November 14, 2021

Hi, y’all – 

It’s me just checking in to give everyone an update on how I am doing and how the week has been.  I went to the doctor on Friday to get my weekly blood work and everything was good except my WBC (white blood cells) was low – like so low that there was a little flag next to the 1.5 number that said “critical” – seriously, critical?  The craziest part of everything is that I feel amazing.  The good news is that my blood work for other items – kidney, liver, red blood cell counts, clotting factors, etc. are all good.  So PRAISES there!

The biggest issue that I faced this week was just being tired.  SO TIRED.  I am not accustomed to heading to bed at 8/9 pm but that seems to be an acceptable bedtime for me recently.  So. Be. It.

Also, another very cool update is that I had my appointment with Dr. Luepnitz at N4H Research (link found here), he’s the nutritionist that I have been trying to get in to see.  He was amazing and had so much information for some supplements that I need to be taking to help counter affect some of the symptoms from chemo.  Here are his suggestions:

• Melatonin – 20 mg at bedtime (circadian rhythm helps with treatment for cancer and tumor growth).
• Nature’s Lining – Lane Innovative – link found here.
• L-Glutamine power – helps with protecting the nerve endings against the neuropathy symptoms that can occur.
• Tumeric – Curcumin – just an overall great protector against cancer, inflammation, etc. (I’ve been taking this for some time so this is not a new supplement for me).  Here is the brand I use, a link found here.
• Mushrooms – alternating one mushroom one month, then the other mushroom, etc.
  • Agaricus mushrooms – > or = 40% polysacrines- 2000 mg/daily.
  • Turkey Tail mushrooms > or = 40% polysacrines- 2000 mg/daily.
• D3 – 5000 to 10000 IUs – 5x a week, stop 3 days before a vitamin D test (for my type of cancer the limit that I should always be at is a level 60).  I will be asking the doctor to test this soon.
• Black Cohosh – 2x at bedtime – this is for my hot flashes.  I will let everyone know how this works for me when I start taking this.  (#word, right?)

This doctor has come highly recommended to be by many folks and I’m excited to have been given the chance to meet with him and hear his recommendations.  I will say (patting myself on the back) that Dr. Luepnitz was impressed at how educated I was about my disease and the positive changes that I have made.  Funny he said that there are some that he meets with that are in La La Land about their situation.  I am thankful that is not me.  PRAISES again.

Even though I have been tired this week, I have still managed to walk every day.  Some days are better than others but I’ve managed to walk at least a mile each day and on my good days 2 miles.  PRAISES again.

Also, I don’t believe that I officially told y’all that my genetics testing came back and I don’t have any of the BRCA genes (PRAISES) and I also don’t have any genetic predisposition to any other types of cancer (PRAISES).  My wonderful neighbor, Emily, who is a genetic breast cancer research doctor was nice enough to go over my tests with me and well – it’s all good news.  So why this cancer, well, her theory is that because I did not have my own biological children that my (milk) ducts did not mature and they are more like little crazed teenagers going wild in my body – thus cancer.   I believe that could be it too along with a crappy diet, too much alcohol, etc.  These are things that I can change – which I’m doing.

So – what are my concerns today – well, prayers are needed for clear decisions when it comes time to discuss surgery with the doctors.  One of the things the BRCA genes would have provided me is a clear path to surgery, however, since they are negative, I need to figure out what is the best surgical path forward for me.   Thankfully, I still have some time to figure it out.  Please lift that up in your prayers for me so that I will have a clear decision on what my surgical path will be when I get to that point.  Thanks!

So what are the next steps?  Here is a look at my next couple of weeks:

• 11/17 – Full genetic testing results with the doctor
• 11/19 – Chemo Round # 3 (One down and one more to go!) – Come on Red delight work your magic!
• 11/24 – Labs
• 11/25 and 11/26 – Thanksgiving at home with Mano and Tanner (Christian and Nick will be with their biological mom this year)
• 12/03 – Chemo Round # 4 (Final Round)
• 12/06 – MD Anderson for Mammogram and Ultrasound to check the progression of the tumor.  The hope is that it’s getting smaller and being destroyed.

Clearly, you can see there is plenty more to do.  Please keep me lifted in prayers that my body remains strong and continues to fight this tumor and for positive results in December!

Happy Sunday Funday y’all – thanks for everything!

Xo,

Tracy

Photos below:

1 – my favorite Athleta top (thanks Tab!)

2 – tired me, yesterday

3 – my motto

4 – sushi Thursday night – btw I found out I shouldn’t be eating sushi right now (please don’t tell on me)

5 – my date for sushi, Tanner.

#blessed