Hello Everyone! First I want to say, Thank YOU ALL! I would not a be where I am without everyone’s prayers, love and support. For most part, I’m feeling ok and doing my best to be strong and to power through my daily obstacles. I stay active-walking my pups, and doing lots of chores inside & outside (the list seems to never end).  I am most guilty of not resting my mind and body enough. The side effects of the medications seem to have worsened with hot flashes to night sweats, body aches & fatigue. The most debilitating is the lower back pain from the facet arthropathy in my spine.  Acupressure massage and using IncrediWear brace seems to give some relief but it has been a challenge to rehabilitate; insurance allowed for some professional PT and thankfully the therapist taught me home exercises to continue but it is still difficult to figure out the best daily routine and to know whether or not I am doing everything correctly.  I am hoping to locate a Pilates instructor to have more in-person accountability and someone able to critique and ensure I am doing the movements that I need to do correctly. I know I need to get my core muscles stronger in order to be able to safely build more muscle overall.

Recently, I had another health scare when a giant swollen lymph node appeared in the left side of my clavicle-neck area. This is the compromised side because of lymph node removal & radiation from the double mastectomy's.  Thank God the ultrasound was unremarkable, and just showed the left side having slower function that backed up the flow; probably a reaction to all the mosquito bites I've been getting this summer! Then to add insult to injury, my Lymph system was put to the test, when I was bit by a dog on my right wrist & knee but again thankfully it wasn't more serious and I'm all healed up; so I know my Lymphatic system is working!

Other things I am grateful for: my hair is growing better but I'm choosing to keep it short since it's still soo HOT! I finally gained some weight with a higher protein nutrition plan to prime my body to build some MUSCLE back!!

I’ve been preparing for another benefit sale to help with my cost for extra therapies and supplements. I'm very busy finishing my own crafting projects & pricing items to hold the sale on the 3rd wknd in Sept.20st &21nd (Fri-Sat).  I have a friend who is joining me (her husband is also a Cancer Survivor Warrior) and she will have a couple of table of items as well.  I'm still collecting more pet items for the pet section of my sale which I plan to donate all of those  proceeds to Mid America Boston Terrier Rescue (we adopted all of our Boston fur-friends from this rescue, so they are close to my heart).

My goals now are to continue to lean into God with prayer, to be positive, to stay strong with good nutrition & regular exercise, and to pay it forward helping and teaching others whenever the opportunity arises.

We are forever grateful!  God Bless You & Keep You!

Love and Light,

Tara, Erik, Walter & Grace

Hello everyone! I apologize it has been awhile since my last update.

Foremost, I want to thank everyone for their continued prayers, love & support. In general, things are improving, I feel better in some areas, while I have continued challenges in other areas.  Some days I feel strong enough to handle whatever life throws at me, while other days I pray to have more strength mentally and physically.

    I’ve recently had a few new challenges... Hot flashes have morphed into night sweats, although not fun, I’m praying this is a sign of being one step closer to natural menopause, which means I might eventually be able to stop the meds that suppress my ovaries. The "back-pain-issue" (facet arthropathy L1-L4&S1-S2) was improving with on-going physical therapy and Pilate exercises, but has relapsed over the past couple of weeks 😖 because of a recent fall I took while working with a rescue dog. I try to expect the unexpected, but this time I was caught off-guard and the dog spooked and took me down! Thank God, I didn't fall directly on my back! It has been difficult for me to gain the much needed muscle mass on my body, despite trying to eat a "Protein Forward" diet and doing weight-bearing exercise, it has just not been easy to stay on my routine. Plus, sleep continues to escape me, forcing me to go back on a sleep aid to help me get the much needed 💤's.

    On a positive note, I’ve been able to get back to walking and caring for dogs, lot's of dogs (mine, some friends and clients and rescues). I am also preparing for a smaller scale Benefit sale the end of the summer (to offset the costs of my continued therapies). This time around I will know to ask for some help!  I continue to pay it forward- running errands for others, walking rescue dogs, collecting items needed & volunteering for the upcoming animal shelter fundraiser.  My husband continues to commute to work in Grand Junction, and we all commute to GJ weekly, for my appointments. And in the meantime, I am praying, staying positive, eating healthy & being as active as I can, so my back improves and I won't need to go to those appointments as frequently.

We are forever grateful!

God Bless, Love & Light

Tara, Erik &Pups

Hello Family & Friends!

