Not Going To Give Up

March has been a busy month for us, but wanted to share some news with my visitors.

Some of you may know that we moved to Montana last year after my husband retired. Well.. with that move came having to find a new cancer facility somewhere close to where we live.

After a lot of research, I found the Billings Cancer Center in Billings, MT. The thing that drew me to choose them over clinics that might be closer was that they have a Naturopathic MD on staff, like Cancer Treatment Centers of America. I truly feel that the nutritional supplements my NMD prescribes for me have been a MAJOR reason why I am still alive and kicking today.

Anyway.. short story long, I had my visit there this month with a bone scan and blood work done and all came out looking just great!

I was diagnosed in June 2007 with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. Typically people in this stage will live a few years after diagnoses – WITH medical treatment / chemo / radiation, etc.

I cannot express enough how blessed by God I feel to have survived this awful breast cancer for so long. There have been so many momentous things happen that I, statistically, should not have been around to go through! Statistically women in stage 4 mets cancer have a survival rate of getting 5 years out of 22%. I am now almost 11 years out from my diagnosis date. No one in this world can convince me that the reason I am still alive is only by the grace of God!

Thank you all for reading this and I hope that you have a blessed Easter!

Judy Gunderson

Those of you that follow my blog may remember that I go to Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Zion, IL every 6 months for scans, blood work and to see all the members of my care team.  Additionally, every 6 months, I see my local oncologist for blood work.  This way, I am being tested every 3 months to make sure my tumor marker counts and other blood work is within normal range.

We left to head up to Zion on our 28th wedding anniversary – Sept 12th.  We decided to wait until we got back home to “officially” celebrate our anniversary with family because we had to leave in the morning in order to get to Coralville, Iowa which is our halfway point on our journey.

It is kind of weird…. but after all these years of traveling up to CTCA, we have this regular routine we follow and almost feel like if we deviate from the routine it will JINX things!  lol  So, like two rats in a maze, we make our trip, always nervous, but also always very hopeful that the scans will turn out fine.

My care team consists of my Oncologist, my Naturopathic MD, my nurse, my care manager and my nutritionist.   My scans came out fine, with the exceptions of a mild uptake in my left jaw that is probably periodontal disease – will be checking with my dentist on that one.

My Oncologist, Dr. Neelam, is so wonderful – I just have this sense of love and loyalty to her because she is so instrumental in the fact that I, being in stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, am a SURVIVOR.  She is so caring and supportive – and reassuring.  My husband and I will most likely be retiring to Montana in a few years, and I expressed to her how concerned I am because I know insurance wise I am grandfathered in to come see her because of the rules they had 8 years ago.  I told her, as tears ran down my face, that I can’t stand the thought of not being able to come for scans and checkups every 6 months.  She told me that I need to stop worrying about it – that everything would work out – and there was no reason to even be thinking about this when retirement is a few years away.  (she apparently doesn’t know what a “planner of goals” that I am!  lol)  After she examined me, and helped me up to a sitting position, she put her hand on my shoulder and said that she truly believes that one of the main reasons I am still here today is because of my positive attitude.  She said I need to hang onto that and keep being that way and stop worrying about things.  It is definitely easier said than done…. but I will do my best!!!

I was so VERY thrilled to run into Babette this time!  When I first started going to CTCA, she was at the front desk at the Doctors office.  Then she moved to a different position, which I was able to track her down and say hi to… THEN she moved to another position – and I have never been able to get to see her, even though I knew where her office was.  One time I remembered leaving her a note.

Well… this time there she was!  We hugged, exchanged all our normal pleasantries on how we all are doing, showed her pictures of my 2 grand babies AND I got to take a picture with her!  I have not seen her since my Five year Celebrate Life party – which was 3 years ago!

I am always grateful to be able to have a Naturopathic MD on my team!  Khara takes such good care of me and helps me with finding supplements that will help me with certain things that “ail” me.  This time, she was able to help me with supplements that would offset the side effects of all the morphine that the local pain management doctor has me on.  She is such an INTEGRAL part of my care and I don’t know what I would do without having her to consult with!

Well – that’s about it for this visit!  All checked out fine and I am ready to get scheduled to come back to see my care team in March 2016!

Thanks to all of you who remember me and my family in your prayers!

Looking Backwards into 2014
One of the most precious, special moments in 2014 was watching our daughter, Marianne, give birth to a little baby boy – Samuel James Boyd, Jr on April 21st!  As with the birth of Addy, Marianne invited me to be in the birthing room with her and Sam while she gave birth.  It was such a special thing for me that she would want me there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our little Addyson Joy who was a few months shy of 3 years old was (and still is) mesmerized by her new baby brother!  She is so good with him, and I hope she continues to be that way when he gets mobile and starts trying to play with “her” toys!  LOL

As many of you know, I go to Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Zion, IL for my care, and also see a local Oncologist.  In June of this year I received an email from Cancer Fighters Thrive (a part of CTCA) announcing a new website and asking everyone to send in an inspirational travel adventure story which may be included on the new website.  Now… consider that I am statistically supposed to have been pushing up daisies years ago … so an opportunity like this was something I could not pass up!  LOL  So, I sent in my story about traveling with our sons in 2013 – complete with pictures, and it was ACCEPTED!!

My FAVORITE part about my story being published was the very last part that said  “No case is typical. You should not expect to experience these results. ”

Here is a link to the article if you want to look at it.

In September, 2014, my husband, Tom, and I celebrated 27 years of marriage.  I cannot ever express how grateful I am that God brought us together!

