December was not the month I expected it to be. Instead of shopping I was waiting. The worst part of the whole process. Waiting for results. Waiting for more tests to be scheduled. Waiting to be referred to oncology. It has been 18 years since my original cancer. The thing about cancer is once you get it, even if it goes away, it is always in the background of your mind. Your back hurts…oh that might be cancer, you find a mole…that is definitely cancer. The worry stays with y

Today I received the first infusion of the bone strengthening medication, zoledronic acid aka Zometa. This is given when your have low bone density as the hormone inhibitor, Letrozole depletes your bone density. The infusion made my arm burn but so far I am feeling ok, just tired. The nurse used a vein finding device which was something I have never seen before and found it so interesting! She just shone this green light on my are and all the veins popped out, so cool!

On June 18, I went for CT scans of my lungs and abdomen. The results showed no progression of the nodule in my lungs, they did see a legion on the spleen however it was determined benign and stable. My bone density scan showed signs of osteoporosis and osteopenia so I will have to start Zometa injections every six months. It’s a biophosphonate medication that will slow down the thinning of my bones due to the anti cancer medication, letrozole that I am on. Overall the news is

Every three months for the rest of my life I will have to come here for bloodwork and CT scans to check if my cancer is stable or if progression has occurred. This is the second round of the 3 month tests. It will be two weeks before I get the results so that sucks for my brain. Overall I am very positive however waiting can take a toll.

I sit in waiting rooms more often so started to crotchet again that way I have something to do while I wait. In the begining of March I was sent for multiple CT scans to check on the progression of my tumor. Today I met with the oncologist and am happy to report no new growths and the lung nodule has slightly decreased in size. Happy dance.

This is the lovely little gym at the Bannon house. My exercise routine takes about 45 minutes and works both upper and lower body. The kinesiologist there develops a program specific to your needs, she is trained specifically in working with people with critical illness. I am really enjoying it. The best part is I will be able to keep it up at home once the program is over. It is helping with overall fatigue. Wellspring offers so many amazing programs. I am also attending se

Wellspring Cancer Support is such a great resource for cancer patients across Canada. In New Brunswick they have this lovely house that was donated and converted into a facility that offers yoga, support groups, nutrition classes, art therapy, exercise programs and more specifically for cancer patients, caregivers and their families. I went for an exercise assessment and will start my 12 week strength training program on Monday. https://wellspring.ca

Who knew such a tiny little pill could be a cancer treatment! Not me I tell you. My last encounter with cancer was full swing port-a-cath chemotherapy therapy sessions that lasted half a day! Now in the comfort of my own home I just swallow this little pill. This is Letrozole and it is a hormone inhibitor. My cancer is estrogen positive so this drug reduces the production of estrogen in my body and therefore cuts off the food supply to the cancer. On a side note this pill is

The outlook is good. Well in general I have a positive view of life so I am good regardless. My cancer is indolent, in other words, lazy . It grows nice and slow, so responds well to treatment. It will be treated as a chronic condition. There are multiple lines to my treatment plan. When the first line of treatment is no longer effective I move to the second line treatment and when that no longer works then the third line and so forth which overall means I should be around f

The pathology report came back as breast cancer. The same type and biology as the cancer I had in 2007. My breast cancer has returned eighteen years later in my lung. Official diagnosis is secondary breast cancer, aka metastatic breast cancer. Much has changed in 18 years. Treatments have advanced and of course I am learning new things based on this specific cancer. For instance metastatic cancer actually has a few subtypes and I fall into the Oligometastic type. This means I

For the last four years a specialist has been following a nodule in my lung. What that means is every 6 months I have been going for regular CT scans. In October of 2025 the CT scan showed signs of growth which lead to a lung biopsy. As biopsies go I much preferred the lung one over breast biopsies. First of all I was sedated for this one, before they even gave me the freezing needle! You don't receive that kind of treatment for a breast biopsy and let me tell you the freezin