NO STOMACH FOR CANCER WALK DETAILS

NO STOMACH FOR CANCER WALK DETAILS:

Sean and I figured out the details for our walk coming up Saturday, November 7th at 9am. We will be walking along River Road in Bismarck. We will start at the Steamboat Warehouse Historic Marker and go to Pioneer Park on Burnt Boat Drive and back. It ends up being 3.2 miles and about 1 hour to walk.

If you would like to join us in our walk, please let me know! If you would like to donate for stomach cancer research, you can do so at the following link, which is a link to my walk specifically:

https://www.crowdrise.com/heatherhuus-NSFC2015WALK

I really appreciate ANY and ALL support- thoughts, prayers, kind notes, donations for the walk, etc!!!  THANK YOU!!!!!!!

LOOOOVE BOTH BRACELETS!!!

LOVE my two VERY meaningful bracelets side by side....No Stomach for Cancer band and CDH1 band with the owl (for knowledge) and arrow (for strength/power)!!!!

NO STOMACH FOR CANCER WALK- NOVEMBER 7TH

HI ALL!!! So, I signed up for the No Stomach for Cancer walk which will be held on Saturday, November 7th and it is in any location in which you choose. I haven't 100% decided where I'm doing the walk other than in Bismarck (thinking maybe along River Road and in the morning...like 9ish maybe? details to come). Right now I have myself, Sean, and Paige doing the walk. HOWEVER, if you would like to walk along with us, you are more than welcome...just send me a message!! OR if you would like to donate towards our walk and support stomach cancer research, that would be appreciated, also! This is the link in which to do so:

https://www.crowdrise.com/heatherhuus-NSFC2015WALK

I greatly appreciate any and all support and if you aren't able to come out and walk with me or you aren't able to donate (even $1 helps!), please continue to keep myself and my family/friends in your thoughts & prayers during this journey!

Thank you for ALL the support!!

PS: I most likely will not reach out to anybody individually to walk/donate as I do not want ANYONE to feel like they HAVE to and if all you can give is your thoughts and prayers, that's enough in my book!!!

GASTRECTOMY AND MASTECTOMY AT THE SAME TIME???

I was feeling EXTREMELY overwhelmed the last few weeks and was even starting to get cold feet about this whole process. I was talking about this whole process with another person and all that this CDH1 mutation has to offer (ha..something like that). Anyway, they had suggested....why not just have a gastrectomy AND mastectomy at the same time? That way you won't have to have surgery, heal, have surgery, heal...plus, you will have already met your deductible with insurance. It all made complete sense when you say it like that. She said if it were her, that's what she would do...then, she would see the plastic surgeon she worked for to help her out with her tummy and her breasts. So, it's not like she doesn't know what she's talking about and although, she's never dealt with this specific situation, she's seen a lot!

On the flip side, my brain started going a million miles a minute and I was feeling EXTREMELY overwhelmed. Is this something I COULD do, is this something I'd WANT to do? Geez...if you're going to take two BIG pieces of me away, why not just take everything for God's sake! I'm not trying to be overly dramatic about it, but this was a lot to take in at one time and something I hadn't even thought of!!!

I spoke with Karen, from No Stomach for Cancer, who has been beyond amazing....so supportive, helpful, and caring. It helps when you talk with someone who has been through this all! She said she didn't even think it would be an option to do both at once. She, also, said that she had her complete gastrectomy, but has opted to just do the mammos & MRI's for now. Her niece, on the other hand, had a complete gastrectomy when she was 25ish and just recently had a mastectomy due to lobular breast cancer at the age of 31. (stupid CDH1 mutation!) She has put me in contact with her niece and I look forward to conversations with her! I'm not trying to discredit my counselor as she is very sweet and kind, but I felt it VERY helpful to talk with Karen as she has been there, done that! 

I, also, spoke with my doctor down at Mayo and she, too, said that there is no way they would want to do both surgeries in one day. She said that is way too much surgery for one person, at one time. I won't lie, this was VERY relieving! In the end, I'm not sure that I would have been able to do both at once....that's just a lot emotionally for one person. So, for now....going back to square one where, although, that too is a lot to take in....I think I'm mentally in place where I feel like I can do this and am not looking at turning back!

FEELING A BIT OVERWHELMED

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed right now and this pretty well sums up how I feel :)

TRIAL #3

I should say, what I EXPECTED to be trial #3....
Called Mayo Clinic after getting a rather large bill (at least in my eyes) to set up a payment plan and they were SO pleasant and helpful and didn't make me feel like a jerk that I'm not a millionaire.  I literally DREADED this phone call and I am BEYOND happy with how well it went and how kind the customer service rep was!  Kudos to Mayo Clinic across the board....they have gone above and beyond with ALL my expectations so far!!!