Three Years From Diagnosis

Three years ago today I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was a long road but I am happy to say I feel great and I am very optimistic about my future. I realize the cancer can still recur but I do my best not to dwell on it. A number of women who were diagnosed with similar stage, grade, tumor markers and at the same time as I was have recurred and are now stage 4, but most are fine. I spoke to a lot of women on breastcancer.org. and I have continued to follow some of their journeys. It was a great site and I learned a lot there. Back then people told me I should join a support group. There was no way I could do that since babysitting was an issue for me, plus, a lot of the time I was too tired to go drive somewhere. Breastcancer.org is an online support group, discussion site and wealth of information. I highly recommend it to anyone dealing with breast cancer.

So for me it is a happy anniversary. I am happy to have gotten through tough tines and happy to be looking ahead. Tierney is almost in the second trimester. I really feel like we will make it this time and have a baby. Life is good!!

Moving Along!

Tierney is starting to feel a lot better. She says she is hungry all the time. She is also  (finally) off the progesterone shots. The progesterone shots are intramuscular shots that are needed every day. It is a think fluid and the shots are pretty painful. They also cause intense itching. These shots are required with in vitro fertilization (ivf). Why are they needed, you ask? Well, with natural fertilization the follicle on the ovary ruptures and the egg comes out and is fertilized, usually in the fallopian tube. The part of the follicle that is left behind after fertilization is called the corpus luteum. The corpus luteum produces progesterone to support the pregnancy until the placenta takes over. In ivf the egg is removed from the ovary via syringe. The egg is fertilized and then put back in the body. Or, in this case put back into Tierney's body. So, there is no corpus luteum to produce the progesterone. But now the placenta is making enough progesterone to support the pregnancy so she can stop these painful shots.

When I did IVF myself I had to do the shots. In my case I lost any pregnancies I achieved via IVF so I wasn't on the shots for very long with any cycle. When I was pregnant with Julianna (IUI) I used supplemental progesterone too. It was great when I got to stop so I know how happy Tierney is about that!

We have a week and a half to go until the second trimester starts. That is very exciting because the risk of losing the pregnancy goes down a lot at that point.

When the doctor did the last sonogram he said that the sack is measuring exactly as it should be but the baby is slightly bigger. He said he thought it would be a big baby. It is amazing that they can even say that at this point. We will see what happens. It will be strange to have a big baby after such a peanut last time.

Keep your fingers crossed!!!!!