Working on a plan..

I don't really even know where to start.  We are overwhelmed by the prayer and love that friends and strangers have extended to our family.  We have received cards, gifts and so many people have reached out and want to help us.  The truth is, I feel great. It is by the grace of God that I had kidney stones and a CT scan that accidentally found these nodules on my lung. If we had we not caught this until I had symptoms we maybe having a different conversation.

The fact that we caught the metastasis before I had symptoms doesn't change that fact that I have stage 4 breast cancer, it simply means we have time to find the best treatment for me.  Yesterday at U of  M we listened to options and recommendations. Friday morning we will meet with my oncologist in Muskegon and work on a timeline to put treatment into action.

With stage 4, they start with the treatment that has proven to possibly keep cancer from growing while allowing quality of life.  So, we will start out with a few therapy's that have minimal side effects but also have been known to stop the cancer from growing then we hope and pray they work for years.  They can’t promise anything,  and we will live scan to scan, blood test to blood test.  I will start treatment soon and should be able to live life as normal through treatment for now. Praying that these drugs can keep the cancer from growing more. If they don’t work for me, then we go onto the next drug and see if that works.

After we meet on Friday and have a final plan and timeline I will make another update.  Of course we also have to wait for the insurance approval of the recommended treatment choices. 

Our family thanks you for the prayers, they are helping to us stay strong and hopeful during a time that it could be so easy to let go.

A few of my favorite people have sent us songs, and this one happens to be one of my favorites right now.  Go check it out on YouTube, it is powerful. 

Lauren Daigle - Trust In You - YouTube

Peace and Hope,

Chris and family 

Dancing with Mets....

In January of 2008 I was diagnosed with Stage 2 invasive breast cancer at the young age of 30.  My children were 4 and 7 at the time.  I underwent a double mastectomy and 4 months of chemo therapy.  The time flew by, I tolerated the treatments well and my kids did great. 

Fast forward through, a full time career, beach days, ski trips, vacations, busy kids and sporting events to October 2016 age 39.... So close to the 9 year cancer free anniversary. So close that some days I forgot I ever had breast cancer.

I saw my family care doctor mid October for kidney stone symptoms, she ordered a CT scan to see if they existed.  As I took the call from the nurse a few days later, she mentioned the scan picked up 2 stones that I should pass easily on my own, then she followed it up by, it also picked up some suspicious spots on your right lung and we would like you to see your oncologist ASAP for a PET scan.....  As my jaw dropped to the floor, I was speechless.  I wasn't expecting that call, I felt great, it had been 9 years. "NO NOT ME and NOT METS", I thought to myself. For those of you who don't know, metastatic breast cancer is the only breast cancer that kills. There is no cure. 

Within the same week I saw my oncologist, had a PET scan. and received a call that confirmed the CT scan and PET scan both show the same areas of concern, for metastatic breast cancer on my right lung. 

Then the waiting began..... What was really just a few shorts weeks felt like years. Years of tears, anxiety, worry, sleepless nights and many prayers. November 22nd I had a biopsy at the University of Michigan that confirmed my breast cancer has spread to the outside of my right lung. This is considered metastatic stage 4 cancer.  While stage 4 cancer is devastating we have several options for treatment.  We head back to the University on Tuesday,  we will work with my oncology team and develop a plan of attack. 

While our life will never be the same and our family adjusts to the new normal,  we will learn to live and thrive with stage 4 breast cancer.