My apologies for not posting an update sooner-Time Sure Flies By!

My sister Tara continues on her "Healing Journey". She has conquered a ton of challenges this year!-(Bilateral Masectomy, Radiation Therapy & now in the midst of Hormone Therapy(ovarian suppression) and Oral Cancer Therapy (aromatase inhibitor). Beyond the medical remedies; she's finding her way through the mental, emotional & physical maze as well, trying her best to stay active & positive during this recovery process!

Nothing compares with HUGS for TRUE HEALING! In November Tara was able to come visit me in WI for a couple of weeks!  And we had SPECIAL surprise! Our brother (and his wife, drove from AL to WI).  Tara had no idea-she was in complete shock & speechless when she saw him standing in my driveway! We had a wonderful time- reminiscing, hanging out, playing games, and working out,..All of us had not seen each other for more than 3 years. It was the best gift/therapy for all of us!

While she was visiting, I helped her develop daily workout routine to build her muscle strength and mobility; She was already feeling stronger in just a couple of weeks! We discussed her nutrition/supplement plan and we had her set up for some energy healing, massage & animal therapy (feeding/loving on baby yaks, new foal & miniature horses (living in "Green Acres" has its benefits); not to mention "puppy love" from Samson).

Tara& Erik still have to travel to GJ several times a month for physical therapy, medical injections & possibly other support therapies like acupuncture. She is enduring every side effect from the cancer medications-zoladex(ovarian suppressant) & Letrozole(armotase inhibitor)-body aches, headaches, hot flashes, hair loss and insomnia! She is praying to get more sleep soon! Sleep-the most important of all! She is trying different combo natural supports to develop best routine to help. (Yin yoga, sleepy time tea, melatonin, L-tryptophan, white noise/bio-aural beats, warm Epsom salt baths) currently only maxing 4 hrs./night!

Erik recently had to look for work out of state to make enough to cover bills.  I am personally hoping to talk them into relocating closer to me in Eau Claire (I know it would be a big move for them but I am praying that God opens up a clear path, that makes that a reality!)

Tara & Erik are praying that 2023 will not be as challenging as 2022!

We are all praying and holding FAITH for Good Health, JOY, Love, Peace & Abundance

We are all grateful for the support, prayers & monetary gifts that help with medical bills, supplements & therapies to assist Tara in regaining her health so she can put this event in the rearview mirror and start imagining a new chapter with an awesome future ahead.

Thank you, God Bless

Wishing you all the Best  in 2023!

Hello Everyone

I told Tara I would do a quick update...  Since Tara officially finished her radiation treatments, she has had her port removed and that is healing up.  She's been seeing her physical therapist every other week and that is going well. Tara has also been adding more daily activities and getting back into a daily exercise routine as well.

She has started the next step in her plan which is the hormone therapy...they are giving her a monthly injection to suppress her ovaries and then she is orally taking an aromatase inhibitor.  So far, she seems to be tolerating this without much side effects, other than, some fatigue and headaches.  We are crossing our fingers & toes that will be the extent of the side effects.

So its been nice to not have to do the long drives to & from Grand Junction every day, and to now get back to things she loves doing, like hiking with her pups!

Thanks Again to All of You!

In Love & Light

Kim

Hello everyone... Sorry we haven't updated in quite a while.  Tara was going through some very intense radiation sessions daily for 25 straight sessions (minus the weekend days)... so that amounted to almost 6 weeks of driving to Grand Junction daily.  It was truly wearing her out physically and mentally.  She is officially done with that part of this "Obstacle Course".  Now she is taking a little time off to rest, heal & recover while she is weighing the pros and cons of the next phase of drug therapies that have been presented to her.  Please keep her in your prayers, she needs all the strength, courage and wisdom you can send her energetically!

In Love & Light

Kim

Hello friends & family

I just spoke with Tara and she is doing well.  She had a good check up with her surgeon and she is healing well from surgery.  She will have her first consult with a PT who specializes in working with those recovering from breast cancer, to help her with movements to build back strength and avoid adhesions or lymphedema in the future.  Tara has also started her 25 sessions of radiation (these will be mostly consecutive, minus the weekends)... She is on her 6th session today, she says the radiology team is fantastic and so far the sessions, although slightly uncomfortable have been easier than she expected.  She says she is a little more tired than usual (but that could also be due to the long road trips daily to & from the clinic in Grand Junction).  So far no issues with skin burning. Taking one day at a time.

