Casey's Cancer Kickin' Krewe - We're #1

Hi, my name is Casey and I'm the BIGGEST procrastinator EVER!!  I know, I know, I'm sorry!  I've always been a procrastinator and probably always will be!  Now that we've got that established, I have some great news...

 

Last November Casey's Cancer Kickin' Krewe not only had a blast participating in the Komen walk, but we were the top fundraising team!  BOOM!!  That's what I'm talking about! 

 Not only have I been wanting to officially announce that on my blog, but I have some pretty amazing thank you cards that if you haven't gotten one already, should be getting one soon (shout out to Courtney Mitchell Photography).  Anyway, I can't thank everyone enough who participated and who donated!  Another big thanks goes out to the Krewe's team captain... thanks Elizabeth!! 

 

So in April, Elizabeth and I attended a luncheon (hosted by Komen) that not only recognized us as the top fundraising team, but also announced the local organizations in the Austin area who will receive funds raised.  Let me tell you, being able to meet representatives from these organizations and also hear stories from woman who have benefited from these organizations and the funds raised... WOW!  It truly was inspiring to see how much our fundraising efforts helped members in our community!  WAY TO GO KREWE!

 

I'll be walking again in the this year's race and will also be participating in one way or another in the Texas Mamma Jamma Ride.  I'll be posting more details about this soon, but "The Texas Mamma Jamma Ride is a recreational bike ride to raise much needed funds for our central Texas neighbors coping with breast cancer. This festive event saves and improves lives by supporting 10 local nonprofit organizations providing diagnosis, counseling, medication, and support for thousands of our neighbors coping with breast cancer. Since our inaugural year in 2009, the Mamma Jamma Ride has raised an astounding $1,000,000!."

 

Stayed tuned for more details, but until then I'd like to share Komen's April 2012 announcement of the local healthcare organizations community grants...

KOMEN AUSTIN AWARDS LOCAL HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS COMMUNITY GRANTS

April 12, 2012

The Austin Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced it will grant over $1.4 million this year, providing more than one $1 million in funds to local organizations in the Austin area and more than $400,000 to national research efforts.

Local non-profit healthcare organizations will implement breast cancer prevention, treatment and education programs for the uninsured and underinsured men and women in Travis, Williamson, Caldwell, Hays and Bastrop counties.

"This year 1,068 individuals in our five counties are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer," said Christy Casey-Moore, executive director of the Komen Austin Affiliate. "We must continue to do everything in our power to make sure our community has access to care and resources related to breast health and breast cancer, especially those that live in the margins with limited means "

All applicants that are legally operating providers are thoroughly reviewed by an anonymous grant review panel and selected based on the service gaps identified in our Community Profile, a research study published every two years. Local grants are distributed by the organization’s ability to implement projects that specifically address evidence-based strategies and programs to reduce breast cancer morbidity and mortality for those disproportionately affected by the disease in the Austin Affiliate's 5-county service area.

The 2012-2013 Austin Affiliate local grantees include:

• Alliance for African American Health in Central Texas
• CommuniCare Health Centers
• Community Action Inc. of Hays, Caldwell, and Blanco Counties
• Helping the Aging, Needy and Disabled
• National Center for Farmworker Health
• Planned Parenthood of the Texas Capital Region
• Samaritan Health Ministries
• The Breast Cancer Resource Centers of Texas
• The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing
• Women Involved in Nurturing, Giving, Sharing

About the Austin Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®
We live here. We race here. We save lives here.

One out of eight women here in the Austin area will have to fight breast cancer in her lifetime. That’s why, since 1999, the Austin Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure has been hard at work here in the Austin area raising money to provide breast cancer screening, education and medical services as well as financial and emotional support. In fact, up to 75 percent of the money we raise each year is put to work right here in Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties to improve the lives of everyone affected by this deadly disease. The remaining funds go to national research to find a cure for breast cancer once and for all. For more information about the organization, please visit www.komenaustin.org.

