PET Scan and Small Life Updates

So today I went and got a PET Scan done. This PET Scan will be able to tell if I have an tumors, cancer cells, or scar tissue! I was really nervous when I walked in to get it done because I was comparing it to my CAT Scan I had on Friday. Thankfully the two tests are completely different!

For a PET Scan I didn’t have to drink any kind of contrast beforehand! You also don’t have to keep an IV in you the whole time. I had to get in IV for about a minute or less and that was to inject the contrast into my veins! I was nervous because my veins haven’t been working lately but my nurse was able to get the needle in the first try.

After I got the medicine put into my veins I had to wait an hour for the medicine to get thoroughly into my body. They have really nice private waiting rooms so I didn’t complain J I had a really nice lounging chair and a personal TV. My mom and I sat and watched TV until it was time to get my test done.

Pet Scans are about 25mins long. I thought it would be a piece of cake but boy was I wrong! You have to lay straight and flat with your arms above your head for 25mins without moving! It was so difficult and after a while my legs starting cramping up and my arms were so tired. I was so glad when they were done.

I will have my results back tomorrow but I won’t know what they are until Friday afternoon. I am so nervous and anxious but I will definitely update everyone! I will be in New York so the results might not be until late that night but I will give an update. I will also be blogging my whole New York trip and be writing more about Disney as well these next couple of days. I leave for Disney next Saturday so I have been getting a lot of emails of things I have to do! I am getting so excited with everything and can’t wait to move on to the next chapter in my life and leave cancer behind J

Tuesday Doctor Visit

So my doctor's visit didn't go as my family and I planned. It didn't go horrible, but it didn't go great. We found out that my CAT Scan had dots around where my doctor did my surgery. My doctor thinks this could be cancer, scar tissue or something unknown. This really scared me when I first received the news. I was hoping to hear something along the lines that I was cancer free. The only good option is scar tissue. All the other options require more testing and I am not sure how I would be able to Disney.

I went and had a PET Scan done today and I will receive those results on Friday. If the dots wind up being scar tissue, I will just need to get a CAT Scan in 6-8 weeks for my doctor to check on it. If it is something that the PET Scan can't determine, I will have to get a biopsy done. Depending on where the dots are will determine if I will be how the biopsy is done. If it is cancerous I am not sure what the next steps will be. My doctor, my family and I are all staying confident that it is just Scar tissue!

Although I am nervous and scared, I am confident that my doctor will take care of me. He knows what he is doing and I have faith that regardless of what the results may be, he will make sure I get the right treatment.

On the bright side, I leave for my New York trip tomorrow AND it’s my birthday! I am so excited for this trip and cannot wait J I am going to put all of my energy into this trip and think positive instead of negative. Thank you everyone once again for your support <3

My Busy Week!

This week is full of so many exciting things J I am turning 19, going to New York, and I get to pick my housing preferences for Disney.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, I am going to the hospital to find out if I am cancer free. Tomorrow is also the very last day I will have to give blood. Ever since I started chemo I had to get my blood taken every single week. I dread getting my blood drawn because I hate needles and I am a hard stick. Chemo really messed up my veinsL. I can’t wait to get the results from my CAT scan. Everything from my blood work is looking really good and I am positive my results will be positiveJ

Also on Tuesday, I am going to get my information on Disney housing. Signing up for housing is very similar to signing up for college dorms. It is on a first come first serve basis. My roommates and I really want to live in this Apartment complex called Patterson Courts. It is the newest out of all four complexes we can choose from. It is very clean and the closet space is amazing! We want a 3 bedroom 3 bathroom apartment. There will be two girls per room. The only thing that sucks is that we won’t find out where we are staying until the day we check in, which is February 9^th.

On Tuesday I am celebrating my birthday because I will be in New York on my actual birthday. My family and I aren’t doing anything special but I am excited for tomorrow because of all the fun things happening.

Thursday is my birthday and my first day of New York. My mom and I are going to be there from Thursday to Sunday. I am planning on meeting my roommate for the DCP, Meagan. And another friend I made on Facebook who is doing the program. Her name is Ellie! My Godmother is planning on coming up and spending the day with us on Saturday. While in New York my mom and I are going to do shopping, see plays, go to a makeup class, eat a lot of good food, and sight see! I am going to make some vlogs as well and put them up on my YouTube channel. My next vlogs after that will start next Saturday and will only be about my Disney experience. I hope to put up at least two videos a week.

