job......thanks Liz! (I think she's a new Etsy follower, too!)

The FREAK SHOW called, they want their stomach back.............

Ok..............sorry if you have a weak stomach! I waited a week to take this picture :D

I have to say that I had ALOT of surgery, but i'm doing much better than i expected to do. I even worked for a few hours Ochman's today (the jewelry store that i help out part time).

So, my surgery was expected to be be about 2 hours - but was 3 1/2. When Bartt saw them wheel me out and the Dr. told him that they should probably keep me overnight....... he said - "good, i'm not taking her home looking like that!" Well, in surgeries like this, they get you on the table, then tilt it so you are sort of upside down - all the blood rushing to your head. So, .......swollen face and no eyebrows - makes for a strange looking girl. I don't remember that much except in recovery, i was congested and was afraid if i slept, I'd stop breathing all together, and i made sure i kept telling the nurses that.......... LOL. Then they gave me oxygen and nose spray, then my nose was just itchy. I don't remember much after getting in my room, except i remember Bartt saying "oh, thank god, you are looking much better". Bartt has been taking great care of me.

The Dr. Albuhday took out my ports, then went exploring. He removed the scar tissue on my intestines, which was kinked. He took a bunch of samples from all over and really took his time, as usual. I had my follow up yesterday and all the samples came back CANCER FREE! So, not that i'm surprised.......... :D I hopefully will be able to have a normal diet again in a few weeks when all the swelling in down - we'll have to wait and see.

I will still be doing my maintenence chemo - taxotere (not sure of the spelling) and the plan is for once a month for the next year. I'm probably going to stay bald..... (The baldness is definitely wearing thin with me).

I'm very blessed to have friends and family like i do who support me so much. I hope that if any of you ever has questions that i could help out in anyway, please get in touch with me. Best way is thru the email in the Etsy store, I would get that directly.

Thanks everybody, Love you! laura XXOO

Surgery

Hey there! Heading out of town to Lehigh Valley tomorrow, for surgery on Tuesday morning. My surgery was moved up a week..... i explained in my last post that i was going March 2. I'm anxious to have the ports out, my stomach looks "alien" with all kinds of bumps, now if only i could get rid of the "road map" of scars, that would be SO cool. Also hoping to be able to go back to a normal diet, so we'll see if my genius of a doctor will be able to fix my small intestines at this point in time.
I'm tenatively scheduled for Tues. 6am arrival, and we'll stay in a hotel tomorrow night, since we are expecting snow and ice.
Well, that's all. I'm only expected to be there for the day and hopefully will get back up on my feet soon. Thanks for checking in :D laura xxoo

middle of it!

I'm in the middle of my last big round of chemo! Bartt and i went away Sunday and came back today - it was nice to not have to get up so early and travel back and forth. We found an inexpensive hotel that was nice and had breakfast included - right down the road. I'm home now and traveling down for day 3 with Mary Ann - an aerobic's class friend tomorrow. At the moment i'm scheduled for surgery on March 2 to take out my ports in my abdomen and hopefully fix the scar tissue that sits on my small intestine, so i can back to a normal diet. That will be nice! That's all for now. take care everybody and thanks ALWAYS for checking in :D
laura xxoo

our cute little visitor!

Drew brought his girlfriend, Kelsey, home from college to meet us this weekend. Well, she's just so adorable and nice..... and just look at her, ....we didn't raise any dummy! :D

We had a fun weekend and i miss them already. Her birthday is this coming weekend, she'll be 19! Happy Birthday Kelsey. laura XXOO

chemo drivers and visitors!

Hi, new pics. Last week I had Drew and his friend Lauren drive me Monday, then my sister-in-law, Susan, and Aunt Bev on Tuesday and Alex on Wed. We took pics on Monday, when my friend from college came to visit me! Paige was my freshman roommate and she traveled about an hour to come sit with me for awhile. The funny thing is, that when Alex came home from college after finals, I mentioned Paige and her husband, Kevin - also from college (i fixed them up!) when bringing in the mail. Alex says to me ...."Now, how do we know them..... from hockey?" So i explained that i knew them from college and that we stayed with them when their son Scott played ice hockey against Alex when they were probably in 4th or 5th grade. So, that's probably the last time we saw them, with the exception of Christmas card pictures. ....plus, i hadn't talked to Paige in about 2 years. So, Alex then says "Well, I've been looking at this kid at college..... and i think it is Scott". Sure enough, it is! Alex and Scott also go to the same college - what a small world!!!!!! That would've been real funny if they were set up as roommates!! Well, we all had a wonderful visit and Paige still looks like she did when she was in college! She is a warm, friendly, and funny person - always ready for a laugh. I wished she lived closer......... :D

Thanks for checking in, everybody. I love that you actually stop by to read my "stuff"!

laura XXOO