Category Archives: Love

I said I would never do that again 😭

Posted in adrenal cancer, adrenal insufficiency, Bone marrow, cancer, cancer blogger, cancer fabulous, cancer scan, Cancer treatment, Caregiver, Chronic illness, chronic pain, Clinical trial, Cortisol, endocrine, Endocrinology, Health, health advice, health monitor, Immunotherapy, information, inspirational, Love, malignant, Mibg, Montreal, net cancer, nuclear medicine, Octreotide, palliative, pheo mets, pheochromocytoma, PRRT, Radiation, rare disease, Rare disease day, surviving cancer, terminal illness, young cancer, zebra by

But I learned something new again yesterday

these bodies we think are ours?

They’re not.

We think they own them, we signed them over the moment we agreed to save our selves from the disease that’s killing us every day, see how that works?

Cancer: you get to kill me.

Doctors: you get to save me by any means necessary

Me: I TECHNICALLY have a say… but…

Believe me, there is ALWAYS a but

If you start saying no to things, how can they save you by any means necessary?

Anyone can go on from the outside and say there’s always a choice etc etc, and yes there absolutely is. We always have choices, mine often look something like this:

your veins aren’t working for the 189th time in your life, let’s rush you off to a secret room after after having poked you 7 times – and we will surprise you with a procedure you swore you would NEVER.EVER.EVER do Again – (text here)  I wrote about in previous times to GREAT lengths because it caused you such trauma the last therapy during MIBG (and out of all the things you’ve had done.. that’s saying a lot), just the mention of it is traumatic. 

My words aren’t coming out, no one is listening to me. What good would it do anyways? It’s now my only alternative to receive the treatment I’m here for. 

Ever wonder why the term cancer sucks is so popular? Why so many people want to say fuck cancer? ….

this is why. 

It’s because of situations like this, when you are no longer a person, when you no longer have a say in your own body in order to save yourself.. because you know that you’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t. 

Facetune

Part 1: 05/23/2017 – PRRT treatment prep

jugular insertion 

Facetune

But I’m tired now

Facetune

I’ll leave you with something good, as I always do… I was greeted with my Doctor cupcakes (my husband), after some kisses 💋, and pain control, I was ready to start my treatment in a little less agony.

(My clinical trial doctor) is amazing, and does everything to administer the treatment in a comfortable fashion.

The treatment itself was a bit improved VS the last few times.

More on that later once I’m not so traumatized from the morning, and tired & in pain.

FABULLLLUS IS EXHAUSTED. 🖐🏼🏥

more fun trial stuff soon, byeeeeee

#pheovsfabulous

4th..5th time? I’ve lost count! IS a charm 💛✨

Posted in adrenal cancer, adrenal insufficiency, advocate, cancer, cancer blogger, cancer fabulous, cancer scan, Cancer treatment, Caregiver, Chronic illness, chronic pain, Clinical trial, Cortisol, Endocrinology, Health, health advice, health monitor, information, inspirational, Love, Mibg, net cancer, nuclear medicine, Octreotide, palliative, pheo mets, pheochromocytoma, positivity, PRRT, Radiation, rare disease, Rare disease day, surviving cancer, terminal illness, the mighty, young cancer, zebra by

There are two things this disease has made me become an expert with:

learning how to be okay with never leaving your little comfy space (or rather being confined to it). 

or

constantly leaving that comfort zone you’ve been confined to for the purpose of being EVERYTHING but comfortable. 

Luckily I’ve acquired the most important lesson of my own, & that was to stay fabulous no matter what. Have YOU guys figured out the meaning of ‘Staying Fabulous’ yet?

This past year my health has declined significantly despite doing the most treatments packed into one time frame ever. 

With that said, my wardrobe mostly consists of comfy pyjamas, my hair is done by my husband (bless his heart). Speaking of hair, let’s be real… I can’t even wash my own hair, there I go again painting a whole different picture for you guys. I have care almost every day, and a lot of things I’m unable to do. Fabulous means SO many different things, but I still haven’t lost my fabulous, even if I’ve lost my ability to do all of these things by myself.

When I choose to do my makeup it takes me sometimes close to 5 hours or more, but I don’t mind because it’s every couple of months or so – and it makes me SO happy! Despite what I share in photos, we create a picture to make others happy as well.

What matters is the love, the laughter, the same outlook I’ve promised to have from the beginning hasn’t changed.

My message is being delivered with the same sparkle (most days)  ☺️✨ because that’s what PHEO VS FABULOUS is all about.

Regardless of everything that we have been going through to make it here, we’re here, and we feel just as grateful as ever.

When we were challenged, we leaned on each other for the support we so badly needed.

We felt so blessed for the support we constantly receive.