Like I said in my last post I am going to try and start blogging every day. Next Saturday is when the blogs will start to get more interesting because my Disney Adventure will begin J I check in on February 9^th, which is exactly two weeks from now. I will post on my blog what my week will look like hopefully that same day. Check in day and the first week is really crazy! As the days get closer I will explain more what you guys can expect. Tomorrow I will post how my doctor’s visit went and I will make a separate post about my housing application for Disney J

Disney Updates and New Hire Email

I finally got the email from Disney to fill out my New Hire paperwork! The paperwork are where I officially sign my life away to Disney for the next six months. The paperwork has everything from Disney guide lines to my W-4 form. It took awhile for me to fill them out but it also made everything feel so real. In two weeks I am going to be leaving my hometown to head to Disney. I have so many things to do in these next two weeks before I leave as well!

I still have to pack all my stuff. Packing is a lot easier since I am driving because I can take more things. I started off with two suitcases full of close and I now have 4....I have a problem with packing too many things. But I always look at it as it's good to have options! Haha. I am dreading figuring out how all my stuff is going to fit in my car.

I feel as if so many exciting things are happening on Tuesday! One of things that is happening is that I am getting my DORMS email. This email is our email to sign up for our apartments. This semester Disney accepted way to many college program kids and now they are running out of apartment spaces. They are asking some people to move out of their apartments and into an apartment not owned by Disney. Now the CPs don't have to, but this apartment Disney is offering is 10x nicer and the rent is half the rent they have to pay with Disney apartments. I don't know how much success Disney is going to have but I hope something is figured out. I have one of the last arrival dates and Disney sent us a sad email saying pretty much due to limited spacing we can only link ONE roommate. This is kind of a problem because I have 5 other roommates haha. But we will see what happens when everyone from my arrival date gets the official email from DORMS this Tuesday. I am hoping Disney is able to fix this problem but time will only tell!

Well next week is such a busy week from doctor visits, to my birthday, and also my trip to New York! I am going to try and blog every single day starting tomorrow. So stay tuned for more blogs and thank you for reading :)

Dinner with Chris and Carri

So my parents have been friends with another couple for quite awhile. Their names are Chris and Carri. Me and Chris now share something in common...we are both on missions to kick cancer's butt! We both also have something else in common....we both have the SAME EXACT STORY...well kind of :). The same exact day I went into surgery to remove my tumor, Chris went in to have back surgery. We both went in not having the slightest clue we had cancer. When we both came out of surgery, we were told that we had cancer. Although our cancers our different, our story still oddly stays pretty similar. I had to go through Chemo therapy which ended in January and Chris had to do radiation which also ended in January. We both go to the doctors next week, Chris on Wednesday and me on Tuesday, to figure out what our next steps are going to be. And finally are story concludes so far with us both starting something major on February 9th. It is Chris' first day back to work and my first day at the Disney College Program! Our families have decided to have a cancer free party this October to celebrate kicking cancer's butt! One of our other family friends Mrs. Megary is also going to come join as she is currently in the middle of fighting and defeating cancer!

My family and Carri and Chris decided to go have a lovely dinner today and catch up on our lives. It was really fun being able to share stories and see the things that were different with both of our journeys. I can not remember the name of the restaurant, otherwise I would tell you guys but it was so delicious! I am so happy I got to end this crazy week with family and friends. I have so much to look forward to next week and I am so excited to move on with my life. It is so important that I hold on to special moments like today for when I have bad days, I can look back on the good and always keep my smile :)

Chris, me, my Dad

The Dreadful CAT Scan

On Friday I went to the Hospital to get a CAT Scan done to make sure all the cancer is out of my body! I was so excited but a little nervous for this whole process.

Last time I received a CAT Scan was on October 10th when I found out I had a tumor. Everything was so rushed that day and they were trying to squeeze me in so they can run all these tests before the lab closed. Because of this the ladies doing my CAT Scan forgot to explain fully what I would be feeling while the CAT Scan was going on. It was just such a horrible experience and I had to drink nasty contrast!

