🩷 I have officially been living with cancer for 6 months today. WHAT A LONG JOURNEY.
💗Found a lump late September 2024 Mammogram and biopsy early October 2024
💗Diagnosed October 14, 2024 with Triple Negative Breast Cancer.
💗 Started chemo on October 31, 2024
💗 4 Rounds of AC chemo aka “the red devil” – tons of side effects while pregnant with twins
💕 had twins on January 13, 2025
💕10 day NICU stay.
💗restarted chemo February 11th, went into anaphylaxis shock.
💗12 rounds of Abraxane and Carbo chemo started February 18th.
💗4 MORE CHEMOS TO GO! Then double mastectomy in June and radiation in July. Still more surgeries and treatment after that. This has been SO TOUGH! But I have the best people behind me and I’ve been so blessed along the way. 💖

Thank you to everyone for the prayers and good wishes! I’m trusting God will get me through this!

#breastcancermomma #triplenegativebreastcancer #fightingbreastcancer #twinmama #stayingstrong #chemosucks

Monday I met with the oncologist surgeon to plan out my surgery in June. I left with more questions than answers. I’m still waiting on my genetic results so we can’t make any decisions on what type of surgery yet. Also, I’ll meet with the plastic surgeon in a few weeks to plan reconstruction. My head is still spinning with all those options. I’d love to connect with others who have made this difficult decision.

Yesterday’s chemo went fine overall. My regimen since I had the awful reaction in February is weekly Abraxane and Carbo, and I’m also receiving immunotherapy called Keytrudo every 3 weeks.

My first IV went in fine, but as soon as they hooked up the chemo it started to burn. My nurse took out the first IV and put in another, and the meds went in without any pain.

I have 6 more weekly chemo sessions to go, and trust me, I am counting down the days. I am reminding myself that it okay to be both thankful this is saving my life and angry I’m suffering these awful side effects, some temporary and some permanent.

The girls keep getting cuter and cuter! Mia’s face has filled out and she has some adorable chunky cheeks. Lily seems to be much more vocal. We’re getting more and more smiles. It still feels like they eat all the time, which is so draining. They also love to be held, so getting rest in between feeds is so hard. Showing up as a patient wife and mom is a challenge right now, as the chemo and broken sleep is wearing on me immensely. I am spending lots of time in prayer asking for patience. “We’ll all get through this,” I continue to remind myself.

We are constantly being held and supported by our families. I’m so grateful for parents and in-laws that see our pain and fill in the gaps. The big kids love having all their grandparents (and their Titi- my sister) around. God has still blessed even in our trials. Our community is big!

I continue to be thankful for all those we know (and those we don’t!) praying for us. We ask for rest, patience, and good news as I await my genetic results.

The girls are 2 months! Look how much they’ve grown! They are sleeping better at night (not perfectly!) and growing a lot (7lbs 10oz and 7lbs 8oz). Our family is loving the warm weather and sunshine.

Not a lot to report lately, but wanted to give an update for those asking.

The girls continue to put on weight and are growing well. We aren’t getting much sleep at all, but we’re doing our best to remember that this won’t last forever. *Experienced twin parents- send me all the tips for helping twins sleep longer and at the same time, please!!

The big kids are great! They seem so big next to the babies, and they adore their sisters so much.

My mom is a saint- truly being fully immersed in this hard season of life with us. She’s taking multiple late night feedings, helps care for and transport the big kids each day, and does plenty of laundry and dishes. We would be lost without her.

My dad and my mother in law watch the babies on my chemo days, which are long, sometimes 5-6 hour days. They’ve become quite the team and we are thankful.

I still have 9 more chemo sessions, and I hate how they drain me. Living on limited sleep is enough, but adding on dealing with the awful side effects of these drugs just seems so unfair. But still, I keep going. There is no other option. It is looking like my surgery will be sometime in June.

We are beyond thankful for prayers, cards, and all the food. Our church, Grace Point, set up a meal train for us when the babies first came home from the hospital, and some dear friends have dropped off food as well. We found an unexpected blessing in a meal train from another church, St. John Neumann. One family at our sitter’s attends there and shared our story. I’m so moved that people we’ve never met are bringing meals to get us through my chemo days. It’s so hard to accept help, but we are beyond grateful!