The "Other" Secret Weapon

Okay, I'm scheduled to get my new chemo cocktail tomorrow.  From there I'll be getting it every 21 days.  I'll still have to make trips to Tx Oncology for office visits (follow up apts) and lab work, but thankfully I won't be in the infusion room on a weekly basis.  Hopefully this secret weapon is "the one!"  

And please stay tuned for fundraising news and upcoming fundraising opportunities!  ;)

Chemo Cocktail #... What # Are We On Again??

The plan today was to start a new chemo cocktail... keeping with Tykerb, Herceptin, Zometa & Femara (a combo that I've been on the last 7 months), however we've taken Navelbine out of the cocktail and replaced it with Cisplatin.  Now, I've said this a million times, I LOVE having options, but I'm not going to lie... this new chemo cocktail was not one of our top 3 options.  Do you know how frustrating that is?!  The top 3 drugs that Dr. H recommended for me were quickly taken off the table due to various reasons... an unexplained spike in my lab work disqualified me from a trial, my insurance was unable to approve a drug b/c it had not been FDA approved, etc.  So over the last week I have convinced myself that maybe this new chemo cocktail is "the one" for me.  Everyone responds and reacts differently to each drug... maybe Cisplatin is "my drug."  Regardless if it's Dr. H's first pick or last, it could be "THE drug" that kicks this cancer's ass!  On top of my "convincing" myself of this being the one, I've also been preparing for what this new drug has in store for me.  How will I deal with the side effects?  Will I finally lose my hair?  I tell ya, after this last week, I'm emotionally and mentally drained.  And after all that, I walked into the infusion room today ready to start kickin' cancer's ass with my new secret weapon... Cisplatin!

(insert record scratching)

I'm sitting in the infusion room getting my Zometa when my Nurse Prac strolls in.  Before they even brought out my "secret weapon" Cisplatin, I'm being informed that the FDA approved one of our top 3 drug options AND my insurance covers it AND that's what Dr. H is wanting me to start.  Buuuuuuuut, what about the secret weapon I've been preparing myself for?  What does this mean?  Well, surely we're not limited to just one secret weapon, right?!  Ya, I didn't think so either!  So Cisplatin is being put on the back burner for some other time and now I need to get ready for another secret weapon.  Seriously, all this convincing and preparing myself for these new drugs is exhausting!!

So my new chemo cocktail will consist of Pertuzumab, Herceptin & Taxotere (in continuation w/ my Zometa & Femara).  I received my Zometa infusion today and now I'm waiting to hear when I'll start my other infusions (we're basically waiting for the pharmacy to order and receive the new drugs).  Until then I'm sure I'll be repeating exactly the same thing I did leading up to today... convincing myself this is "my drug," "THE drug" that kicks this cancer's ass and of course preparing for what this new drug has in store for me.  Oooooh, the viscous circle that is my life!

Here's to Chemo Cocktail #... Oh hell, I've lost track!  But this one could be "the one!"

Back to the Drawing Board... Again

Ugh!  We were SO close!  The ablation didn't get everything we were hoping it would.  Which really isn't a big deal... we knew there was a big possibility that they weren't able to get everything.  It appears that they annihilated the smaller lesion... yes, meaning it's no longer there.  Woohoo!  However they were only able to get a portion of the larger lesion.  So this is where the problem is... there are a couple of new lesions.  Granted they are pretty small lesions, but the fact is, the lesions are no longer "contained" like they were.  Which of course means that my chemo cocktail must have lost it's momentum (insert Debbie Downer music).  So back to the drawing board!  

Now I've said this in the past, but what's great about my cancer and my diagnosis, is that I have lots of options!  There are some amazing new drugs out there and Dr. H has 3 in particular in mind that she'd like me to consider.  There are of course the usual hoops and hurdles we need to jump through and over... for example, one of the drugs needs a certain Drs approval for me to start taking.  The reason for this is because it's no longer in a trial phase, but it's still not FDA approved.  And then one of the drugs needs approval from my insurance company.  So basically this week Dr. H has some wheeling and dealing to do.  I'll meet with her next week to discuss what she found out and which drug will be my best option.  

I'll keep you posted when I find out what my next chemo adventure will be.  The only question I have now is... how big is this drawing board?!?