My CAT Scan on Friday was at 11, so I arrived around 10 for my appointment. We did not go to the Main Campus to get the CAT Scan because there was an Emergency Campus 5 minutes from our house. They did CAT Scans there so we were able to go there. The day started off great instead of having to drink contrast, I was able to drink water. Which tasted much better. At 11 exactly I went back into a room where they were going to do the scan. Before they could start, they had to put an IV in my arm so they can inject contrast into my body while I was getting the CAT Scan. I was a little nervous because when I was in the hospital earlier on, they were having a hard time finding a good vein. I warned my nurse of this and she assured me that everything would be fine. Well 7 needle pokes later....I am told I have to go down to the main campus of UH to get my CAT Scan done because they couldn't find a good vein. They needed a specialist to put in IV in me and they had none at that hospital. I was so upset because my arm was so sore and bruised after them trying to get an IV in! But I put a smile on my face and got up and left with my mom. We had an appointment at 4 that same day to get a CAT Scan done at the main campus.

When I got to the main campus of UH my mom and I had to go all the way in the basement of the hospital to get my test done. The nurses their were so mortified and upset that they poked me so many times. They decided to give me a picc line needle so I wouldn't have to get poked a billion times. I picc needled is inserted with the use of an Ultra Sound. What happens is a nurse comes in and uses an Ultra Sound to locate a vein in your arm. Once she finds one she will take a picc needle, which is longer than most in case it needs to go further into your body, and stick it into your veins. My nurse was able to find a vein on the first try and I was so happy! Although it hurt really bad I was glad it was only one poke.

Once I had my IV in, everything else went super easy! The guy who did my CAT Scan was hilarious and made sure I felt comfortable the whole time I was in the room. He also explained the whole process of a CAT Scan which made that time around a whole lot better. I am so happy I have this CAT Scan out of the way. On Tuesday I have an appointment with my doctor to go over my results. He will let me know if I am cancer free and will start remission or if more treatments need to be done. I am so excited!! I will definitely give everyone a blog update Tuesday night letting everyone know how that appointment goes.

Me happy to have my IV in after one poke...all smiles :)

Hospital Stay

Monday night I was put in the hospital because I had a temperature of 100.8. Normally a temperature like this would not be to alarming or required a hospital stay. However, when you go through chemo any temperature over 100.4, you are supposed to call your doctors and check to see if you need to come into the hospital. The reason why is because your body had no white blood cells to fight off any disease, infection, or virus. Chemo kills all of your blood cells. So if you are starting a low grade fever the doctors want you to head to the hospital so they can keep in eye on you. That way if they find out you are sick they can give you medicine in the hospital to help fight it off.

Saturday through Monday I was feeling awful. At night I would get a low grade fever and it was hard for me to eat and sleep. I was so happy when I was able to go the hospital on Monday so I could figure out what was wrong! Being in the hospital did bring back some bad memories. Last time I was sleeping at a hospital was right after I had my major surgery. That was not a pleasant time for me. That being said my dad was out of the country on a business trip when I went to the hospital, so it took a while for him to know what was going on. I had wished he was home so he could be with me while I was there.

My mom and I arrived at the hospital very late at night. It was around 10:30-11 when we finally got settled in our rooms. I had to get an IV in my arm and I was really worried because I know my veins were not going to cooperate. It wasn't until a little past 12 when my nurses came in my room to try to put in IV in. I had to wind up getting stuck 6 times before they called a specialist in to find a good vein that would work. My arms hurt so much after and it made me want to go home even more! After my IV was in, I was able to get a couple hours of sleep.

Early in the morning I had a bunch of different people come in and get my blood to run tests to see what was going on. Around 11:30am on Wednesday a doctor came in and gave me an update. He told me how he didn't think I was sick at all and how he thinks what happened was I got too dehydrated. He also mentioned how the shot I had to get after chemo, to make my bones produce more blood cells, could have caused my fevers. Low fevers is one of the side effects to the shot. He told me how the hospital was going to watch me one more night just to make sure and I would be able to go home on Thursday.

This made me kind of sad because I wanted to go home that day. I was already missing my bed and not having to drag around an IV machine when ever I wanted to go somewhere. I was also missing food that wasn't healthy and had salt and sugar in it! Haha. Everything at the Hospital was too healthy for my liking.

