Why blog ? & an update
Since being diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2014 I have been generously contacted by so many family and friends with offers of love, help and support from around the world. Thank you to everyone who has reached out to me.
Over the last 8-9 weeks I have received further diagnoses, had surgery and started chemotherapy, but the greatest impact has been adjusting to a new reality that requires my attention and focus to shift to prioritising my health over all else...an adjustment I am still working on! It is a very personal and emotional time for me.
It is for this reason I am starting this blog...to keep my loving family and friends updated on my status as I go through treatment. I will be unwell in the coming months and I will not always be able to see visitors, take calls or respond to emails as texts in a timely manner - please know that I appreciate everyone and I know you support me in focusing on getting better! I will do my best to keep people informed through this blog with regular updates and news as I receive it.
To recap the journey so far:
1. Diagnosis of cancer lump Nov 24th - provisionally cancer Stage 1
2. Lumpectomy surgery and removal of 3 sentinel lymph nodes December 12th
3. Final pathology results December 19th - confirmed cancer has spread to the lymph nodes and revised to Stage 3 cancer
4. Chemotherapy commenced Jan 13th
Wolfie has been the most amazing partner and has looked after me very well.
For those more interested in the detail of the cancer and therapies prescribed please see the details at the bottom of this blog.
Where am I today? The first chemo knocked me around a bit for the first 7 days, and now I am almost back to normal but tire easily everyday. Also, the impact of the chemo is expected to be cumulative, which means in the coming months the effects on my body will be greater.
I expect my hair to start to fall out in the next few days, and I don't expect that to grow back fully for 10-12 months.
In talking to my friends, many people know chemo to be hard, but don't know much more about it. It is important to know that chemo treatments vary significantly by cancer type. I will commence my 2nd chemo round on Feb 3 and I will document what happens (day by day) then to give you a better understanding of my experience. This is only relevant to my chemo (this one is called AC which is common for breast cancer) and my body...but for many I think it is interesting.
Cancer and running a small business? It is difficult to balance these two masters, so I am still working through the best way to outsource parts of the business to give myself some breathing room. I have someone working on packaging and distributing orders now which is a great help, but the business is still demanding (and growing) so I will continue to work on the best way to manage it over the next 6-9 months. If you have great ideas just let me know!
Thanks to everyone for your support and love..check back on the blog soon,
Love Rowena
Details of the cancer and therapies prescribed
Cancer type: Invasive ductal carcinoma NOS Stage 3, HER negative, Estrogen and Progesteron receptors positive
Chemotherapy:
3 months - AC treatment (Doxorubicin & Cyclophosphamide) administered every 21 days
followed by;
3 months - Paclitaxel administered once a week for 12 weeks
followed by;
radiation every day (M-F) for 6 weeks
followed by:
hormone therapy drugs 3-5 years