What a difference a day has made to me. Meeting my oncologist and having some sort of a plan is a great relief. I will be starting chemo next Wednesday so I am going to try to have a very restful week and build up my strength for it. I still have to meet with a breast surgeon hopefully before then so they can confirm neoadjuvant chemo will be a suitable approach and I have to get a heart MRI and a port put in. The doctor seemed to think both routes are comparable in terms of effectiveness. I wanted to make clear that I am not attached to my bosom in any way if survival is better the other way. It will be a full right mastectomy in the end no matter what anyway.
I was hopeless with the recording of notes etc but luckily my mum came in midway through the appointment and took excellent notes and then wrote them up after. I got some kind of an injection in my tummy that shuts my ovaries down because there are a few cells with estrogen receptors so this might help in the fight. It gave me a sense that something has started.
I wanted to start sooner with chemo if possible but it is probably good to have a bit of time to prepare. I am going to try having the first couple of rounds of chemo on a shorter 2 week cycle if I can take it. Wear some kind of a freezing cold hat that might make my hair come back quicker. Just been reading about some of the hideous side effects of chemo and hoping I will manage OK as I am mostly on my own with the kids. My husband is away for most of the week he is in the house a couple of times a week as he is trying to build a business on a farm and stays there a fair bit but he will probably need to come home a bit more to help me out. I’m just wondering if I will still manage school drop offs and swimming lessons and all the usual stuff like shopping and cleaning and cooking without lots of help. My mum is going to be a main support and my husband will hopefully come to the party and hopefully a few friends will get involved but I still have no idea what to expect or how it will work or whether I’m crazy to have signed up for short cycles and freezer hats.
I got got myself a Fitbit today so that I can keep track of my sleep
cycles and try to get more exercise even during chemotherapy but I have no idea what I will be able to manage and if that’s a crazy idea.
Thanks again to all the people who have written back to my messages for showing care to me. It really has been the best thing I could have found online to help me through this crisis.
