Chilling by the river Another step closer to being done! I didn't get to write this on my day of treatment because I was completely wasted. Not sure if the Benadryl hit me harder or the treatment felt harder. My labs were still good, but my white blood cells, hematocrit and hemoglobin were low. Need... Continue Reading →
Treatment 3 of 12: A Quarter There!
How treatment went Look at that hair! I didn't wake up with my hair falling out Today was a great day! I came in, went back to my room, they hooked up my port and drew my blood for labs. My lab results all came back by 9:30 AM, so they ordered my meds and... Continue Reading →
PROGRESS: Day 1.2
I decided that I wanted to do progress updates mostly to keep track of how I'm feeling from day to day so that I can talk to my doctor about it. I also decided that I'm going to count my days by week of treatment followed by the day of the week - hence the... Continue Reading →
Treatment 1 of 12: Into the Unknown
My corner office It was a rush in the morning to get Maddie to school and then to the coffee shop to get a latte and a scone before leaving for the hospital. I also forgot I had to wet my hair (which ended up maybe not being worth it) and pack my cooler of... Continue Reading →
Preparing for Treatment: Supplies
I have spent some time searching the internet and Facebook groups looking for all of the recommendations for going through chemotherapy. I’m fortunate that I will be receiving the least bad chemo drug, Taxol, along with the HER2-targeted treatment, Herceptin. A week or so ago I had to sit through my chemo consent appointment where... Continue Reading →
Second Opinion
Why did I want one? I had decided very early on that I wanted to get a second opinion. When I was initially diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS), everything I read said there were several factors that made diagnosing DCIS tricky. First, there is a possibility for misdiagnosis and people misidentifying DCIS for... Continue Reading →
Preparing for Treatment: Hair Cut & Zoladex
Scalp cooling Given the size and type of breast tumor, I learned that I was recommended to receive the Taxol + Herceptin regime. Taxol is a chemotherapy drug that attacks all of the fast-growing cells in my body. While that is a good characterization of my cancer cells, it is also similar to many other... Continue Reading →