Hi Friends!!! I DID IT! I completed all 4 rounds of chemo and officially DONE with this portion of the journey! YAY!! Reading the passage before ringing the bell was so emotional …”Ring this bell 3 times well, its toll to clearly say, my treatments done, this course is done and I am on my way”… guys how do you read this outloud without crying!! Totally got choked up and let’s just say I didn’t just ring the bell 3 times… it was more like I rang the sh!t out of it hahaha! Lets pray this is the last chemo bell I have to EVER ring!

Lets rewind… lots of updates!

---

Surgeon/Plastics appts:

I met Dr. Nigriny for the first time last week! He specializes in DIEP flaps which is the reconstruction I was leaning toward having. BUT my team suggested I listen to all my options before making a final decision. Dr. Nigriny explained I basically have 3 options…. a flat closure (no boobs), DIEP flap or very small implants. If you asked me on March 4th when I found out my cancer had returned I would’ve said “chop them off and do a flat closure”. But I was also extremely angry at my boobs and it wasn’t the right time to be making such a big/life long decision! I am SO thankful I had chemo first and was able to make a more rational/less emotional decision (if that makes sense). After listening to my options I have decided to do the DIEP flap! For those that don’t know (they take tissue, fat, skin & vessels from your abdomen and create new breast). They will be half the size but I am totally fine with that! I will need a CT angiogram of my abdomen to make sure the vessels look good prior to surgery… fingers crossed for good vessels!! Surgery sounds INTENSE… 8-12 hours on the table with 3 days in the ICU 😬 I mean I’m going through hell right now so my thought is bring it on… let’s go through ALL the hell and hopefully this is all a distant memory in 2026 with new belly boobs haha! I then met with Kari quickly after seeing Dr. Nigriny. I love her so much!! She gave me THREE hugs during our visit!! She felt the DIEP flap was a great decision! She said she needs extra tissue from another area on my body anyways to fill in when she does the double mastectomy/removal of tumors. Sounds like everyone is on board with the surgery plan!

MRI Results:

Usually they wait till chemo is over but Kari decided to do an MRI now to see if the tumors are shrinking and prepare for surgery. MRI’s are my LEAST favorite imaging. My shoulders were BURNING from being over my head for an HOUR and not to mention you have to lay on your stomach with your boobs hanging in a hold hahah! And I always have the craziest face wrinkles afterwards! Anyways the following day I was able to see my results on the portal. It read “no significant change in size or kinetics”. Meaning my tumors have not changed and remain the same size. My heart sank 😢 For the past 2 months I have been through chemo HELL and it’s not working?? UGH! That night Kari called and talked to me for 20 minutes. She reassured me that sometimes the tumors will remain the same size but be “dead tumor cells”. She also explained that an MRI isn’t always accurate. She said one of her patients showed a complete response to chemo on MRI and then during surgery the tumor ended up being 9 cm in size!!! So you just never know. She also said to hold onto the fact that I feel like the tumors are shrinking! My oncologist reminded me yesterday that chemo is systemic and hopefully killing any tumor cells that could be possibly be floating around my body! So trying to stay positive!!

3 Day Chemo Fast:

Chemo side effects were absolutely BRUTAL after infusion #3. Most likely from messing up my steroid dose but I was miserable and literally cried almost every day for a week. I have heard a lot of women doing “chemo fasting” and the benefits it has including increasing the effectiveness of chemo and decreasing side effects!! I figured why not try! Especially knowing chemo side effects get worse every round so I was really nervous about this last one. I am on DAY 3 of fasting! I fasted the day before chemo, the day of and today is my last day (I can eat again at 7:30)!! Going to ease into it and start with bone broth which has low calories, lots of protein and no glucose which usually keeps you in ketosis! SO FAR I honestly feel pretty good. A little foggy and nauseous last night but not bad at ALL compared to my last infusion.

Hair update:

Cold capping is working!!! I am SO happy to say that I have kept roughly 40-50% of my hair! It is such a good feeling entering a store without people staring at me looking like I am about to croak hhahah! Minus the mask I have to wear but they probably just think I am sick. I am losing lots of eyebrows but thank god I did the microblading because they are super easy to pencil in and you can’t notice at all…. 100% recommend microblading before chemo! SO worth it!! Eyelashes are thinning but not too bad! It’s honestly a great feeling…. the “look good feel good” quote is spot on. My mental health has been so much better this time around looking less like a cancer patient!

Next up:

• July 1st- CT Angiogram to check my abdominal vessels to make sure they look good for the DIEP procedure!
• July 2nd- Meeting with Dr. Brower (my radiation oncologist) to discuss if I will need radiation or not. Kari said there was definitely a possibility.
• Pending surgery date- I should find out early next week! The hope is to schedule is mid-July.

Thank you SO MUCH!!!

Words can’t express how thankful my husband and I are for all the support we have been receiving from family & friends!! Donations, meals, fundraisers, gifts, etc.!! I told my oncologist I wanted to get some shifts in at work prior to surgery and she gave me a “hell no” look lol! She said I really can’t risk getting sick prior to surgery and need to concentrate on getting stronger and staying healthy. Long story short I have no idea when I will be able to return to work. Surgery will be roughly a 6-8 week recovery and then possibly radiation. It’s just A LOT. Taking this time off would not be possible without your donations and help. We are SO GRATEFUL!!!

XO, KPOW