Donna’s Story

Site created on September 20, 2018

     Anyone who knows me, knows pink is my favorite color.  I have loved the color since I was a little girl.  Pink flowers, pink clothes, I have a pink wallet, heck even my Discover credit card is pink.  Now, I can add a ribbon to my list of favorite pink things. The pink ribbon of hope for breast cancer.   Yes, I found out on September 11th,  I have breast cancer.  Invasive ductal carcinoma. Wow, how did that happen?  It has taken me by surprise and I'm still not sure if it has sunken in yet.  


     Dale and I have met with so many physicians and nurses this last week, I've had to start carrying a notebook to keep things straight.  So many medical terms that are difficult for me to understand that I have to write them down and research it later.    For instance, I was told my cancer was Triple Negative.  What exactly is that?  As it was explained to me, the different subtypes of cancer are diagnosed based on the presence or lack of, three "receptors", which are known to fuel most breast cancers.  These receptors are estrogen, progesterone and human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2).  Testing negative for all three means the cancer is triple negative.  These negative results mean that the growth of the cancer is not supported by the hormones estrogen and progesterone, nor by the presence of too many HER2 receptors.  Therefore, triple negative breast cancer does not respond to hormonal therapy or therapies that target HER2 receptors.  So what does that mean for me?  


     Well, for starters, next Wednesday, I will have surgery to have a port put in place.  The port will be used to administer the chemotherapy I will be receiving for the next 4 months.  That is step one.  The oncology team has stated to me they are doing chemo first to shrink the tumor, then on to step two.  Step two will be surgery.  Fortunately, the tumor is small, and therefore I have chosen to have a lumpectomy.  Following surgery, stage 3 will be 4 weeks of radiation.  


    To say I am frightened is a huge understatement.  This is a journey down a path of many unknowns.  My pink road of courage and hope, as I will now call it.  


      Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz (my favorite movie by the way), who had to follow the yellow brick road to find her way back home,  my journey will be down a "pink"road of courage, back to health.  Along her journey, Dorothy needed courage to outsmart those nasty flying monkeys.  I too will need to find courage to help me fight all the uncertainties that chemotherapy and radiation will bring.  And like Dorothy, I will not be alone.  I have by far the best family and friends to follow down this road with me.   


    Thank you to all of you that have taken the time to comfort both Dale and I during this last week.  Thank you for the calls, emails, flowers and words of encouragement.  It is all of you that have given me the strength to get up each morning and face another day - knowing that each day I am one step closer to recovery.   This is not going to be an easy journey,  thoughts of what is coming my way scares me, but knowing I have such wonderful friends and family comforts me more than you know.  I am not alone, and I am truly blessed to have all of you in my life.  


     I am not good at putting my thoughts and emotions in writing, but I will do my best to keep everyone informed.  My nurse navigator told me these blogs will make things easier so that I only have to explain things once.  So I will do my best to write often to let everyone know what's going on.  


     Until next time, thanks for listening and know that I am  sending love to you all - xoxoxox


Donna




     




   

Newest Update

Exhausted but Grateful

Journal entry by Donna Pitt Hyatt —

Hello to all my lovely friends and family - wow, where has time gone?  Haven't written since January - can that be right?  So much has happened since then.  On February 12th I had surgery - which was a success.  Amen to that.  The surgery did take the 5 hours they expected and I spent the night at the hospital.  Home the next day and did nothing but rest.  Yes - the surgery took a lot out of me.  Took awhile to recuperate from that.  Spent the rest of February and all of March getting back into the grove of things.  April came along and radiation started.  Radiation is every day.  No, it doesn't hurt getting radiation but, for me I find it nerve racking.  I don't like machines getting that close to me and the thought of what they are doing (radiation) on purpose and so close to my heart, makes me a nervous wreck.  But, I'm almost done.  That's why I needed to write this down.  This sight (caring bridge) has been my form of journal, allowing me to keep in touch with those of you that are far away.  I have made it up all the hills that cancer has placed before me and I am on the way to the finish line.  April 25th is my last scheduled radiation treatment and I couldn't be happier.  I will be done with all my treatments.  No more chemo, no additional surgeries and no more radiation.  But, my journey is not over.  There will be more doctor's visits, follow ups and tests to be done, but I have beat the ugly monster (Cancer).  I'm very grateful for all the friends and family that continue to reach out to me to see how I am doing, how I am feeling.  I must say, I have such a different outlook on life now.  It's actually sad to say that - it's sad to say that I had to go through getting Cancer to appreciate some of the little things in life.  So, don't fret over the spilled glass of milk on the carpet.  Let the boys go out and play in the mud.  Have that second glass of wine.  Eat the damn cake and love the one your with!  Love your neighbor and call the friend you haven't spoken to in a long time.  Don't waste another day - go live it.  Enjoy it - and if you take away anything from reading this - please know, if you took the time to read this journal entry or any of them for that matter, than that means you care about me - and I love you for that.
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