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I have a dark, salty sense of humor. The chemo pod nurses do, too! This window decoration was at my eye level in the chemo pod today. Ha! Not today, Death.

Here is a link to the scripture I mentioned in the video:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2017%3A11-19&version=MSG

Today is National Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day. Here is a link to my donation page. All money goes to Metavivor which gives all its money toward researching MBC.

https://donate.metavivor.org/fundraiser/5554408

I decided to take a year off of advocacy last November. My health was very poor and I needed a break. I didn’t know then that my mom would pass in December. It hasn’t been an easy road. My new line of treatment seems to be controlling the breast cancer in my brain (knock on wood). I’m seeing a nutritionist who has helped me regain more physical strength despite the frequent – and sudden – bouts of vomiting and diarrhea. I am a realistic and resilient person, but all that gets pretty exhausting. I don’t leave home much because of the side effects, but it’s okay because I love my home on the family farm with my lab, my art/writing room, and my piano.

I am also taking a break from social media so I would appreciate you sharing my posts. There are buttons at the bottom of the page to make that easier. You can navigate to my home page and hit the subscribe button to receive email notifications of new blog posts.

Thanks for reading this far. Thanks for your support. F cancer.

I got my flu and Covid vaccines today. Since I have chemo 107 on Tuesday, I figured this was a better time to do it since my blood count takes a dive each time I get chemo. Please get vaccinated. It helps people like me with severely compromised immune systems. Be a super hero. For me.

Today we left home at 4:30 am. I had a brain MRI and an appt with my radiation oncologist. I extended my streak for unremarkable brain scans – the desired result. It has been well over a year now without any new brain tumors. The new treatment I switched to last summer seems to be working well. We are relieved, as you can see on our expressions.

Madi and I are grieving hard for Indie. She outlived the vet’s prognosis by 9 months and I am so grateful for all that extra time to take care of her and love her. Her osteosarcoma finally made it impossible for her to stand. Cancer is a bitch.

September 27 was the Chicagoland Be a Hero Fun Run for Metavivor in Plainfield, IL. It was a beautiful day. My team at the walk consisted of my husband, Dave, my daughter, Haley, my cousin, Suzi, and my friends, Lila, Patti and Joy. I got a new Wonder Woman costume and had a lot of fun with it. I’m so grateful for my team walking with me. They all live 3 hours from Plainfield. It is so generous of them to make that trip for me. I’ve mentioned that my body cannot regulate temperature well anymore. I became a little too hot before the race started and lost my cookies. Ugh. But I walked the course immediately after that. F cancer. Thank you to everyone who contributed, too.

My family means everything to me. I imagine getting to heaven someday and showing God a photo of these 4 people and telling God this is it – this was my life and these people made me whole. I celebrated their 28th, 24th, and 23rd birthdays with them this year. I never thought that was possible 6 years ago. I watched the second one graduate college. Dave and I celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary.

October is here and the pink-washing is everywhere I look. Please be discerning about where your dollars are going. Many companies put a pink ribbon on their product and vaguely mention that some portion of the cost will go to support something dealing with breast cancer. Please read the fine print.

95% – 98% of all breast cancer deaths are caused by metastatic breast cancer, yet of all the money spent researching breast cancer, only 2% – 4% goes to researching metastatic breast cancer. It is a horrific disparity.

My fundraising campaign is for Metavivor. All money goes metastatic breast cancer research. My life literally depends on this research to keep finding new lines of treatment over time. Please help end the research disparity by contributing to MBC research.

https://donate.metavivor.org/fundraiser/5554408

We are driving home from Plainfield. I’ll tell you all about this fantastic day in a later post.

The scans yesterday showed no new cancer and existing cancer is controlled. I have some lung damage (small collapse) from years of chemo, which is expected. In two weeks I have a brain MRI and meet with my radiation oncologist. A week later I receive chemo 107 and get an echocardiogram. I get those every 3 to 6 months because my chemo drugs are known to cause heart damage. Today I did not get out of bed until 4:30. Tomorrow will be a better day.

As I write this it is 5 am and we’ve been on the road over an hour. Today I have a whole body bone scan, chest/ab/pelvic CT, labs, oncology appointment, and treatment 106. We will likely not return home until nearly midnight. It has been 6 months since my last neck-down scans. That is the longest I’ve gone between scans since I was diagnosed with MBC in 2019. In two weeks I have another brain MRI. I get those every 2-3 months, something that is not likely to change given my cancer’s propensity to grow in my brain. I have been experiencing a great deal of back and hip pain lately. The scans today should be able for us to determine if my pain is due to cancer or degeneration.

Dave and I left at 5 am for St. Louis. It was a beautiful morning and the drive was uneventful.

Heidi’s Fun Fact: I never liked revolving doors. I always wondered if it was related to my extreme motion sickness. Since my brain tumors, though, I cannot use them. They make me extremely dizzy and I bang into the sides. I appreciate the regular doors on either side.

On days I do not see my oncologist they access my port here and draw blood for the lab. We wait for results to make sure I am healthy enough to receive treatment today. Leukopenia and anemia are ongoing problems for me, but not severe enough to prevent treatment today. Once my oncologist sees the lab results she electronically orders the drug to be prepared in the Oncology Pharmacy. It has to be prepared on site and to my weight today. Waiting for pharmacy is usually the longest part of treatment. The nurse hooks up the infusion bag and it takes 30 minutes. Then they flush my port and de-access it. Then we are out the door for the 3.5 hour drive home.

The Chicagoland Be a Hero Fun Run is set for Saturday, September 27 at Settlers’ Park in Plainfield, IL. Check-in starts at 10:30 am and the race at 12:00 pm. This will be my third year participating and it is truly a joyful event. There are vendors, raffle items and food. No one runs and no one times you. We just walk around the park. It is JUST FOR FUN and raises money for Metavivor. MBC Thrivers are honored in a brief ceremony at the end. I have a brand new Wonder Woman costume for this year’s event. When you register, join my team (simply my name).

Here is a link to register and join my team:

http://raceroster.com/events/2025/101592/chicagoland-be-a-hero-fun-run/register?team=845772

Here is a link to donate to my team:

http://raceroster.com/events/2025/101592/chicagoland-be-a-hero-fun-run/pledge/team/845772