"A Friend Loves At All Times..." Proverbs 17:17a

My friend, Tanya, works for a company called It Works! They have a "Give Back Day" where one can donate a portion of their sales to an organization or a cause. I am pleased to announce that Tanya has chosen to donate to my youcaring.com fundraiser. 
Check this out:

Tanya Kingsbury

6 hrs · 

I NEED YOUR HELP!!!!

One of my friends Deidre Melanese is fighting Breast Cancer right now! She is a amazing Godly woman who I met almost 20 years ago at the Horizon School of Evangelism. As most of you know fighting cancer is expensive and insurance does not cover everything and she is not able to work during this time which makes paying her basic necessities tough! Her blog to follow her journey is here
http://yourdailydoseofdeidre.blogspot.com/2014/08/gods-been-good-to-me.html?spref=fb

One of the things I love about IT WORKS is they are HUGE about giving back and Sept 6th is IT WORKS GIVE BACK DAY. I am wanting to donate $5 for every Body or Facial Wrap I sell between now and Sept 6th to help Deidre. Also any products purchased on my website I will donate to her my commissions! I feel so fortunate to be able to try and help raise money for her!

Wraps are $25 each and $5 of every wrap sold will go to her. You can also host a party in her honor and I will donate $5 for every wrap and you will get yours for FREE! You can look on my site for pictures of what our wraps can do they are ALL natural and it is fat loss not water loss! My website is www.kingsburyskinnywraps.com

If you would like to just donate to help the link to donate is here...
http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/deidre-cancer-free-or-bust-/177421/update/206066

This is a great opportunity for you to try out a Body or Facial Wrap, support Tanya's business, and help raise funds for my medical needs. Everybody wins!!

Thank you, Tanya, for your prayers, support and generosity.

<3 Deidre

God's Been Good to Me

I am often told that I have a great attitude and a lot of joy for one battling breast cancer. I'm going to have to agree. I do have a lot of joy. God continues to bless my socks off and  assures me that He is with me every step of the way. I'm so excited to share some of the things He has done.

"My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long."

Psalm 71:8

On July 31st (8 days after my 1st round of chemo), I was admitted into the hospital with a fever, thrush, mouth sores, and an acne-like rash. I spent the next 7 days getting a cocktail of antibiotics before being released. I was more concerned about my loss of finances than I was about my health. 

I'm so thankful that my landlord, John, was available to look after my two dogs. The blessing continued when John waived my rent for the month of September!!

I had my 2nd round of chemo on August 13th followed by an injection of Neulasta to promote white blood cell growth. I was delighted to be accompanied by my dear friends, Bonnie, Heather, and Natilee. It was quite the social event. 

Post-chemo hasn't brought any flu-like symptoms as I had after the first round, however, I am more fatigued and my hands and feet have been tingly (a sign of temporary nerve damage -- a common side effect).

More blessings after church service this past Sunday... I was overwhelmed with the outpouring of love by fellow believers praying over me. It's so important to be in fellowship. I am often reminded of this verse:

"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

 Hebrews 10:25

By the way, I drove to church in my '94 Mazda that was sold to me by a woman I have never met for $1. Yes, that's ONE DOLLAR. She drove over 11 hours to deliver it to me here in San Diego. Thank you, Jeanne B.!

Did I mention that God's been good to me? God's ALWAYS been good.

Please continue to pray for healing & God's provision and if you'd like to make a donation, please click on the "Deidre - Cancer Free or Bust" link located in the upper right corner. 

Thank you all for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers,

oxox Deidre

My First Chemotherapy Infusion

Last week, I had an implantable catheter or port-a-cath surgically tunneled under the skin in my chest. The catheter was inserted into a large vein under the clavicle and the port was inserted entirely underneath the skin and attached to the catheter. There is a visible bump on my chest but the tip of the catheter is not seen. Before each access or needle insertion the skin over the port is numbed with Emla cream. Then a special needle is inserted through the skin into the catheter that is connected to the port. All blood drawn and treatments will be administered through this port-a-cath thus, reducing the number of needle sticks directly into the vein. This port will remain in place throughout the duration of chemotherapy and the mastectomy.  

On Wednesday, July 23rd, I arrived at UCSD Moores Cancer Center at 8 a.m. for my first chemotherapy infusion. I had blood drawn from my port to insure that I could handle the dose of each drug. Then, I checked in with my oncologist who gave the green light to proceed with treatment. Finally, I picked seat 11C, which I nested in for the next 5 hours.

Before any treatment began, I was given an IV solution of  Zyrtek, Tylenol, and an anti-nausea drug. That took about 30 minutes. 

The next 60 minutes I received Perjeta, which is a drug designed to target HER2+ cancer cells. Followed by 90 minutes of Herceptin, another target drug that is effective against HER2+ cancer cells.