It isn’t in me to give up, the only thing to do now is move forward. To unfortunately just keep receiving another treatment and see what’s next.

What IS next you ask? 

Remember option 1 or 2? Well, today is # 2. Actually this week is a bit of both… except today is …

leaving the spot I’m most comfortable in. (You know, normally I’m confined to my house)

AND, this week is being confined to a space … but unfortunately not the space I’m most comfortable in, quite the opposite actually – I wouldn’t call the hospital or a radiation room my comfort zone. 🏥☠️

BUT that’s the life of being terminally ill 😷 treatments, clinical trials, being radioactive, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do! ✌🏼🏥👸🏻

After all that jazz I will be laying in the big spaceship scans later in the week… pretending I’m getting a facial in my Dream bungalow house in the trees that has NO stairs, one of those swim spa pools where my poor body can float all year round, and a little all year round sunroom for my puppies & me to relax when I’m feeling down  🏡 sounds wonderful right? My mind is escaping there already. 

Dreaming, dreaming, dreaming ✨✨✨

Ok, time to glow friends 👋🏽😄

Tuesday is the actual day for treatment, PS 🏥☢️ In case you guys forgot what treatment it is, it’s the PRRT clinical trial  – this will be my fourth round.

(Which also happens to be serge and my 7 year anniversary 😑, which also happens to somehow ALWAYS be spent in the hospital 😪😭)

Bye everybody!

🛣🚘

IMG_5823

Dear husband…

Posted in adrenal insufficiency, cancer, cancer fabulous, Cancer treatment, Caregiver, Chronic illness, Endocrinology, Health, inspirational, Love, Mibg, net cancer, pheochromocytoma, positivity, Radiation, rare disease, surviving cancer, terminal illness, young cancer, zebra by

My husband made me cry today. Not intentionally, in a beautiful way that just can’t be controlled no matter how hard you try, the last 4 months of emotions came pouring out of me, just by sharing my post I had written yesterday about my experience with MIBG. He never leaves my side, he takes care of me 24hours a day, meanwhile balancing his worsening illness and doctors as well. We are making it work, but we certainly appreciate each moment. We love each other so much it’s impossible to describe, but he does a pretty good job at it in his super adorable French way:

Wow baby.
This took a long time to be able to write this post. Finaly you where able too. You are so strong Miranda I hope that you can help others with this post. Butt I hope it helped you by writing what was in your heart. I know how hard this was I was next to you while you where writing this story. How tired and all the attacks you had while doing it. God I’m lucky to have you near me.
Thank you lord to give her the streingth to do so. You inspire me to be a better person and I pray for allot of years with you. We don’t know how many we have butt let’s make them the best we can.
I love you so so Mutch. Please stay with me for ever and ever. I could not imagine not taking care of you. It would kill me. You are so amaysing. And a joy to be with and to love. I have to stop or I’ll cry like a baby.
Love you baby.
God your special. 💋💋💋💋💋💋💗💋💋💋💋💗

Serge said to me despite the adversity of what we have experience, what we get to experience together is the most beautiful thing anyone will ever get to share, and we are so blessed we are able to go through something not many people will ever get to feel in their lifetime. So we should enjoy every moment of it together, and be grateful for our amazing connection we’ve always shared.

I am thankful I have such an incredible husband who looks at life and our love in the same positive manner that I do.

I know it’s hard sometimes that even YOU don’t get to know deep within what’s inside of me, until I write and process everything. I have to relive the trauma in order to help others, and that’s okay.

Sometimes I’m tired and scared and disappointed but I have you constantly here to keep the smile that never leaves my heart even when the pain takes it away from my face.

I recently wrote about not having a decent choice when it comes to treatment, what choice do we have anyways? When you’re constantly suffering through surgery, procedures, and now invasive treatments – and it doesn’t work… You just keep feeling worse, and it keeps taking it’s course, you might start to think, well do I even do the next treatment?

I was discussing the fact that with everything my body has suffered through since my diagnosis October 10, 2014, my metastatic pheochromocytoma still stubbornly proves disappointing results despite constant aggressive efforts to remove and radiate, still damages me with it’s overbearing symptoms, still hasn’t slowed down or given us even a glimpse of a stable point, but even with all of this pain and suffering…

The choice is simple

The question is not  “Should I do this treatment?”

The question is, “Should I do everything I can to stay with you?”

I’ll always choose you, I will always choose us.

The choice is simple, yes, we choose to have hope. We choose to try. We choose to do everything we can. We choose to say we did.

We choose to do everything we can to stay together, even if twenty things don’t work, I’m willing to suffer through them to see if one will.

I think that is what it means to be fabulous ‘Fabulous despite the odds’

Your loving wife,

Mrs.Simard 💋💋

Pheo VS Fabulous 💖