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Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a fantastic end to their 2011 and that 2012 if off to a good start.  My 2012 has been going well and can’t believe it’s already the end of January!  

I’ve been doing very well since my last update (in August) in the cancer world and non-cancer world.  I have been thinking what the best way to recap the last 5 months would be to share it all without writing too much, and boring everyone, so I decided I would do bullet points.  Unfortunately, this website isn't able to convert the formatting from Word that I had, so I'm sorry for the giant non visually appealing paragraphs....

August

• My Mom’s 50th surprise birthday party in Santa Fe- All you need to know is this: margarita’s, mariachi’s, and Carlos the Salsa King=killer party!!

September

• 9/1/2011- 2 year diagnosis anniversary- I was hyper aware of the date that entire week and then completely forgot about it on the actual day! • Andy and I went to a movie screening to see 50/50 the movie with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a young adult diagnosed with cancer and Seth Rogan as the funny/supportive best friend.  The screening was for LA cancer organizations and young adult cancer survivors and Andy and I were able to go (Thanks Regan!!) and I definitely enjoyed the movie.  It was written by a young adult cancer survivor and loosely based on his own cancer story so the movie was a more realistic portrayal of what it’s like to be a young adult going through a cancer diagnosis and treatment. • 9/29/11- Andy’s twin nephews, Ethan and Logan, were born!  Andy’s sister Jenny, her husband Steve and their daughter Julia moved to the San Diego area at the end of the summer and Andy’s parents moved down shortly after to help with the move and the twins.  They live about 2.5 hours from LA so Andy and I were there when the twins were born.  It’s been so wonderful having them close by and being able to see them often. • Andy made the exciting transition to working full-time on Primer, the online men’s magazine that he started 4 years ago!  I’m so proud of him for the hard work and dedication he puts in every single day.  Please check it out and share it!

October

• 10/16/11- My Mom, Dad, and their close friends put together the 3rd Annual Walk for Hope in Santa Fe, NM.  Each October since 2009 they have a walk in my honor and in honor of all breast cancer survivors.  Unfortunately I wasn’t able to go this year, but they had a great turn out and ended up raising close to $1,000 which was donated to The Pink Daisy Project, a grassroots non-profit that helps young women who are going through the financial and personal hardships of breast cancer treatment with groceries, assistance with prescription costs, housecleaning, etc. The money raised this year was enough to provide two families with groceries for two months!  I’m so thankful to my parents and their circle of friends in New Mexico who are always so supportive and generous. •10/16/11- Unite Fashion Show benefiting Keep a Breast Foundation- The Keep A Breast Foundation (KAB) is the organization that I have written about a few times that has the Treasured Chest program for young breast cancer survivors that I have participated in.  KAB and Unite, a hair care product company, partnered to raise breast cancer awareness by reaching out to celebrities to have their torsos casted, painted and put up for auction.  They held a fashion show on the 16th and asked me and 4 other survivors to walk in the fashion show with our own painted casts.  Amanda from KAB found a local artist to paint my cast and it turned out more beautiful than I could have ever imagined.  It was an incredible experience walking down the runway holding my cast in a real fashion show and having a room full of people cheering us in support.  I felt like a true model with my “high” fashion hair and makeup.  Thank you Amanda!

November

• 11/14/11- clear 3-month check-up with Dr. V.  My tumor marker test came back at a 27, which is considered “high” on the tumor marker scale but consistent with my previous tests.  Dr. V told me that at his weekly meeting at Cedars with other oncologists they have discussed patients like me whose tumor markers test high, but they all agree that this is just our “normal” tumor marker number and as long as there is no dramatic change in the number there is nothing to be concerned about.  

December

• I turned 28 and Andy and I spent a relaxing weekend together, which I thoroughly enjoyed. • We spent Christmas day in San Diego with the Snavely/Cole family.   It was a beautiful day and we played croquet outside with Julia and catch with her new glove.  She couldn’t believe that we were playing outside in the warm sun on Christmas day. So cute!

January 2012

• Andy and I spent the first week of January in Naples, FL with my Mom and Dad in their new house.  It was a great vacation!  We played lots of tennis and spent quality time together, which we had not done in a long time.  I even got to see my Nana and my friend Kerri from college.  Andy and I also got our fill of Dunkin Donuts coffee and donuts while we were there since there are none in California!

Last but not least, on Monday January 30th, I’m scheduled for surgery to have a do-over nipple reconstruction.  Some of you might remember that last January 19, 2011 I had nipple/areola reconstruction.  Well, unfortunately, the nipples did not last and they have completely flattened.  Dr. K told me last year there was a possibility that the nipple would not stay and that I might end up having to do it over again in the future.  Well, now we’re in the future and here I am having them done again.  However, this time he’s doing a slightly different procedure and will use Alloderm to create the nipples. Alloderm is cadaver tissue with removed cells but still has all of the important biochemical and structural components of tissue.  Sounds weird, but it has been successfully used in breast reconstruction for many years.  I’m hopeful that this procedure will create permanent, natural looking nipples. 

I also have some rippling of the implants and areas around the implants that need to be filled out a bit, so I’ll also be getting fat grafting (lipo) again like I did last year to help even things out and reduce the rippling.  Except instead of doing the fat grafting from my stomach, he’ll be doing it from my outer thighs.  

Since the surgery is similar to the one I had last year, I’m not feeling too nervous since I have an idea of what to expect. But it’s still surgery so I’m not exactly looking forward to it.  But I am looking forward to having nice foobies after everything has healed.  I’ll be taking 1-2 weeks off from work.  Depending on how I’m feeling I may be able to go back after 1 week so I’ll just have to wait and see.  I’ll try to write an update as soon as I can after surgery!  

Enjoy the weekend and talk to you soon!

Love,

Sharishta

 

PS- the picture above is of my Mom, and Dad, and me in Naples in January.  

I put a picture of my completed cast in the gallery so you can see how beautiful it is and a picture from