The third infusion was 60 minutes of Taxotere, a chemotherapy drug (premedication of the corticosteroid pill, Decadron, started the day prior to Taxotere infusion, which continued for 3 days to reduce the severity of fluid retention and allergic reactions).

The fourth infusion was 60 minutes of the chemotherapy drug, Carboplatin. One of the common side effects listed was "vomitting and nausea usually occurring within the first 24 hours of treatment." I can attest to this as FACT.

Finally, a saline solution was used to flush out the port-a-cath before sending me on my way. 

My next visit is in 3 weeks. One down; 5 more to go!!

Seat 11C where I set up camp, ordered lunch, took advantage of the free wi-fi, and had a great conversation with Kathy Grand. I love you, Kathy, and have been so blessed by your willingness to accompany me to all of my appointments. Your presence and love have meant the world to me.

Here's a close up of the port-a-cath that was inserted under my skin. Technology and medical science is amazing!!

As always, I'd like to thank all of you for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. I'm feeling the love. 

Peace and blessings,

Deidre

Look out Beyonce... I might get a wig just like yours!

Welp, all of the tests results are in... I still have breast cancer. 

In fact, I have Stage 2b invasive cancer from the tumor AND non-invasive Stage 0 cancer throughout the rest of the breast tissue. The cancer is also ER (estrogen receptor) positive and HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) positive, so my hormones are promoting the cancer cell growth and the gene mutation accelerates the growth making the cancer more aggressive. If you recall back in April the tumor was Stage 0 non invasive but has since progressed to Stage 2b invasive in 3 months. The good news is that it doesn't appear to have spread to my lymph nodes. Thank you, Jesus!

I will begin chemotherapy on July 23rd which will be administered for 18 weeks. According to my calculations, I should complete my last round of chemo just in time for Christmas! This course of treatment increases my chances of survival and decreases the likelihood of recurrence, however, it will not shrink or eliminate the non tumor cancer throughout the rest of the breast tissue. I will still need to have a mastectomy.

In preparation for chemo, I have been scheduled for an echocardiogram (must have a strong heart 'cause there are rare side effects of heart failure due to the drugs), a pre chemotherapy educational visit (to tell me about all of the side effects like losing my hair and nails... and possible heart failure), a catheter port consultation followed by surgery (a chest iv for the chemo drugs will be inserted under the skin), and a dentist appointment (apparently going to the dentist is an issue while going through cancer treatment). Phew!! I think I might splurge on a $20 mani-pedi from Groupon while I still have my nails. ;-) 

As always, thank you for your continued prayers, donations and support. I have peace of mind knowing that I'm not going through this alone.

With much love,

Deidre


In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; 
in the morning I lay my requests before you 
and wait expectantly. Psalm 5:3

Looking Forward to Some Cancer Treatment Action

I have had multiple appointments and tests since my last post, but we still haven't come to an actual first course of treatment. My patience have certainly been put to the test. 

The tumor board will be meeting on Monday, June 23rd. ALL of my lab results should be in, Lord willing, to help them advise me on the best decision in my course of treatment. 

I should have a new post for you in the next few days.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers.

If you'd like to make a donation to help me reach my $5,000 goal toward medical expensive, please visit my fundraising page:

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With much gratitude,

Deidre

“Let Me See Your Breasts.”

     “Let me see your breasts.”

     I wanted to respond with, “That’s the worst pick up line I’ve ever heard,” but I refrained because it was my plastic surgeon making the request and I didn’t think he would get the humor in my response. 

     In the past two weeks I have had two more mammograms, an MRI, and another biopsy of the growing tumor plus an additional biopsy of another area of the breast tissue. 

     Today, I had a consultation with my plastic surgeon, “Dr. D,” which was fruitless because a course of treatment has not yet been established (immediate mastectomy OR chemotherapy for a predetermined number of weeks followed by a mastectomy). 

     My surgical oncologist, “Dr. B,” ordered all of the tests that I have had since May 22nd to help her determine my course of treatment, but my biopsy (the last procedure in this series of tests) results won’t be ready by the time I see her for my follow up appointment tomorrow (Thursday, June 12th). Dr. D suggested that I cancel Thursday’s appointment, but if I do, I won’t see Dr. B until she comes back from vacation after June 26th, so I’m keeping my appointment.

     I was really hoping to have more answers by the end of this week, however, my patience continue to be stretched like a snail’s yawn. I suppose I’ll just keeping waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting. 

     I'm reminded of this bible verse: Proverbs 13:12

     One day I will be cancer free!

~ Deidre

Feeling Blue

Mel here! Yesterday and today have been rough days for Deidre.I will post details of today's doctor's appointment, tomorrow. In the meantime, please pray that her tomorrow is a brighter day!