Awaiting chemo

Plans have been changing quite quickly in the past couple of weeks. Ever since I went up to Northwestern to get a second opinion, it has been hard for me to keep up with the changes to my treatment. I know it must be hard for everyone else too.

Last Monday I had a port put in so that I will more easily be able to receive chemo. I have very small veins and the chemo nurse felt that they would not last for all of chemo. The port is a device that is implanted just under your skin on my chest. A catheter tube is then connected to it and inserted into a vein in my neck. I was sedated during the process. :o) Living with it has taken some getting used to. The skin can get very itchy in the area if it is irritated by clothing or the car seat belt. Once I’m done with chemo, I can then have it removed.

Then last Friday I had surgery to remove a little more tissue from my chest wall where the cancer was found this second time. The pathologist up at Northwestern felt that the margins around the cancer were too small when I had my biopsy, so the decision was made to take a little more tissue just to be safe. The good news is that this surgery was not very painful for me. The right side of my chest has been pretty much numb since my mastectomy last year. I can feel pressure but my skin has little feeling. Also the path report came back free of cancer so my treatment plan should now be pretty set. I hope.

So what are those plans you ask? Well first up is chemo. I will be starting chemo on Thursday, May 23. The chemo I will be taking is Cytoxan and Taxotere (you may hear it called TC). I will have four doses each three weeks apart. After I am done with chemo I will get a few weeks off and then I will start six or seven weeks of daily radiation treatments. And last but not least I will have a hysterectomy at some point in the near future. Not sure when, but not during chemo.

Why do I need a hysterectomy? Good question. My cancer is still contained to the local breast area. I am still considered Stage 1. The reason I need a hysterectomy is because my cancer is fed by estrogen. There is only one med that a young, premenopausal woman can take to try and block the estrogen. It is called Tamoxifen, and I was on Tamoxifen last year. Since my cancer grew back while on it, I am now considered Tamoxifen resistant. So a stronger method must be used. I have two options. One - surgically remove the ovaries or Two - suppress the ovaries with a medicine. I have chosen the surgical approach.

It sounds like a long road ahead doesn’t it? I admit that it is overwhelming for me to think about the whole treatment plan in its entirety, but piece by piece it is surmountable.  I am sure that I will have a few struggles along the way, but I will get through it… if only I can get started.