Happy belated Labor Day!

Hi everyone-

hopefully you all had wonderful long weekends and enjoyed the beautiful weather! I apologize for not 'blogging' for so long- I've been back at work and on a long stretch (4 down of 6 nights in a row- all you nurses out there know what that's like!).

There really isn't much to update- things are actually feeling semi-normal around the house. It's still tough to mention the 'C' word, but we're getting a bit more comfortable dropping it here and there. Mom is doing fabulous- she even fit in a couple nights of work too. I know she was anxious to get back and see her work crew and get some much needed adult interaction aside from Dad and I!

Her incisions are healing up well (she's been showing off her scars!)- we go for a follow up appointment with our surgeon Dr. Mestitz on Thursday. Tomorrow mom will have her bone density scan done to establish a baseline before hormone therapy begins. We learned that the Arimidex medication won't actually start until after radiation. Hopefully today we'll schedule our next meetings with Dr. Londer and also a Radiologist oncologist- the MD appointments are never ending!

Lets see, what else? Oh yeah a couple quick things to mention...

1) Part of our oncology team includes a wonderful woman named Jean Pupkes- she is an oncology clinical nurse specialist (CNS) who has practiced for over 30 years. She spent time with us last week going over all the information Dr. Londer had presented and also talked with us about a support group and an a program called 'Pay It Forward Fund.' This non-profit organization was started by a breast cancer survivor and helps women around the Metro area with living expenses while they undergo breast cancer treatment. I want to encourage everyone to visit their website: www.payitforwardfund.net. It is a really cool organization!

-Sidebar: Another great organization out there for women only, is the 'Avon Army of Women'. You can learn more about it at: https://www.armyofwomen.org
Please join!

2) I wanted to mention too that we are very thankful for all the great phone calls and messages! We are so very lucky to know so many amazing people and have everyone checking in on and supporting us. Just want to say that if you called and we have not called you back, SORRY! All 3 of us could spend hours visiting on the phone, but we're trying to catch up on the rest of our To-Do lists too! So we apologize for our untimely return calls, we are kinda backed up, but we won't forget you!

Have a good short work week! I know we're looking forward to this weekend and celebrating at 2 weddings! Lots of friends and family coming into town the next few days- prayers for safe travels and great MN weather! Until next time...

Love Lins