Hello, everyone! Sorry, it’s been quite a while since I’ve checked in. I hope 2026 is treating y’all well so far.

My year started off with a scare. I detected a strange lump in my left breast, very near to where my original tumor developed. I’d like to say I didn’t freak out but that would be a lie. I was just sitting down to have dinner with family when I felt it. My thoughts must have been written all over my face because Caleb followed me upstairs. My brain told me it was probably just a result of surgery in September, but my stomach didn’t seem to get the message as it was tied in about a thousand knots. I promptly sent a message to my local oncologist that night and followed up with a phone call the next morning.

I want to tell you that immediate action was taken, that I didn’t have to fight for imaging, that my previous cancer diagnosis meant I was taken seriously without much convincing. Instead, I was told that I’d have to wait for my doctor to come back into the office, but the nurse couldn’t say for sure when that would be. The nurse, based off of a few questions, also told me that it didn’t seem urgent and that I’d most likely have to be “evaluated” before imaging would be ordered. I hung up the phone in shock. No imaging ordered, no appointment made, no sense of urgency at all. I didn’t just spent the last two and a half years fighting cancer to have my concerns brushed off. So I immediately called my primary care office. The wonderful woman that picked up the phone wasn’t sure she could help, but she understood the urgency and told me she would do whatever she could to help. She called me back less than an hour later to tell me an order for imaging had already been sent. I wish I could remember her name (chemo has sort of erased my ability to remember new names) so that I could send her a card or something to let her know just how much her understanding and compassion were needed and appreciated.

Getting an appointment that wasn’t two months away was difficult but I was able to get in a couple weeks after finding the lump. The radiologist actually came in after the ultrasound was performed to get more images and see it in real time. She told me that it didn’t look like angiosarcoma to her but recommended an MRI to be sure. I was able to get the MRI done before my trip to Houston in early February. Thankfully, the lump appears to be scar tissue/fat necrosis from surgery.

On top of all those fun appointments, I began an exercise program at the Y. It’s a special 12-week LiveStrong program for cancer survivors. I do that twice a week on top of the physical therapy I’m still doing for my knee. Needless to say January was a C-R-A-Z-Y month.

Caleb and I headed to Houston at the beginning of February for my routine scan and follow-up with the oncology team. I was also able to see a cardiologist while there despite missing the initial appointment due to flight delays and a missed connection. Luckily, he was able to work around our schedule and squeezed us in for a consultation as well as a couple tests. This appointment was pretty important because I’ve been experiencing some pretty scary spikes in heart rate while exercising. The doctor suspects that I have a benign electrical issue with my heart that is more annoying than dangerous. My CT scan came back clear — there is still no evidence of disease!

As thankful as I am that treatment seems to have done what is was meant to do, the effects of the chemotherapy and radiation have not lessened as I had hoped. For the last few months, I’ve been experiencing more of them when I had expected them to decrease. The fatigue is so severe that I feel like I need to nap more than a newborn. The “brain fog” has only thickened, making it easier for names and words to disappear even as I grasp for them. All the writing I had hoped to accomplish has felt nearly impossible. Add a little anxiety, heart palpitations, as well as a sprinkling of other symptoms in there and I’m not too proud to say I’m struggling a bit. But I’m a fighter. And a reader. So I’ve been looking into causes and courses of action.

A lot (if not all) of the symptoms point to pituitary or thyroid damage. It turns out that chemo can cause it but radiation can also reflect off bone and do damage as well. So I need to see an endocrinologist. But those guys are harder to see than the Loch Ness Monster. No diagnosis means no appointment, but how am I supposed to get a diagnosis without an appointment? My PCP ran a bunch of tests at my requests but, because nothing is crazy abnormal, she told me everything appears to be fine. I will never understand how a doctor can tell me I’m fine when I obviously don’t feel fine. Symptoms don’t just disappear because a blood test is “normal,” ya know?

So I’ve got another fight on my hands. But I’ve got a husband, three little kids, and a summer of adventure to look forward to. I can’t think of any reason more important to fight for. To be continued…

For now, I’ll keep scheduling my quarterly scans and pestering medical professionals until I find one that will actually listen and isn’t afraid to do a little investigating.

As always, thanks for reading along and don’t forget to find the sunshine wherever you can. Much love to you all!