The start of my new wardrobe below. My friend Cynthia made me this beautiful Irish blanket to keep me cozy during recovery. It is beautiful! I went out to get my post-surgery garments and ended up buying a few caps to keep my forthcoming bald head warm and cozy. It is very odd to think that in just a few weeks I will lose all of my hair. But the more important focus is that I will also be losing all of the cancer! Hooray! We went to the oncologist today. Another wonderful doctor for our team. She answered all of our questions and gave us a lot of information to digest. I will definitely have to undergo chemotherapy. If, after the mastectomy surgery and pathology reports come to indicate that there is no lymph node involvement I will likely be given 4 sessions of chemo over a three month period. If there is lymph node involvement the chemo will be longer. Keep your fingers crossed.
This news was expected and not as bad as it could be. The oncologist agreed that I caught this very early and even though it is a very aggressive type of cancer, my odds for beating this are very good. The choice to have a double mastectomy increases my odds as it appears at this time to be localized. The known side effects from the drugs that I will be given are, of course - hair loss, nausea, fatigue, bone pain, small risk of infections, and neuropathy (tingling pain in extremities). All of the symptoms will be manageable with proper rest and pain meds. I am optimistic that I will handle this fairly well as I am in general good physical condition and health.
Timeline with the information that I have now: Surgery will be 9/13. I will go back to the oncologist about 3 weeks after surgery and chemo will start anywhere between 4-6 weeks after the initial surgery which puts us to late October. Should be finishing up with chemo right around Christmas time and can start feeling better and growing my hair back for the new year. With any luck I will be back to my old lovely self by Rosie and Michael's wedding in March (with a snazzy short hair-do). I hope I grow chemo curls!
So... hair today, gone tomorrow! I will rock my cute hats (may even forego the wig thing - we'll see), get good rest, exercise and nutrition and let this cancer business know who is boss.
This should come as no surprise to anyone, but Cheryl's dark sense of humor kicks in during awkward adjustments. You should hear that bald jokes she told me at the bar tonight ...
ReplyDeleteI love the hat you're posing in. You will do well if you keep your sense of humor and don't let this get you too down. I realize you will have your ups and downs but in the end you will be back to your old spunky self. Love you much, Ma
ReplyDeleteMa, thanks :) Yes, keeping a sense of humor is important. Believe it, or not, there are actually a lot of funny things that come up with this cancer diagnosis and treatment. I'm not too worried about the hair loss as I do love hats anyway. But, when my eyelashes fall out - how will I get my way when I can't bat them at anyone?? Will a wrinkled forehead send the same message as raising my eyebrows? I'm losing all my weapons :)
ReplyDeleteLove you too!
Cheryl-
ReplyDeleteKeep the positive thoughts! 14 years ago, my sister-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer while 5 months pregnant with her youngest. She has been cancer free for 14 years and Dominic is a healthy and happy young man. Sending all my positive thoughts and prayers your way! How do I get one of those shirts!!
Jenny R K
Hello Jenny: Thank you very much for the positive thoughts and kind words. I love hearing the success stories and while the battle can be a huge challenge and hard on the body, believing that I will come out of this happy and healthy and able to enjoy many more years with my family keeps me focused and positive. Thank you for your prayers <3
ReplyDeleteAs for the t-shirts - if you want you can send a check in the amount of $25.00 with your ship-to address and your size to:
G. Smith
P.O. Box 18652
San Jose, CA 95158
The shirts take about two weeks once they are ordered.
We have two girls recovering from their surgery at work. Both are doing well and both are sporting a wonderful very short hair cut. My thoughts and prayers will be with you, Guy and your wonderful children. Hugs and Prayers, Bobbi
ReplyDelete