She is very thankful to everyone who continues to keep her in their prayers.

In Love & Light

Kim

Hi Everyone...  I was waiting until we had more news to do an update... but sometimes things seem to move slowly in the medical world.  Tara's Oncology team had wanted to do some additional testing before they made a final recommendation on how to move forward with treatments.  Tara had a CT scan and lot's of blood work.  Everything had come back clear except there was a very small spot on her liver that they were unable to determine if it is scaring from an old broken rib injury, or a benign hemangioma or something more.  Tara requested an abdominal radiology specialist to read the original scan and he requested an MRI to hopefully clearly identify this spot as a non issue.  Tara had the MRI on Thursday and we hope to know more after she meets with the Oncology Team next week.  I will post more when I find out the details.  Until then continued prayers and positive thoughts are much appreciated.

In Love & Light & Happy Mother's Day to ALL the MOM's!

Kim  

Tara is recovering well from surgery.   Since surgery, Tara & Erik have seen two different oncologists from two different oncology groups, to discuss treatment plans.  The ONCO test results were much better than initially expected, so there were some additional testing diagnostics that the new team wanted, before the final decision is made on additional treatments necessary.  We are hoping for the best case scenario, which will be the need for just spot radiation and hormone therapies without chemotherapy.  We should know more in a week or so.  The oncology team that Tara & Erik have decided suited them best, is a group in Grand Junction. Unfortunately, this will require ALOT of driving back & forth (approx. 100 miles round trip each time), and once radiation begins that will mean a daily trek to & from the clinic for at least 25 treatments in a row (yikes)!  However, Tara & Erik are very happy so far with the attention and care that this team is providing; so it will be worth the extra "windshield time".

Thank you all for your prayers, good vibes and any donations that have been made!  It is truly making this journey and process much smoother and keeping the unnecessary stress levels down.

Love & Light

Kim

Happy Saturday! I just wanted to give a quick update.  Tara is healing well at home. She is doing really well physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. She just got her drain tubes out this week.  She said that was very painful but luckily it was a quick procedure.  Right now she is slowly working on gaining mobility back in her upper body.  Tara is scheduled to have a medical port (for chemo)..and this procedure will take place in about a week or so.  She will be meeting with the oncologist and oncology radiologist soon after that procedure to set up the treatment plan which will begin we believe at the end of the month/beginning of May.

Tara & Erik are so appreciative of all the love, prayers, and gifts sent to them.  

Thank you all so much!

Love & Light

Kim

Hello Friends

Post-Op recovery in progress... The surgeon called with the pathology report...The tumor was very large and was infiltrating, they successfully removed all with clean margins and in process also took four lymph nodes for testing. Unfortunately one of the lymph nodes came back positive for cancer, so the "fight" is still on... Tara & Erik will be meeting with an oncology team within the next week or so to make a plan of action.  We do not know what that will entail as of yet, more than likely some form of radiation, chemo or both?  Once we know, I will give another update.  "We get knocked down...we get up again! Never gonna hold us down!"  

Thank you for continued prayers and good vibes!

Love & Light

Kim

Hi Everyone!  I want to first say \"thanks so much for the prayers and support for my sister!\"  I just spoke with Tara this morning.  She was discharged from the hospital yesterday evening.  She had a good night sleep at home and is feeling good, pain is being managed well. Erik is taking good care of Tara, and the pups are assisting.

Tara also says, \"THANK YOU SO MUCH to all\"!  She has received several cards and flowers and Get Well Wishes, and she appreciates that so much!

Tara thinks they will hear sometime next week about the lymph nodes biopsies that were done during surgery and will find out more about what comes next.

Love & Light

Kim

Hello everyone

I just wanted to put a quick update about Tara\'s surgery.  She went in yesterday Thursday March 24th 7:30am CDT for pre-op prep.  The surgery was delayed for a couple of hours so she did not go into surgery until almost 1:30pm.  The surgery took approx. 3.5 hrs.  Tara was pretty sick from the anesthesia.  I spoke with Erik when they were moving her to her room.  He said her pain is being managed well.  She was pretty \"groggy\" and they were hoping she would get some good rest overnight in the hospital.  That is the extent of what I know. I will get another update on here once I have a chance to speak with Tara, hopefully later today.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support!

Love & Light

Kim