Two of my saddest moments this year was the loss of a friend, Katie Skully Trammell, to breast cancer.  While I never met her, she found me on the internet as a breast cancer victim and we made friends.  She sent me an angel – which made me start collecting them.  She fought a good fight and was so young with young children.   Later in the year I lost my cousin, Janie Ralls to breast cancer as well.  I remember as a child us going to Oklahoma to visit them – many many precious memories!  I also had gone down to see her after she had her mastectomy to try to encourage her because she was so upset.  Both of these deaths broke my heart!

One thing that meant a lot to me was a high school friend messaging me on Facebook and saying   “Kiddo your attitude is amazing and an inspiration! Based on what I see from you on here and the all too brief time we saw each other this summer I don’t think you know what a special person you are.”

The reason that means so much to me is that I try SO HARD to keep a positive, joyful attitude.  But some days, the pain from the tumor in my back, bulging discs, etc. make it a real chore to maintain that.  I have my pity parties, then try to get my emotions and mind back on track.  Honestly, some days I am completely exhausted at the end of the day, just from trying to keep a good mental attitude.  That may sound crazy to some, but for those of you who go through chronic pain, or have a “death sentence” hanging over your head may know what I mean.

Looking Forward into 2015
I am so excited to, come June 15, be able to yell from the rooftops that I was diagnosed EIGHT YEARS ago with stage four metastatic breast cancer and I am still here to tell YOU that YOU can get the same results!!

I am looking forward to seeing my Grandson crawl and take his first steps and then start RUNNING!  I am looking forward to seeing my Granddaughter riding her bicycle and scooter.  I am looking forward to celebrating 28 years of marriage with the man who stole my heart in Utah so many years ago!  I am looking forward to another year of visits to CTCA with good scan results!  I am looking forward to meeting up with friends and going out to lunch, meeting NEW friends and hopefully being of some encouragement to those going through their own breast cancer journey, I am looking forward to spending time with all of my family and so much more!

Here is hoping that whomever is reading this will have the greatest year yet, filled with love, joy, compassion and most of all HOPE!!

I don’t have a clue why I get so stressed out a week or two before my next visit to Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Zion, IL.  I mean, I pray every night and thank the Lord for taking such good care of me and for giving me another day to be with my family.  I feel sort of sacrilegious for always thanking God for helping me beat all the odds and statistics, but then be so stressed before the visit.  What is up with that anyway?

My husband and I took our usual car trip to the hospital, staying overnight in Coral City, IA before heading out to Waukegan, IL where we stay.  The trip is nice because we get a chance to talk about everything under the sun and share our feelings and dreams with each other.  That will never get old!

I had my PET scan on Monday the 16th and saw the oncologist and the rest of my care team on the 17th.  Normally it is just a matter of going in, getting the great news that all is ok, hugging everyone goodbye and leaving.  But this time it was a little different.  The PET scan showed an area in my “rump” for lack of a more politically correct word that there could be a problem with.  So as soon as the doctor saw that, they scheduled me for an MRI.  What they found was NOT cancer, but a “complete avulsion of the conjoined tendon from ischial tuberosity and mild partial thickness tearing of the gluteus minimus and gluteus maximus at the greater trochanter”

Guess the bottom line is this…. cancer is being controlled well, but the rest of my body is falling apart!  LOL

Grateful that we could leave with smiles on our faces!

This time of the year is pretty emotional for me for a few different reasons. First, and most  important, on September 12, 1987 I married the love of my life, Thomas Gunderson, who has stood beside be through thick and thin. Secondly, it was in September of 2007 that I first went to Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Illinois for diagnosis and treatment of stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. I was there meeting with doctors and having scans and chemo during the week of our 20^th wedding anniversary, which should have been a day together filled will love and celebration instead of one of dread and hopelessness.

Looking back seven years later, I am so glad I went “out of my comfort zone” and flew out to CTCA for treatment instead of having treatment here locally! I truly believe that God led me there and that I would not be alive today had I not gone there. When I say that to people, they want to know why I feel that way. There are a few reasons I can think of off the top of my head, and these are not the only reasons.
1. The doctor here told me I had about 6 months to live without treatment and possibly 2-3 years with recurring treatment. My doctor at CTCA told me that while statistically that was true, they are at the cutting edge of technology and treatment and would do everything they could to help me not be one of those statistics.
2. The doctor locally could count on one hand how many stage 4 breast cancer patients she had treated. Three of them had passed prior to 5 years. CTCA has a much better success rate and more experience.
3. The local doctors scoff at homeopathic, natural treatment. The doctors at CTCA ENCOURAGE this treatment and I have my own dedicated Naturopathic MD as part of my care team! There are so many herbs and vitamins that can help with cancer, and I believe every Oncologist should learn about them and use as part of their treatment plan! I go every six months to CTCA for scans and consult now, and every six months to my local oncologist – so I am being seen and having blood workup every 3 months. My local Oncologist keeps telling me that there is nothing CTCA can do for me that they cannot do here locally. The last time he said that, I asked him if he had a Naturopathic MD on staff now that would be able to prescribe natural treatments. His response, with a disgusted look on his face, was no. I then told him that showed me that they COULDN’T do everything here locally that CTCA does for me!

So, as I get myself prepared emotionally for this next visit on September 15^th, I get a lump in my throat because I am so grateful for the grace of God and all He has done for me and my family! Who would have ever thought that I would still be here driving everyone nuts this late in the game? I know I surprise the doctors – because I have had a few tell me that I should not be alive considering how “far gone” I was when I was first diagnosed.

While I cannot more highly recommend CTCA for treatment for those with cancer, I did not intend for this post to be a free advertisement! LOL  I just want anyone reading this to know that there IS HOPE after a cancer diagnosis and to never, ever give up!