Nope, have not forgotten about this site.....it seems life has truly gone on (as we all knew it would regardless the outcome!).....hopefully this site helped (or will help) you......for us, we are enjoying every day we have....and spending less of it here.....WOO HOO!
Valerie is out of surgery and doing fine (again!)
Had surgery for Kidney Stones...(yeah I know too young)....short version....radiation depletes bone marrow, doctors had her taking calcium supplements to make up for the loss and that resulted in large deposits of calcium in her Kidneys (kidney stones)....surgery went well, she is recovering fine....just another part of this LONG journey with cancer....
Well, it has been a couple months since we posted anything here.....you know it really is true...life does go on! Valerie had implants put in last October, and with all the changes her body went through after Chemo and Radiation, they (the implants) have decided not to cooperate. So, Valerie is scheduled for version 2.0 on Thursday, August 14th at Henry Mayo Hospital. Should be hopefully the last surgery for her...EVER! :-)
No complications or issues expected, I'll try to send updates throught the day.
In other news, it seems this cancer thing just will not stop (but we are walking and raising money in our best effort...over $46,000 so far!), our Aunt was diagnosed a couple months ago and recently (last week) had surgery as well. You may or may not know her, her husband (my uncle) married Valerie and I over 14 years ago.....sometimes it helps to read someone elses journey....hopefully she pulls through with the same sucess we have enjoyed....but I know extra prayers won't hurt! http://www.leslynmusch.blogspot.com/
There is a reason they say "Say No to Drugs!", otherwise you'll look like this when you wake up! With some prodding, I got her to open her eyes....hehe! :-)
Done and doing great. No complications, no issues, just smooth sailing! OK, now for the funny stories that can't be forgotten....after surgery, Valerie's anesthesiologist (Dr. Wald, same one she had for the Mastectomies) came by and told us how she did. Last time she was very alert for awhile into the operating room, so this time he wanted to make sure she was out early on. Well, he tells us that once they got into the OR, he asked how she was doing, she responded "Great, I am finally getting "squishy" boobs!". Valerie then proceeded to demand that Dr. Wald feel just how hard the temporary implants were....he politely declined in front of the several nurses and other doctors in the room....at which point he says she got pretty adamant "No, really, you gotta feel how hard these are, look! (as she grabbed them with her hands)" After she refused to take no for an answer, he agreed to "tap" the top portion to see just how hard they were.....Dr. Wald was just a little embarrassed to tell us the story, but if that is not typical Valerie, I don't know what is.....no shame! Of course Valerie had no recollection of this exchange....so I had to share it! :-)
Well, I did not have surgery on Tuesday...and after a lot of calling the Doc.he finally returned my call today. I left a not so nice message and played the "cancer" card. I left a message saying,"Hi, this is Valerie Beck...again, and I am getting a little concerned because I have not heard from you. I don't know if the doctor is having a hard time getting OR time, or if you are having problems with getting the implants, or you got the result from my mugga scan (heart test) ant there is something wrong with my heart, or my cancer came back. Call me" They called me back within 30 seconds of leaving that message. Amazing. Nothing is wrong with me; the doc is just having a heard time getting OR time. My surgery date is Wed, Oct 3. Lets hope that sticks!!!
Good Morning!!! This is just a quick up-date. I will see Dr. Barstis on the 16 to talk about???... Maybe he will give me a referral for a PET scan. It is just a check-up visit. I have scheduled my breast surgery for September 19th at UCLA. Dr. Watson will take out my expander's and replace them with "SQUISHY" implants. I am very excited about this. I am tired of hugging people and them saying "OUCH". Yes that is really how hard they are!!! :) That's about it for the cancer up-date.