Sending love and many prayers to our family and friends. Hope everyone is finding joy in the journey and trying to focus on the good in this broken and chaotic world. ❤️

Quick update- chemo went great today! Thanks for all the prayers! The fear of anaphylactic shock was wiped away; God is good and the new drug worked!

We pray for our big village too- may you all be safe and healthy. We love you!

The girls are almost a month old! They are eating like champs and gaining weight really well. They have to eat every 3 hours so Michael, my mom, and I are losing lots of sleep. We’re still trying to figure out the best way to get the girls all their feedings and trade off who does which one. We’re doing the best we can. Lily is a bit bigger and a better eater, but Mia is our better sleeper. The big kids have adjusted wonderfully. They love their babies and are so sweet and gentle with them.

Today I restarted chemo. That turned into a disaster. I started a new drug and the plan was to have that drug infusion weekly for 12 weeks. However, I had an anaphylactic reaction to the drug within 5 minutes of it being administered. My nurses and doctor were completely ready for a possible reaction (it happens in 30% of patients) and they got me all the help I needed very quickly, including 2 doses of an epi-pen, lots of reversal meds and steroids, and oxygen. It was immensely scary, as I couldn’t breathe and my blood pressure and oxygen levels dropped dangerously low. It was an incredibly awful day. I’m so thankful for Michael holding my hand and keeping me calm.

My oncologist already has another plan and another drug to try next week. Hoping and praying that infusion is reaction free 🤞🏼

The girls are home! We were anticipating they would still be in the NICU over the weekend, but the doctors surprised us and said if Mia reached 4lbs, she could go home. Lily had already surpassed that on Wednesday.

Yesterday was full of watching discharge videos in the NICU, passing the car seat tests and waiting on all the approvals. The big kids waited up late and finally got to meet their baby sisters around 9:30pm. It was pure joy watching C and H smile and ooh and ahh at these tiny, yet mighty, girls. They are in love and we couldn’t be more excited to have all our family under one roof.

We are so thankful for everyone’s prayers! We saw our girls through some tough circumstances and our hearts just ached these past 10 days. We are praising God and are so thankful for our village. We are blessed. 🩷🩷

Babies are still in the NICU, and we’re driving back and forth to see them each day. We’re trying to be there for all their day feeds, which are 8:30, 11:30, 2:30, and 5:30. They are keeping up with their feeding requirements by bottle, but it takes them a long time to get through their feeds.

The doctors want them both to get back to at least 4 lbs. That is definitely a requirement for discharge. If they fall behind on their feeds, they will have to get back on their feeding tubes. Both girls have had great bilirubin checks for a few days, so no more light therapy for anyone.

Michael and I have been through plenty of difficult seasons in our marriage, and have always come out stronger. This has to be the hardest so far. Cancer, twin-pregnancy with complications, 2 premies, NICU time, 2 big kids at home that need care and attention who have yet to meet their sisters, our families stressing themselves out to meet our needs, and all the emotions that come with all of this. This isn’t easy and feels so unfair.

We pray for things to be easier, we pray for things to go our way, but so far, we wait.

Thanks for hanging in there with us. 👶🏼🩷👶🏼

Little girls are doing great today! They’re both off of their IV fluids and feeding tubes and are taking a bottle like champs. Both are testing well also, so blue light might be going away today as well. Just continuing to develop their stamina so they can take a full feeding session with mom and bottle without tiring out.

Still a long way to go for them to go home, but all signs point to these little ladies getting bigger and healthier day by day. We were officially discharged last night so we are staying at the hospital today to “care by parent”, essentially just guests in the hospital to be closer to the girls for an extra day.

We’ll be leaving the hospital later today without the girls. While we absolutely understand that the NICU is what is keeping these little babies healthy and safe for the time being, it is incredibly difficult to think about leaving the hospital without our little girls.

We’ll be driving back and forth plenty in the upcoming days to see them, feed them, and help care for them. We can’t wait to introduce them to Charlotte and Harrison and to the rest of our family and friends that have been so supportive in this incredibly stressful time. Until then, we’ll keep taking this journey one day at a time.

We were able to see their beautiful faces today!