Hi, I’m Renee Sendelbach
Mother, Artist, Author, Speaker and Metastatic Breast Cancer Thriver
I have always hated that statement, “So, tell me about yourself.” … Maybe that is why I never ever fit into corporate America?!?!
The short story of me is that I am in my 40’s living with Stage IV breast cancer.
The long story of me is that I am a lover of God and am in awe of Him daily, a wife, a mommy, a daughter, a sister, a friend, an artist, writer, author and fighter–there is no way I am going down without a fight!
I want to share my life here with you for many reasons–to show people that a Stage IV diagnosis is not an instant death sentence, to help people realize that every person is battling something–even if they look great on the outside–we have no idea what is going on inside, and empathy and love is built into us for a reason–TO USE IT!
I believe in God, I believe in Him sending us Angels, people and help in anyway He can.
I am a horrible speller. Sorry up front if this annoys you–I would claim chemo brain but it has been this way all my life. If I say I will do something and I don’t, please don’t get offended–I will claim chemo brain on this one… or that I can be a flake–I really don’t mean to be.
I hope you join me here on this journey I call life here in my own Cancerland–yes, like Alice in Wonderland!
My Cancer Timeline
Click on the date to read more about my journey in Cancerland.
Cancer Terms and FAQ
In non-cancer people terms – hey, I would have NEVER understood this stuff if I weren’t living in Cancerland.
2 years later THE SAME CANCER (still breast cancer) had spread to my lungs, lymph nodes and bones.
About a 18 months after that, it again spread to my brain.
Stages of breast cancer range from stage 0 – stage 4
It is still made up of breast cancer cells.
Here is how I understand it to work…they inject me with biologically active sugar water and if there are cancer cells, they drink it up the sugar water. Then when they run me through the scanner, if any cells are lite up, the scanner sees them – which are cancer cells.
In medical terms:
The system detects pairs of gamma rays emitted indirectly by a positron-emitting radionuclide (tracer), which is introduced into the body on a biologically active molecule.
Three-dimensional images of tracer concentration within the body are then constructed by computer analysis. In modern scanners, three dimensional imaging is often accomplished with the aid of a CT X-ray scan performed on the patient during the same session, in the same machine.
If the biologically active molecule chosen for PET is FDG, an analogue of glucose, the concentrations of tracer imaged then give tissue metabolic activity, in terms of regional glucose uptake.
Information from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positron_emission_tomography
I now get MRIs once every 4 weeks.
Different treatments call for different frequencies.
Some past chemo meds made me feel like complete crap, so this is a walk in the park compared to those.
I would SO much rather be NED, be on this drug an go 2 times a week.