This blog post is the 37th in a series about my (and twin sister’s) preventative breast cancer screening journey that began when we were 30 years old in July 2019. Here is a list of all of the posts written about our journey at Mayo Clinic’s Breast Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, to date. To keep tabs on new posts, sign up for the “A Daily Miracle” email list at this link. You can also follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

My twin sister traveled down to Mayo Clinic in Rochester with her husband a week ago Friday for her 14th and FINAL infusion of T-DM1/Kadcyla!! Her infusion went excellently, and, according to her oncologist, after 20 chemotherapy infusions totaling 43 hours and a double mastectomy with reconstruction, my twin sister is now officially in REMISSION from breast cancer!!!

As our dad wrote in a Facebook post last Friday as my twin sister and her husband headed off to her final day of chemotherapy at Mayo Clinic in Rochester:

Today is a great day long in coming.  This is Steph’s last chemo treatment day at Mayo for her breast cancer journey. Over a year of tears, worry and lots of prayers.  The strength and faithfulness and determination Stephanie and her husband Paul have provided to all of us along the journey has been nothing short of incredible. For all suffering, be reminded today that joy will return, Faith is essential, and love of Family, and the support of kind friends will get you through. Thanks be to God for His Faithfulness. And thank you friends and Family for, well, everything. #ACS #breastcancer #remission #faithful #ThankYouLord

Here are a few highlights from my twin sister’s most recent visit to Mayo, starting with her departure pictured above as she and her husband prepared to head out to Rochester but first posed for a photo with their two boys, “Bart the Cat” and “Gizmo the Boston Terrier” (who you can follow on Instagram @gimme_mo_gizmo :)). We are celebrating her new status as a patient in “remission!” We’ve also included praises and new prayer requests for us at this moment in time (full details follow in the blog post below).

Thank you so much again for your prayers for us as we travel this journey together! It is indeed the end of an era and the beginning of a new survivorship chapter presenting us with plenty of opportunities to trust in the Lord!:

• Praise!: My twin sister is 100% (14/14) of the way done with her post-operative chemotherapy regimen of T-DM1/Kadcyla and is officially in “remission!” Her side effects have been minimal, especially compared to what she experienced after her neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimen on TCHP in 2019 and early 2020. She has headaches and a bit of nausea for about a week after each of her infusions of T-DM1, but this week is the last week that she will ever have to experience that again because we hope and pray and trust this is the last time she ever has to do chemotherapy EVER!!! 😀 She will follow up with her Mayo oncology team every 4 months until 2024 to keep a close eye on her healing journey.
• Praise / Prayer request!: At her most recent eye doctor appointment at Mayo Clinic, her eye doctor let my twin sister know he is “confident” that the corneal cysts that developed last year will disappear likely after the conclusion of T-DM1! The corneal cysts get a bit worse for the week after each of her T-DM1 infusions, but it is our hope and prayer they will disappear completely in a matter of weeks!!! We will post an update after she goes to see him again in April 2021! This would be a literal MIRACLE!
• Praise! / Prayer request!: My twin sister had a follow-up appointment with the gynecological oncology team at Mayo Clinic last week to follow up on her ovarian cancer screening scare last fall and her ovaries are totally normal! That means that she and her husband will be able to take a timed break from her daily dose of Tamoxifen in 2022 to conceive using IVF. Prayers are appreciated for their health and discernment as they move forward with family planning later this year!!
• Prayer request!: Now that my twin sister is in remission, would you join us in praying for her healing and protection from cancer recurrence forever, for her strength, health, and for joy as she continues to heal? She will take Tamoxifen every day for 5 years–with a timed break in 2022 to conceive using IVF–and we appreciate any and all prayers for her as she marches into survivorship, which is a mental and physical battle!

My twin sister’s 14th (and final!) infusion of T-DM1 / Kadcyla at Mayo Clinic Rochester

My twin sister’s final infusion of T-DM1 was amazing for a few reasons. First, her favorite chemotherapy nurses of all time were working, which means she got to talk with them and give them thank you cards for all of the time they spent helping her–especially in 2019 when she first started TCHP with a 6 hour chair time per infusion. 🙂

Also, because she got to celebrate being finished with chemotherapy forever with a set of clappers from a very good friend (thanks, Caroline!!! :))

My twin sister didn’t request a window room for her final infusion because she wanted others with longer chair times to have the “window seats.” 🙂 When she got up to go home, she promised her nurses she would send photos of her and her husband’s babies through the patient portal next year. 🙂

Here are some videos of my twin sister using her clappers!:

Celebrating Remission!!!

When my twin sister and her husband returned home from their trip to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, our immediate family had prepared a party for her!! We set out generous flowers, balloons, and gifts from family and friends (thanks Aunt Jeanne, Aunt Shawn, Jess, Jayme, and Tracie!!!), and enjoyed some quality time reflecting on the Lord’s faithfulness on this long and arduous journey. Here is a brief video and some photos I captured when she and her husband got home:

Ovarian cancer free / “looking good!”

In mid-February, I took my twin sister down to Mayo Clinic in Rochester for a follow-up appointment with her ovarian doctor team and eye doctor to check on her microcystic edema. First: Ovarian doctor. This appointment was made to follow up on my twin sister’s ovarian cancer screening scare last fall. 

Thankfully!, my twin sister’s ovaries on this most recent ultrasound are totally normal! That means that she and her husband will be able to take a timed break from her daily dose of Tamoxifen in 2022 to conceive using IVF. Prayers are appreciated for their health and discernment as they move forward with family planning later this year!! She is all set to go back and see them in 6 months for a routine checkup–in August 2021.

Microcystic edema update