Here I am at my first blog entry but there will be flash backs as my journey began not too long ago, in September 2007 as my Mom was losing her battle and I got a call back for more mammograms of my left breast.
I had followed her treatment for six years and now it was my turn. At least the yearly mammogram caught the tumor early saving me from a mastectomy. It was the size of an M&M (as I found it a good reference to describe the size of the tumor to my fave candy treat) and was known in scientific terms as infiltrating ductal carcinoma.
It was tagged and removed in January 2008 along with several clean lymph nodes in under arm area. BUT during surgery, my breast surgeon found a node under the tumor that was cancerous. She removed it and I was told that radiation would be postponed and chemo was next.
Woohoo...hair loss and feeling yucky were inevitable side effects but there was no way to know if I would get infections, fevers, or other scary symptoms. Luckily my WBC counts have remained good, I have not caught any colds and continue my full time work load and commute with unpaid days for chemo and there are less yucky days as Taxol is given weekly.
I continue to search the web, read blogs of courageous cancer survivors, watch chemo treatments posted by folks on uTube. That has helped tremendously. My fears and online searches for answers to many questions have helped me cope.
Chemo brain and feeling tired is the way I'm feeling today as I had chemo number 7? ACT was my regimen, AC for 4 treatments, then 12 treatments of T weekly so I'm looking to finish at the end of July. I have a port that aches now and then.
Have to go feed the cats, get an update on the Yankees as Johnny is watching the game now. Need to drink some more juice. Hydration is key, rest is vital. More blogging to come.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment