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Biopsies Galore
It’s been a loooooong day, unexpected but good. We were up early for a study ultrasound. They used not one but FOUR machines to do ultrasounds on my right breast. Pretty easy. But then they had me go right away to the lung biopsy. Now, this is where things got crazy. Took them a long time to call me in the prep room because a new appointment showed up on my Mayo calendar at 11 (this procedure started at 10). They also ended up calling the folks who were doing my axilla biopsy. Turns out that if I was under sedation for the lung biopsy procedure, they’d have to reschedule…
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Pain
For some reason, when I think of “pain,” I sing Bowe. But pain sucks a lot more than Bowie. These incisions are ITCHY, and it feels like I’m ripping them open when I move. After a whole weekend of this, it kinda got to me. Any stressor increases my jaw pain (TMJ), and then the headaches start. Usually, I have a mild muscle relaxer on hand for the jaw pain, but I’m out. So then it was call after call to the nurse navigator, GP’s office, oncologist. Even the hospital (someone else directed me there). And even after all that, they didn’t give me actual pain meds, just my muscle…
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Treatment Plan #2
Lots of information today & made one of the many decisions. We made it to Rochester by 9, I was asleep not long after. First appointment was at 8 with the Mayo oncologist, a lovely Irish woman! We joked that I will definitely need to go there after treatment (uh, duh). The oncologist confirmed the TCHP cocktail was a great option. She went over several other different ways to go about this and how they differ. She’s waiting to see what the skin biopsy says, which may make me a good candidate to get chemo with one less drug (a clinical trial). She also went over possible treatments after surgery…
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Chemo Scheduled
My first “oncology infusion” is a week from Friday. It gives me a little bit more time to heal from the incisions and vaccinations. The oncologist’s nurse ordered the medications I’ll need to take – a steroid that I’ll need to take the day before chemo, the day of, and then the day after. Plus, two drugs that help with nausea. The infusion will last most of the day on Friday. I’ll need to go back in Saturday for a shot (joy!). And a week after the infusion, I have a nurse visit to check “toxicity” levels. The hope is that you recover enough in 3 weeks to get another…
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Skin Biopsy
First things first… If you want to help… You can join this Facebook group. I won’t be in it, but I’ve been assured it’s not there for you to talk shit. 😉 This way, I can filter info through a central line and worry about getting better. Skin Biopsy Results Skin biopsy results came back positive. I was expecting this; that’d be my luck. So, how I process these things are: Take the news calmly. Say “ok” a lot. Finish with “thank you so much.” Text people who I remember to text. ? 5 minutes later…I think, AM I GOING TO DIE? Write a message to docs re: life expectancy…
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Supportive DNA
More often than not, the day starts one way and ends another. I was hoping to get more time in to see people. But then I somehow forgot my kid’s birthday. Double-booked a few friends. Or just ended up not being able to make things work. The communicator in me is disappointed I can’t manage to get back to all the messages. I know you understand but I also want you to know that I don’t just read them. I sit with a lot of your messages – they truly mean more than you know. It started off with both kids being sick, in addition to myself (sniffle and a…
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Turn and Face the Strange
It seems that change is inevitable for me. I had a hard enough time keeping up with life during the pandemic, and then…you know. All the stuff. The Job The problem with having, like, 4 “full-time jobs” is that you legit can’t get them all done at once. This often seems to be thrust upon women. You have to be all the things – default parent, put-together single parent, inspiring cancer patient, household project manager…with an actual full-time job. The ability to handle it without question is the expectation, but that’s unattainble and unsustainable. With that in mind, I left my beloved job of eight years. It’s been scary. Terrifying,…
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New Oncologist = New Treatment Plan
In the July Update, I mentioned my lymph nodes had been feeling swollen. My regular oncologist didn’t think it was worth exploring even after bring it up at 3 different appointments. It doesn’t sit right when your doctor isn’t taking your concerns seriously, so I set up an appointment with a woman oncologist but the appointment wasn’t for another month and a half (yeah, that’s fun). I got concerned enough I messaged my general practitioner, who initially referred me for testing after I found a lump in my breast. She ordered an ultrasound and a CT scan because of how my breast cancer showed up (or didn’t, as the case…