I do believe God was listening to my prayers because later on that day my actual doctor came in and told me I was able to go home. He told me I was more likely to get sick staying at the hospital then I would being at home. I was so happy to be back home and be able to sleep in my own bed without an IV in my arm :)

Cute Stingray that was waiting for me on my Hospital bed!

Look Good....Feel Better

This past week has been so hectic, I apologize for not being able to keep everyone updated. I have done a lot in the last six days so I figured I would blog about everything! Monday was a busy day for me. I was feeling really sick, but early in December my mom had signed me up for a class called "Look Good, Feel Better!". I almost didn't go but I figured this class was too good to miss. So I went out to my mom to University Hospitals out in Chardon and attended the class!

Look Good, Feel Better!
Look Good, Feel Better is a service program that allows any women who are undergoing chemo, radiation or any type of cancer treatment to feel good about themselves! They have specially trained volunteered beauty professionals come in and teach you how to look good and feel better. The class starts off with everyone introducing themselves and telling their story. This part, I felt, was so powerful because you realize everyone is going through the same thing as you. I was the youngest one there, so obviously not everyone was in the same situation as me, however we all had one thing in common. Our lives were stopped because of cancer. We were not going to let Cancer get in the way of our fight, nor were we going to allow cancer to stop us from looking good!

After the introductions, they handed us our beauty kits! The amazing thing about Look Good, Feel better is that everything is free. The beauty kits contains over $200 worth of makeup and all of it is name brand.

They walk you step by step how to apply each makeup item you received. They stop and wait for everyone to be finished applying a product and make sure you understand everything before moving on. The beauticians also walk around and individual talk to every person in that room and asks a little bit more about your story. They really make sure you feel at home and are comfortable in your surroundings which I loved!

After you are all done applying everything you get to look in the mirror and see the finished product:

Before

After



After you are all done with your makeup the show you some ways you can dress to make yourself feel confident. They also give you a Cancer cookbook that gives you a zillion recipes to make! There's recipes to make all the way from where you are feeling sick to post chemo foods! I am excited to try this cookbook when I am done in Disney and make some yummy food!

I loved going to this program and recommend anyone who is going through chemo to try it! It definitely made me forget I was going through something traumatic while I was there. I met so many amazing women and I wouldn't trade this moment for anything!

Disney and LIfe Updates!!

Hello everyone! I am so sorry I have not posted in a while. I have been very busy trying to get things together for school and the Disney College Program! My dad told me I use a lot of exclamation points when I write…so I am going to try and limit the amount I use them haha. I just get so excited :) Anyway, I have a lot coming up within the next couple weeks before I leave and I am so excited and anxious.

 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am going to be taking online classes while down at Disney. The classes right now are really easy. I am nervous that once I start the program I am going to not be able to keep up with my work. I will just have to wait and see how it goes.

 

My birthday is coming up in two weeks (yay!), and my mom and I have a fun tripped planned to New York. It's really an end of chemo treatment trip but we are taking it over my birthday. We are going for a very long weekend. When we are there we are going to see plays, eat lots of food, shop, and go to a makeup class! I LOVE makeup so I am so excited for this class and to go to the Sephora on time square. I heard there are two floors! Also, my roommate for Disney lives in New York so I am going to try and meet up with her and see her for the first time. :)

Next week, I am going to go to University Hospitals to get a CAT scan! I hate those things! This CAT scan is going to make sure that all the cancer is gone. The best thing about the type of cancer I have is that it responds well to chemo. So I am 98% sure that I am cancer free but the CAT scan is just going to double check things. I will definitely write a blog about my visit.

So now onto Disney :) I leave for Disney in 22 days! I started a vlog and I hope to vlog my whole experience while I am down there. I am going to post the link to my YouTube channel at the end of this post and you can feel free to watch my introduction video if you like. :) So my mom and I are going to leave on Saturday Feb. 7th and arrive Feb. 8th! We are driving 15hrs :( One of my friends in the program needed a way down there so me and my mom are going to pick her up in West Virginia. On Sunday we are going to be staying at Pop Century and then I Check in on Monday the 9th! I am pretty sure me and some of my roommates are going to have a pizza party that Sunday night. And then Tuesday, we all have reservations at a Disney Restaurant called Whispering Canyon. It is such a fun restaurant and I am so excited for my adventure to begin :)

