I had a follow-up appointment with my oncologist on Monday. It wasn't pleasant. I really had hoped that at the end of my treatment I'd be able to put this breast cancer thing into a box and shove it into the back of my closet, forgetting it for the next ten years or so. I guess that's not gonna happen.
Apparently, I'm going to have to remain on the radar for the next 2 years, visiting my dear oncologist once every 4 months for check-ups. Every six months, I will have to have an infusion (back to the dreaded chemo room!) of Zometa to keep my bones healthy, because the medication I'm going to start, Femara, causes bone loss. Great. I'll be on Femara for the next five to ten years. Yes, you read that correctly. The upswing? Femara reduces the possibility of recurrence by 50%. Ok, sign me up. That's a number I can live with (ha ha).
The bummer: the hospital makes me sick. Literally. When I left there yesterday, I was so sick to my stomach, I couldn't eat anything for hours. I had to go home and curl up in bed to sleep it off. I just hate going in the building. The mere thought of returning to the chemo room makes me want to hurl. Every six months? Sheesh.
Another bummer: the first dose of Zometa makes you feel like total $&#% for a few days. Flu-like symptoms for up to a week, wonderful. Some say it won't happen as bad the second dose, some say it made them sick again. Who knows.
Another bummer: Femara apparently makes a lot of people feel horrible. I need to stop reading the bulletin boards in the breast cancer community room online. This will only make me crazy.
I'm not in a great place, feeling overwhelmed with it all. Surgery still scheduled for next Thursday, let's all say a collective goodbye to my fabulously productive ovaries, shall we?
Don't remember if I posted this or not, but the bilateral mastectomy is scheduled for April 21. That one will keep me freaking out for a while. Until later, I remain, Bonnie.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Round 6, final chemo...done, and done.
Just a quick update. Final round went as well as could be expected, am now dealing with the side effects at home. Once I get through the next 10-14 days of whatever the chemo may bring, I will feel really and truly done with this part of my treatment. Then you will hear a huge sigh of relief from me and maybe a huge hoo-ray! too.
I've been busy visiting a myriad of other doctors since round 5 to get a plan in place for my upcoming surgeries. The next surgery will be the removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes. This will be done as a laporoscopic procedure, under general anesthesia (ugh!), and possibly involves a night in the hospital (depending on how things go). As it is laporoscopic, the healing time is less and easier (or so I hear). This surgery has been scheduled on March 4.
The next round of surgery involves a bit more pain, 2 invasive procedures, and a lot of mental distress for the Bonnster. In the last week of March or early April, I will go in for the bilateral mastectomy and the placement of my "tissue expanders." This is a bit of a change from the original plan in October in which I was told I would skip tissue expanders, they would place the final implants at the time of the bilateral. Since then, they have noticed that this procedure doesn't yield such great aesthetic results so they are returning to the way they've done in the past. This will mean 2 surgeries instead of one, but hopefully better results, so that is what we are doing. The time between the first surgery and second surgeryis about 3-4 months depending on the person. Could be longer, but let's not think about that. The first surgery is about 5-6 hours under general anesthesia with an overnight in the hospital. I will be out of commission for a minimum of 2 weeks with almost 0 physical activity in the arms/back/chest. Sounds like so much fun, right? Don't even get me started on the "drains"...sheesh and ick.
Starting to wear down. Must close for now. Once again, huge thanks for all that you do to support me through this incredibly difficult time. Nothing can replace the support of friends and family. Huge hugs to you all.
I've been busy visiting a myriad of other doctors since round 5 to get a plan in place for my upcoming surgeries. The next surgery will be the removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes. This will be done as a laporoscopic procedure, under general anesthesia (ugh!), and possibly involves a night in the hospital (depending on how things go). As it is laporoscopic, the healing time is less and easier (or so I hear). This surgery has been scheduled on March 4.
The next round of surgery involves a bit more pain, 2 invasive procedures, and a lot of mental distress for the Bonnster. In the last week of March or early April, I will go in for the bilateral mastectomy and the placement of my "tissue expanders." This is a bit of a change from the original plan in October in which I was told I would skip tissue expanders, they would place the final implants at the time of the bilateral. Since then, they have noticed that this procedure doesn't yield such great aesthetic results so they are returning to the way they've done in the past. This will mean 2 surgeries instead of one, but hopefully better results, so that is what we are doing. The time between the first surgery and second surgeryis about 3-4 months depending on the person. Could be longer, but let's not think about that. The first surgery is about 5-6 hours under general anesthesia with an overnight in the hospital. I will be out of commission for a minimum of 2 weeks with almost 0 physical activity in the arms/back/chest. Sounds like so much fun, right? Don't even get me started on the "drains"...sheesh and ick.
Starting to wear down. Must close for now. Once again, huge thanks for all that you do to support me through this incredibly difficult time. Nothing can replace the support of friends and family. Huge hugs to you all.
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