{NOTE: This was originally published on Vanessa’s CarePage. We are copying all those posts here to have her story in one place that all can access. We are back-dating the posts to match when she originally published the post there, and are marking the blog post here with Vanessa as the author, as these words that follow are her own.}

Posted Mar 8, 2010 11:10pm

Hello again! It’s been quite a while since I last posted. A few notes too bring you up to speed: First off, the good news…my nephew Max will be 2 in April, and my sister Jessica and her husband Jason are about 8 weeks away from having another baby boy. We all can’t be more excited! Also, my younger sister Christina has released a CD! (Insert proud sister plug here: http://www.christinablust.com). Seriously, is there anything this girl can’t do?!

OK, so on to the not so good news…many of you may already know, but we found out that my breast cancer is back and is now in my lungs, my lymph nodes, and more extensively in my bones. The news came rather suddenly, following a full body bone scan that was ordered after I broke my finger and had a few other achey bone spots. So after a flurry of doctor visits and more scans, we learned that it was not just in my bones. The gameplan as we know it right now is to get my port put back in (just got that sucker removed in November!), have surgery to remove my ovaries (since my cancer is estrogen receptor positive, it is essential to remove any source of estrogen that my body produces naturally in order to stop fueling the tumors), start chemo, and start a specific hormone treatment, along with a monthly injection to help strengthen my bones. I am told the chemo I will get this time is supposed to be a little more tolerable and not supposed to make me lose my hair. From then, we monitor how all the drugs and treatments are working and make adjustments as needed. Radiation will only be considered to treat specific areas for pain. My doctors are hopeful we can continue with an effective treatment plan, however because my cancer has metastasized (spread outside the original location), I am considered Stage 4 and it is “treatable but not curable”.

I am lucky to have a great husband to lean on, as well as a supportive family who lets me talk, cry, dream, break down, and talk some more with. I thought I conquered my most difficult moments and that all this was behind me, but as we all know, the road ahead is always uncertain. But I am certain of one thing…my appreciation to all of you for your support, hugs and prayers!

Much love!
V