Well that is all I have to post today! Here is the link to my youtube channel where I will have all my vlogs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09_75tycIDo

My Cancer Story

I decided to share my story talking about how I found out that I had Ovarian Cancer. I apologize for it being so long. I didn't share the beginning part with a lot of people, so I decided to go in more depth! Cancer is such a hard word to hear and say, but you are never alone throughout it all. No matter where you turn, you'll always have someone by your side! Here's my story...my cancer story :)

My story begins on October 9th, 2014. I went to my regular doctor’s office, because of some abdominal pain I was having. My stomach was also sticking out and was very hard! I did not know what to expect but I was very scared. I went inside the doctor’s office probably around 11am. My nurse wanted me to take a urine test because she thought I might be pregnant. I knew this wasn’t the case but I took one and waited for the results with my mom.

About 30 minutes later the nurse came back into the room and told me she thinks I am pregnant. She told me how the test came back slightly positive, so she thought I had something called an ectopic pregnancy. An ectopic pregnancy is where the fetus grows outside of your fallopian tube. It is very dangerous and life-threatening, and my nurse wanted me to get an ultra sound done right away.

I remember immediately just freaking out and crying. I was so shocked because my mom was calm throughout this and I thought she would have been freaking out and yelling at me. I was even more nervous because if it was an ectopic pregnancy, I would’ve had to have emergency surgery that day. I never had surgery before and I didn’t want that to be my first! After the ultra sound was all done, I just remember sitting and waiting for what seemed like hours. We had to wait for the results to come in so we knew what the next steps were.

When my nurse finally came down, she called me and my mom out in the hallway and asked to speak with us privately. She had a worried look on her face which made me so nervous. “Ok so after looking at your ultra sound we found something that looks very worrisome”. Those were her first words. I couldn’t breathe and I started shaking. “We found a large unidentified mass….” That was it. That’s all I heard before I started tuning her out. I could feel the tears rolling down my face. All that was in my mind was cancer. I screamed out and asked her if that was what I had. I was so nervous and scared. My nurse reassured me that they believe I had something called a teratoma tumor, which is 98% of the time benign (non-cancerous). All I would need was surgery and then I would be fine. After we had a long talk, I went and got my first ever CAT scan done, so they could get a better look of the mass. (I hate that word!).

The very next day, October 10, I got accepted into the Disney College Program! I was so excited and remember thinking that this acceptance couldn’t have come at a better time! I thought of it as God’s way of telling me everything was going to be ok. Even if it didn’t look good now, it will all be good in the end. Because I am destined to do great things!

That following week I met with an Oncologist who was going to be handling my surgery. My nurse thought it would be best if I went with an Oncologist just in case my tumor was cancerous. They weren’t expecting it to be, but if it was, that way I wouldn’t have to keep changing doctors. When I met with my doctor who was going to be handling my surgery, he was very nice and friendly. He just went over what the procedure was going to be like and answered any of my questions.

On October 21^st 2014, I had my surgery. I remember being afraid and crying a lot that morning. I had an early surgery, so I got to the hospital extremely early. Maybe around 6. I was scared about getting Anesthesia, because I was afraid I wasn’t going to wake up. I told all the nurses around me how I got accepted into the Disney College Program and they talked to me about that until I passed out from the Anesthesia.

When I woke up in the recovery room I just remember wondering where my mom was. She was the last family member I saw before I passed out so I was wondering why she wasn’t by my side. I also remember asking the nurses if I had cancer, but none of them would tell me. When they finally said they were going to take me to my room I was so excited so I could see my family!

While I was in recovery my doctor came out to tell my parents how they were wrong on my original diagnosis. I did not have a teratoma tumor, but he thought I had Ovarian Cancer. He wasn’t sure exactly what type, but he thought it was a rare kind the girl’s ages 7-20 get. My parents and doctor made the decision not to tell me I had cancer until I was fully recovered from the surgery. A lot of people asked me if I was mad that I didn’t know, but I was actually happy they didn’t tell me. Being in the hospital was so hard for me. If I had the stress of knowing I had cancer while I was in the hospital, I think I would have had a longer recovery time.