Here is an update…
I went to see Dr. Senofsky last week and almost had a panic attack!!! He was examining my chest and stopped talking and gave me that "hummmm" look, kind of like…"I think I feel something, but I don't want my patient to freak out" kind of look. I have been going to these doctors so often, that I know "that" look. I knew something was wrong and I called him on it. He said he felt a very small lump. On further examination…he decided that he knew what it was. It was a dissolvable stitch that isn't dissolving. I of course go into panic mode and begin asking for an ultra sound or needle aspiration. He assures me that it is a stitch. So, everything is just fine except…I am still in panic mode.
So, I called Dr. Barstis, my oncologist, last week and told him that I was sure that my cancer had returned…even though I have no evidence. I asked if he would take my blood and read my tumor markers. He assured me that I was fine, but since he is so nice, he gave me the blood test anyway. I am supposed to be getting the results tomorrow, I'll keep you posted.
I went to see Dr. Watson two weeks ago…He is my plastic surgeon. I wanted to make an appointment to get my "Expanders" removed and silicone implants put in. My expanders are extremely HARD (because of scar tissue)…no pain, but just very very hard. Dr. Watson still wants to do the DIEP procedure that would require me to be under for about 8 hours. It would also be a long recovery period, that I just don't want to deal with right now. I told him that I wanted the silicone implants and then, if my body develops scar tissue again, I will think about doing the DIEP. I would like to try the "easier" procedure first and hope for a good outcome! I plan on having surgery the week of Aug. 17th, I don't know what day, but I'll keep you informed.
Seems like everyone is into this walking thing, or better yet BEATING CANCER!
If you will be in LA on September 15-16, 2007, I am sure Valerie and the rest of the team would love to have more walkers! If you don't want to walk, you can always sign up to help like I did, gonna spend the two days "crewing", which I think means doing whatever needs to be done so those walking can focus on solely that and why they are there.
Check it out!
I didn't want to remind you of that awful day, but how could I actually think you would not remember. I have been crying for the last half hour!!! I have married the most wonderful, thoughtful, caring, and loving man in the whole world. I love you Dion and I thank you for going through this journey with me. You have been there for me since the beginning and you have seen me at my lowest...helped me plan my funeral , watched me go bald, talked about our future...and now that seems like it is in the past. It seems so long ago that it all happened. It almost seems like it never happened. I do know that I would not have gotten through this without you!!! This is the best birthday present you could ever give me...I will remember what you wrote forever. I love you and that is all that matters in this lifetime. Love, VAL
Dion here, thought I would share with you my thoughts on the past year.....plus I am away today for a business meeting....it was either spend the evening with co-workers or tell my wife how this past year has changed me.....
One year ago today I got a phone call from a hysterical Valerie, she was sobbing loudly on the other end and I was still at work. She had scheduled an appointment to "check out" a small lump on her right breast that I had felt myself just a few days before. I don't recall ever getting a call from her where she started off crying, so I do remember it vividly. She tried to tell me that the doctors had just told her she had cancer. I could hear her say it, but I really don't think it sank in....I remember saying "it will be alright, you'll be OK", and when I could tell she was not really listening (can you blame her? No!) I asked her to put the doctor on the phone. I remember thinking "she needs to calm down, why is she so hysterical?" Dr Senofsky was kind enough to take the phone and explained to me that Valerie had breast cancer. I think I responded with an "OK" and all I remember asking him was "do you think she can drive, or do I need to pick her up?". I felt this need to hold her, to tell her it was "going to be alright" and that we would get through this. I remember being very angry with myself for not being there, I should have been there. I wish I had been there for that appointment to help her through those first minutes. I guess that is one thing I would have changed if I could do it all over again....actually if I could do it all over again....well I think you know, I would never wish this journey on anyone and wish it would NEVER happen again!
Well, it has happened, so what have I learned?
So it has been a year, that is my greatest joy, I got to spend another year with Valerie, that beautiful woman I met in May 1991 and married in July 1994. I've learned to enjoy (even the ones when we fight) EVERY single day we spend together and am looking forward to many more years!
I am proud of you Valerie and I love you dearly!
