Chemo # 3 Done... Only One More to Go!

I had Chemo on Monday and it was the smoothest so far. No emergencies with any of the other patients and with an extra dose of Benedryl I tolerated the mediation much better. Friends Kathy and Pam kept me company. Talked the whole time. I was very anxious about getting through this one based on the reaction I had to the medication last time. So now I can check it off the list and have only May 11th as my last visit.

I have 4 more appointments with the Torturer (the plastic surgeon). These are getting harder as we get near the end of expanding my skin in preparation for the new silicone implants later on. She really is the nicest woman, but it's pretty painful the first few days following my appointment. Should be done with this phase by the end of May.

Mark and I went to get our second opinion with a radiologist. Another incredible doctor. She went the extra mile for me. In addition to being so thorough and patient during the exam she offered to contact her mentor to get his advice. She trained in Boston with Abram Recht. He is one of the leading experts on radiation oncology in the United States.He follows all the current studies being conducted here and other countries. This day really turned out to be a roller coaster for me... At first, her recommendation was that I didn't fit the profile that would call for radiation. So I was thinking maybe I wouldn't have to do it!! (The first doctor we saw last month said I was in a grey area but she would still recommend radiation.) What makes my case different is that one of the tumors grew into the pectoral muscle. There is not much data out there for this situation but as mentioned Dr. Recht is monitoring this. What he is seeing in these new studies out of Europe is that women with similar circumstances to mine have better outcomes if they have radiation. There is a higher rate of reoccurrence if you don't do radiation. So... looks like I will be spending 6 weeks this summer having radiation 5 times per week. It's a short appointment, about 20 minutes. I am up for it! The most disappointing thing is that the plastic surgeon cannot swap out the expanders for the silicone implants until 6 months after radiation is complete. Your skin, blood vessels, etc have to recover from the radiation for that amount of time before they can do another surgery. The plastic surgeon promises me that the expanders will be more comfortable after we are done expanding and done with chemo... I hope she is telling me the truth.

I do feel like I am getting towards the end of the hardest part of treatment. But the chemo has put me into menopause so I am now having hot flashes on top of everything else. Nice to know that many of you are having hot flashes along with me! :)