Dear friends and family -

Hopefully you are all well, safe and sane. No guarantees on that last one! In spite of the Safer at Home orders in Colorado, we are doing well and continue to get fresh air and exercise. Mother's Day was one of the loveliest I can remember. I even got a Fitbit to help me track my exercise.

I’m super excited to share that Stable Mable continues to be my friend. I had a bone scan and a CT scan last Friday. Today I learned that the scans show everything as stable meaning no progression. My condition is stable. This is the best news we could get. Yay science and medication!

The anxiety of waiting for scan results is real. Thanks to many of you who reached out this past week. It means a lot. I’m crazy fortunate to have access to this medicine and have you all on my side. My family is incredibly understanding, even on Sunday when I was a hot mess with worry and sadness.

While many states are relaxing of some of the restrictions related to COVID-19, the risk is still as real as back in March. For me and others with suppressed immune systems we are more susceptible to the virus. The medication I'm on (Ibrance) lowers my neutrophil count. What does this mean? Neutrophils are white blood cells that are the first cells to attack an infection. Normal neutrophil levels are between 1.7 and 6.5. Prior to starting my medication, my neutrophil level was 5.5, now I average around 1.2. If I were to contract the virus, they would likely have me stop taking my medication so I could fight off the infection. I don't ever want to stop taking medication - it is what is keeping the cancer in check. I don't look like I have cancer and there are many others like me that don't look like we are at higher risk, but we are.