Just so I wouldn't be left out, Carrie came over yesterday and painted my nails magenta with pink flowers.
And today I wore my 'Race for the Cure' scarf as my form of distant support.
According to my histopath report, in addition to the the mixed lobular and ductal invasive cancerous foci, my Left breast also had 'abundant' lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) while the Right breast had a small foci of the same. Although LCIS is not 'technically' considered cancer, it is considered a marker for potential future cancer. In other words, if I hadn't had them remove both breasts I would have had a 33% chance of re-occurrence AND I would have spent the next many years having repeated MRIs, mammograms and biopsies to try to catch it early. It's nice to have justification for what seemed like an extreme choice... according to Tapwe. In any case, it's a great relief given the current data.
The oncologist suggested chemo treatments every three weeks for a total of only four treatments or three months since my lymph nodes were clear. Sounds like the first treatment will begin mid-October and however I react to the first treatment will be what I can expect for the following three. They'll be putting me on a bone marrow stimulant to boost my neutrophil count. Those are the infantry of the immune system which fight of bacterial infections. This will mean I'll only have a 2-3 day lull in my immune system rather than the routine 5-7 days.
Chemo delivery takes a good 3-4 hrs and makes you feel like crap for up to five days post treatment. This is the toxic phase, followed by two weeks of a recovery phase. I'll be meeting with a naturopath later this month to find out what diet and supplements would be most helpful to minimize the toxic effects on my body and eliminate the toxins most effectively. I'm told I'll still lose my hair so Barbra and I are planning on a Henna-head party. Shave your head and come Henna your head! Okay, I'll admit that's a bit extreme. Perhaps some of you would like to come and Henna your hands, arms or legs? Could be fun. I'll let you know when I have a good idea of when that'll happen.
Go check out this link to a YouTube video called Pink Glove Dance. It's awesome and occurred at St Vincent's here in Portland! Thanks to Ruth for sending me the link.
And the Pink Glove Dance - The Sequel
2 comments:
Hi,
This was almost exactly my case too. Right breast 30% chance of re-occurrence. I too am glad that I went the extreme choice. And my lymph nodes where also clear. I had 4 treatments every 3 weeks. Did not have the bone marrow stimulant boost, but it was not offered to me.
Losing my hair was almost as traumatic as the first time I saw no boobs. But my hair grew back and my boobs did not :).
I had a couple of very nice wigs that I wore when I went out.
Just remember all the friends that all pulling for you.
Have a great day and remember not to overdue. I know it is very hard.
Count me in for the henna par-tay!
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