First and foremost, a big congratulations to my precious sister and brother-in-law, Happy and Rob, who tied the knot in one of my favorite cities over the weekend. I am so thrilled for them!!! More evidence for me that there is no time like the present to do what you want to do and go where your heart leads. Hooray for Hap! (the picture is with their two attendants, Delta and Bosco)
And in keeping with this train of thought, this was the week that my conversations about chemo moved to the present tense. I met with my oncologist, Nancy Peacock, on Tuesday. I really like her and I think this is going to be important as we go forward with the poisoning part of my cancer treatment. I read somewhere that the treatment for breast cancer is “slash, burn, poison.” This does not bring to mind sweetness and light does it? More like a scary harsh reality.
I am lucky to skip the burn part, I know, but I’m petrified of the effects of the poison. My answer? Carpe diem. Let’s just get it over with. So, I am. Starting next Wednesday, September 30th, I will receive Taxotere and Cytoxan four times over 12 weeks. And yes, I know what your are wondering. Yes, I will lose my hair. Not to mention all the other fun side effects. But barring infections, illness, or other unforeseen distractions, I will be finished by early December with the poison.
I am feeling much better, now, from the surgery and am proceeding with the reconstruction phase of treatment. Without burdening you with TMI, I’m visiting my very cute plastic surgeon weekly for a bit to have my expanders gradually filled and stretched in preparation for my final surgery, hopefully in January. Wow! Although that seems like a long way away, 5 or 6 months is really just the blink of an eye in the big picture. I have already started to envision my life when my hair grows back and I am “whole” again. What will that life look like? How will I have changed? What will I have learned? I know some of this will become apparent to me as I continue on this journey.
One question I continue to ask is WHY? Why did this happen to me in the first place? If the medical community has become so good at detecting and “curing” breast cancer why can’t they figure out why 1 in 8 women will get it in their lifetime? And why is that number is growing? I believe that we will get some answers during my lifetime. Not just a cure, but a prevention. Will Susanna be able to simply get a vaccine to avoid this nightmare? That would be amazing.
In my recent surfing, and thanks to Facebook, I discovered ArmyofWomen.org. It is a partnership with the Dr. Susan Love Foundation and Avon to sign up a million women to help in breast cancer research. You can join the database and learn about various studies going on that you might qualify for. I love their tag line, “go beyond a cure.” At the end of the day, that’s what it’s really all about. I encourage you to register as a volunteer, you never know who you might help in the future.
I remain grateful to all of you who have me in your thoughts and prayers and appreciate so much you who have reached out by mail, email, text, phone. I am humbled and overwhelmed at your generosity and thoughtfulness.
So long for now. Talk soon!
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