Being in the hospital was probably one of the hardest things I have ever done. Way harder than chemo. Not because of the staff though. I had amazing nurses and also an amazing doctor! I hated not being able to eat regular food. I was on a liquid diet for 2/4 days I was there. And then when I finally was able to eat solids, I didn’t have the appetite for it. Nurses would come and wake you up every 3 hours starting at midnight to 6 in the morning, making it so hard to sleep! I also felt bad making my mom have to stay there the whole time and my dad having to travel from work to the hospital and then back home to take care of my brother. I felt very dependent on people and I hated not being able to do a lot on my own. I had a pretty long scar with staples in my stomach after my surgery. And I refused to look at it until I got home. I don’t know why I didn’t want to look, I was just scared I guess ha.

I went home on October 24^th, and the very next day my parents told me I had cancer. While in the hospital I was told that there’s a chance I could have cancer but the doctor wasn’t sure so he had to run some more tests. That day was very hard for both me and my parents. We weren’t exactly sure what type of Ovarian Cancer I had. There are 3 different types of Ovarian Cancer, and my doctor thought it was a rare pediatric ovarian cancer. On October 28^th, I went to my doctor’s office to get my staples out and also find out what type of cancer I had. After I got my staples out, my doctor informed me that I had a 13lb tumor that they had taken out. It was stage 3 dysgerminoma Ovarian Cancer. The cancer had spread to both my ovaries, one fallopian tube, and a lymph node. Along with the tumor, I had one ovary and a fallopian tube removed. I plan to meet with a fertility specialist soon to talk about my chances on having kids.

The next step was planning my treatments. There were 3 different types of treatment plans I could have done. My treatment consisted of 3 different treatments for 3 days on a 28 day cycle. I started my treatments in Early November and ended in early January! *silent cheer for being all done*. For each one of my treatments, I ran into a problem. My first treatment was definitely the worst. I had an allergic reaction to one of my chemo meds during chemo! It all happened so fast. I just remember sitting there with my dad and then suddenly hardly being able to breathe. I kept having to grasp for air! I called my nurse and within 30 seconds there were about 15 nurses in my small room trying to stop my reaction! Definitely one of the scariest things that has happened to me! My second treatment wasn’t anything major; I had to get stuck with an IV needle 12 times for the 3 days I had chemo! L I didn’t bring my veins with me for that treatment and so it was really hard for the nurses to find a vein that was good enough to use. For my last treatment that I just had, my white blood count was too low to receive a treatment. Instead of holding off treatment for a week, I got a shot today that helps my bone marrow make more blood cells. The shot was painful and has a couple minor side effects…but I am just glad to say I am officially done with chemotherapy!

It has been a long journey, one that isn’t over yet, but I am happy to say I am starting this New Year off right! Cancer free J

Cancer Update: Wednesday

Today was the big day!! My last day of chemo:) I had so much fun at the hospital today! I loved giving my nurses and doctor the baked goods my mom and I made them! They even had a surprise for me!! I slept for most of the treatment, but it was such a good feeling when my nurse took my final IV out.

Wednesday: Last Day of Last Treatment
I had the biggest grin walking into University Hospitals today. I woke up feeling sick to my stomach again, but I did not let that ruin my happiness! I stayed up with my mom baking wonderful desserts and I couldn't wait to share! I first went up to my doctor's office and I was greeted with all of his nurses congratulating me on my last day. It made me so happy seeing how much they cared about my happiness and being done with chemo. After that, I went down to the infusion room, where I receive my chemo. I gave all my nurses their desserts and I got the same reaction from upstairs! They were all congratulating me and telling me how proud they were of me. It really made me feel good and realize that it's the littlest things that can make you happy!

I had to get stuck 3 times today for one of my nurses to find a good IV:( Ouch! It was so painful, but I kept telling myself "Sierra, it's your last day getting an IV. You can do this!" And after I got my IV in, the majority of my nurses came in singing me a song and handed me a balloon and a book for my last day! Inside the book they all wrote me a note. It was the most thoughtful thing I have ever received. I was so happy and it completely made my day!

Once the celebration was over, my musical therapist came in to help me relax and stay calm for my last treatment. He helped me come up with this beautiful song about cancer awareness, and he is going to record it in his studio for me to have! When I get it, I will definitely share and let you guys hear it! It was really awesome!

