Editor's Note: 7NEWS Meteorologist Pam Daale is grateful to all of the viewers who have expressed their best wishes as she wages her fight against breast cancer.Daale has chosen to use TheDenverChannel.com as her way of keeping the public updated on her health. New journal entries will be posted periodically.
As I begin to write this journal, I write with confidence and determination.
My confidence comes from the many who have already pledged their prayers and support, as well as my faith in a loving God. Many have expressed surprise that cancer would happen to me since I've already been through a disabling accident. But going through that made me realize that not only has God has made me to be a strong person, but also that He is really the One carrying me through it all (a la the Footprints poem).
Maybe it's not fair for one person to have to endure more than their share, but in my case, I know that God will never give me more than I can handle, so on I go.
My determination is to help other women (and men!) to be more aware of breast cancer and how to detect it early.
My story goes like this:
June 13: It was time for my annual well-woman check. All was fine. Since my mom had had breast cancer 16 years ago, it was time for a mammogram within the next year. No rush.
July 8: While doing a self exam, I found a sizeable lump in my left breast. It seemed to be about the size of a jumbo marshmallow. I rushed to the phone to make my mammogram appointment.
July 23: Mammogram and ultrasound. Both were inconclusive, so a core needle biopsy was done.
July 26: The results of the biopsy were suspicious, but even so, the doctors were not willing to say they were certain it was cancer.
August 14: A lumpectomy was performed to remove the lump and make a determination on whether or not it was cancerous. It was. Not only was it cancer, it was a 3 cm tumor which had likely infiltrated beyond the duct wall in which it formed. This tumor was aggressive. In fact, from the time I found it, to the time it was taken out, I could tell that it was still growing.
August 26: Breast MRI which showed no other tumors.
August 27: PET scan which showed no other tumors in other parts of my body.
August 28: MUGU which is a heart scan to make sure my heart was strong enough to withstand the chemo.
August 29: Tornado hits our house. No damage, but did lose a garbage can and plastic chair.
August 30: First chemo treatment. (What a week!)
Okay, I'll describe what the chemo was like, so if you're a bit squeamish about needles and things, you may want to read on with caution...
Before the treatment even started I had to take five little pills which would control the nausea. I was also given several other pills to take home in case the nausea and/or vomiting got too severe.
The chemo consisted of a syringe of red liquid called Adriamycin and a bottle of clear liquid called Cytoxan that dripped through a tube into a needle in my vein. Aside from the initial poke of the needle none of this really hurt.
I got a very strong itchy sensation in the upper part of the arm where the needle was inserted, and toward the end of the Cytoxan drip, I also got a sneezy feeling, and a severe tingle at the back of my neck. It was kind of like the feeling you get when swimming and water gets up your nose.
Because chemo attacks good cells too, like your white blood cells, I was also given a pneumonia shot as a precaution.
Once that subsided I was free to go home, and I felt fine. I was told what to take when the nausea started, but not being one who likes to put drugs into my body (I'll even wait to take aspirin until I can't stand the headache any more), I waited until I started feeling sick before I took anything. I don't know if it was the chemo, or the pneumonia shot, but that evening I was not feeling well.
I curled up on the couch, and for about the next 48 hours, spent most of the time sleeping. My stomach felt bloated, which I think also made my head hurt. I realized it was just gas, so took a gas pill which immediately got me turned around.
I've been feeling pretty normal ever since, which brings us to today. There are plenty of holes I've left out, but plan to fill in in the future. My next chemo treatment is Tuesday the 24th, so in my next update I'll fill you in on how that went, and what I've learned.
Until that time, blessings to all who read these lines....
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