Well, I forgot to take a pic, but today was infusion #3 - I'm sort of halfway there! I say sort of, because I still have to get through the side effects, which are much worse than infusion day but not as bad as I expected, by a long shot.
The worst part of infusion day? I have this stick on injector that counts 27 hours and delivers a white blood cell boosting medication. It's called Neulasta, if you're curious. They stick it on me belly, it beeps for 30 seconds, then has 10 tiny clicks, and then BAM it pokes me with a tiny needle but makes me jump out of my chair. It doesn't hurt, really, but it scares me every time!!! Whoever is with me gets a pretty good laugh.
I met with my oncologist today, and I asked her: "So how do we know this treatment is working?" And here's what she said:
Well, we just know that it works. Because your case is Her2+, it is exquisitely responsive to the treatments we are doing. Then, the chemo is attacking any cells in the body that are rapidly dividing, which will take care of any straggler c cells. And finally, the radiation will get any c that might be hiding out around the breast and armpit area. So your risk of recurrence is very very very low. And, they did some studies about women coming back often for scans to look for recurrence. While those recurrences were found earlier, there was no difference in the lifespan off those women vs ones who just came back when they had symptoms. But, the women who did not receive periodic scans we're overall much happier because they felt that they could close the chapter on c and move on with living their lives.
That, friends, was so encouraging to me! And for those who might be worrying about me, I hope you stop because God's got this, and I hope this report brings you comfort as well.
And now, on to some lighter things! I'd like to present to you, a list of the Top Six Perks of Chemotherapy.
1. It's much faster for me to get ready to go somewhere, because I don't have to fix my hair! (Except here lately, I've been playing with makeup because I got a whole bag of goodies from a c survivor skincare seminar - say that 5 times fast!)
2. Mosquitoes don't bite me - apparently I stink to them or something, because I normally get eaten up and I haven't had the first bite.
3. Showers are faster because I don't have to shave my legs nearly as often!
4. I haven't been nauseated at all. Not really a perk compared to normal life, but something I was really really worried about coming into treatment, so it's been a big relief.
5. Maybe a little TMI but the ladies will appreciate this... No monthly hassles!
6. The food. So many people have brought us really yummy stuff, or ordered takeout/delivery for us, and it's been a huge blessing. There have been a few times where my stomach or tastes have been wonky and I had to freeze the leftovers for a few days til things got back to normal, but overall, YUMMMM and thank you!!
Life is good, y'all. Even when it's hard, or different than planned, life is good.