The rest of my chemo was kind of boring because I slept through the rest of it! All in all, it was a good day and I am so happy I am finally done! All that I have left to do is go get this shot tomorrow that will help bring up my blood count!

I hope you all enjoyed these updates I have been posting about my final journey with cancer! I promise to post more Disney stuff soon!! :)

Cancer Update: Tuesday

So today went by really quickly!  I didn't seem to have any major problems! :) I only had to get stuck with a needle twice! Then they were able to get a really good IV to use for my chemo :) when I got home today, my mom and I made a surprise for my nurses and doctors! I am soo excited to share it with them tomorrow for my LAST DAY OF CHEMO!!!!! :) :) :)

Tuesday: Second Day of Last Treatment
So today my treatment was at 11am...not as bad as my treatment yesterday (had to be there at 9), but it was still really rough getting up! :( (Just one more day Sierra!). When I woke up, I felt really sick. Normally, when I start chemo I am sick for exactly ONE week. And then on the 7th day I just feel amazing. It is so weird, but that is how it has been going. I am so happy that this is the last week where I am going to have to wake up sick to my stomach everyday!

When I got there, I was able to get a semi private room, which I was happy because I was not feeling well :(. One of my nurses came in to put my IV in. I have a special nurse who does this now because for my last treatment, I got stuck a total of 9 times!!! Today it was only twice, and the second time it was in a vein where I could keep it in for the next day! Although I love doing this (one less day of not having to be stuck), I chose not to do this because the needle was located in a very uncomfortable spot. I knew it was going to keep me up all night! *sigh* SO it looks like I will be stuck once again tomorrow....but on the bright side, it's my last day of chemo, which means....LAST DAY BEING STUCK WITH AN IV!!! :)

My last two treatments (3 days each), I have been working with a musical therapist. My last treatment, me and him started writing a song. We only made the instrumental part to it, and not going to lie..it's really good! :) I am so happy and proud of myself! Tomorrow, me and him are singing the lyrics to the song I made, which has to do with Ovarian Cancer! I am so excited for this and I will share it as soon as it is all done!

Besides being sick, todays treatment went really well. I got through it smoothly with no complications! I am so excited for my last day tomorrow and can't wait to share with you all!

When I got home tonight I made 5 chocolate bread puddings and 3 eggnog cheesecake desserts with my mom for my doctor and all the nurses and volunteers who helped me through this long journey! Seriously would not have been able to get through this without them! #YouNeverFightAlone

Cancer Update: Monday

Today was my last chemo treatment! Each treatment is three days, so I will be all done with chemo on Wednesday! I am so excited to be so close to the finish line and be cancer free! I have a doctors appointment on January 23rd to get a CAT scan. Then on January 28th, I will meet with my doctor to get the results of my CAT scan and make sure all of the cancer is gone!

Monday: First Day of Last Treatment
Today was the first day that I had an early chemo treatment. And it was HORRIBLE. My treatment started at nine, and I had to wake up at 7:30. When I got there I was able to get a private room and I slept the whole six hours that I was there.

At University Hospitals, there are three different types of room you can get while receiving chemo. A private room: just like a hospital room and it has a bed. It is far away from the other patients so it is easy to relax. A semi-private room: a hospital room without a bed. It is still close to the patients so if you want to converse you can! And lastly, an open room: These rooms are self-explanatory and are open. It is the loudest in these rooms and it's a great place to socialize!

Before I got chemo today I had to get my blood taken to make sure my blood count was high enough to be able to receive chemo. They check my red, white, and platelet blood cells. It took awhile for them to get me my results back so I was kind of nervous that something was wrong. When my chemo nurse came down to check up on me, she had told me that my white blood count was not good enough to be able to receive my treatment. She then gave me two options to choose from: First option was to push off my chemo treatment until next week; but that would ultimately interfere with my trip I am taking over my birthday and Me going to Disney. My second choice, was to get a shot on Thursday that stimulates my bones into making more blood cells. One of the major side effects to this is that I will have joint pains similar to arthritis. After discussing it with my mom, we decided I should go with the shot so I stay on track with everything that I have to do!

The rest of my chemo that day went smoothly! I was so happy and I only had to get stuck with a needle once for them to find a good vein :)