#72

I will spend four days at Siteman Cancer Center this month; this is the first. Today is treatment #72. I drove myself down here and it looks like it will be a very late drive home. My appointment was 3:00 and it is now 5:00 and pharmacy has not delivered the infusion bags yet. There are only 2 other patients in my pod and they are both receiving their first treatments. Hearing the detailed instructions and all their questions takes me right back to my first time here over 4 years ago.

I remember feeling overwhelmed more than anything; it had only been 12 days since I had found out that I had breast cancer and it had already spread to my bones, liver and adrenal gland. I know now that the short turn around time was a blessing as my cancer was aggressively spreading as evidenced by consecutive scans. I had cut my hair short in anticipation of losing it. In the photo you see my pink binder that had pages of test results, biopsy results, information about Barnes and lots of notes that my husband took for me so I could just try to listen and comprehend in all this early appointments. I wouldn’t be here today without Siteman Cancer Center and my husband, Dave. He keeps me going on the worst days and can always make me laugh during some of our toughest moments.

My cancer was not detected by my annual mammograms because I have highly dense breast tissue. I am an ambassador for My Density Matters. We work to empower women to know their breast density and to advocate for the scans they need if they have dense breast tissue. It helps my mental health immensely to tell my story and know that I am preventing what happened to me to happen to others. Please consider purchasing a Heidi’s Hope Box to support our organization.

https://powerplanter.com/drills-and-augers/gardening-augers/heidis-hope-box/