A Trip To California for More Information

Last week Drew and I headed to the Los Angeles area to visit City of Hope Cancer Center.  Drew's work offers an awesome benefit which let us get a free second opinion on my cancer treatment at the City of Hope Cancer center in California.  They covered our flights, hotel and meals! So, we figured it wouldn't hurt to get a second opinion and also enjoy some LA area sites and weather.  We had three different appointments on Friday: with an oncologist, a nutritionist and an integrative oncologist.  My favorite visits were with the oncologist and the nutritionist.  The oncologist, who has been in practice for specifically breast cancer for over 40 years, had obviously taken a lot of time to review all of my previous labwork, imaging studies and other medical records before the appointment.  He spent over an hour and a half with me and was concerned about what my bloodwork does every time I take the Verzenio medication.  He noticed the same thing back in 2012 when I was getting chemo.  And the significant dip in my bloodwork was the reason that we had to stop that chemo after only 2 of the 4 treatments in 2012 (which I think was actually a blessing, because it was very damaging to my body).  He thinks I need a hematologic evaluation to see if there is something else going on in my blood--maybe something autoimmune related?  Also, he thinks I should have an MRI as a baseline so I could tell the level of cancer in my bones. The PET scan doesn't really show much detail as far as cancer in the bones are concerned. In the meantime, he recommends that I don't do any jumping for fear of fractures since the cancer is in my bones.  He wants to chat with my oncologist here, which I appreciate.  In order to do the hematologic evaluation, I need to be off Verzenio, so I stopped taking that last week.  Lastly, he also wants me to have some Cell-Free DNA (cfDNA) testing, which acts as a liquid biopsy. You can read about that here. I have an appointment with my local oncologist on Tuesday to discuss everything. In the meantime, I am still pushing through all the stuff I am trying to do to naturally boost my immune system.  I am feeling really well. 

Drew and I really enjoyed our special time away--even if it was just for a few days.  We spent all of the time (except when we were eating) outdoors. And there were a plethora of organic vegan restaurants wherever we visited!  There wasn't a single meal we didn't thoroughly enjoy.  Everything was absolutely delicious and eating at all the restaurants definitely inspired us for other meal ideas besides the ones we have been doing all these years.  

This was one of my favorites.  It was a completely organic vegan lasagna and caesar salad.  Drew's selection were the enchiladas.  Both were so yummy!! It was actually the best lasagna I have ever eaten and the bolognese sauce was actually made out of organic soy. I always said I hated the texture of tofu, but all these restaurants have changed my mind. Also, the cheese was all made of cashew.  I have always feared "vegan cheese" but these restaurants changed my opinion of that as well. Drew and I want to make some homemade cashew cheese now.

We flew out of the Houston airport, so that the kids could stay with their grandparents there.  Mimi and Papa had the best "camp" experience for the kids.  Luke and Abbey had so much fun and created some awesome memories with Mimi and Papa on all their adventures. They visited Galveston, where they explored Moody Gardens Aquarium, went to the beach, and did some shopping. They visited a natural history museum where they explored geodes, mummies and more. And they had a fun water day where they went to a water park in the morning and also swam in their Aunt Erica and Uncle Andy and family's pool at their new house in the afternoon. The kids got to eat at fun restaurants and enjoy Mimi's delicious cooking as well. They played tons of games, including a lot of card games, with Mimi and Papa, and even their cousins, Audrey and Lauren. Abbey and Mimi made a fun craft together (a photo frame they painted and decorated with shells--we plan on putting a photo of Luke and Abbey at the aquarium in it). Mimi and Papa captured some photos of some of their adventures, which I am posting for memories' sake. What a blessing it was for the kids to attend "Mimi and Papa" camp--memories the kids will cherish for a lifetime! Here are some photos.