I am often grateful for the little things, and today that means taking a long, hot shower. It's amazing how powerful and restorative it can be for your body and your mind. I am delighted to welcome 2014 with a clean set of jammies and a feeling of being able to care for myself.
My last doc visit went well. All is on track. My only disappointment was that things are going to drag on a little longer than I had hoped. Next surgery can't take place for at least three months just to give my body time to heal so that means that it will have to be spring break. (Well, implants can still be appropriate for that holiday as well so the count down continues.) So the schedule is now visit my favorite plastic surgeon every two weeks, regular treatments still ongoing every three weeks, oncologist every six weeks, cardiology every nine weeks...(being a patient can be a full time job in itself.) Reconstruction involves expanding the skin over a period of time with a series of injections, which is why I have to visit my plastic surgeon regularly. (No, it doesn't hurt at all. It can just be a bit uncomfortable because the skin is pretty tight.)
FAQ What treatment do you have every three weeks?
I started a treatment called Herceptin on June 7, 2013. (It was one of the drugs that I got at the same time as some of the chemo drugs.) The protocol for this drug is 52 weeks, which means that I will continue with this particular drug until June 7, 2014.
FAQ #2 What are the side effects?
For me, Herceptin has not had any side effects. Yahoo! I am also given Benadryl at the same time to prevent any allergic reactions and that makes me feel sleepy and drunk the moment it hits my system. I sleep it off and am usually fine the next day, although sometimes there is a bit of a hangover.
FAQ #3 Did they remove the port when you had the second mastectomy?
No, I have to keep the port because it's still in use until the Herceptin treatments end in June. That will be the final procedure.
FAQ #4 Why do you have to see cardiology?
So far so good but every nine weeks they check to make sure that the Herceptin is not causing heart problems. I love that my oncologist is very conservative about all this so it's not something that I worry about too much.
It's New Year's Eve and who knows what 2014 will bring. Last week a friend was diagnosed with cancer but she was not a lucky lottery winner like I was. She heard those miserable words involving a few months. About the same time, another friend found out that she is going to have a long-awaited baby. She is understandably ecstatic. Both of these friends inhabit the same little corner of the planet but their experiences in 2014 will be incredibly different. Their journeys will intersect with mine and put me on a slightly altered course as a result. And that right there is the meaning of life. May we each recognize the gifts that are walking alongside us in 2014.
Click here for a little New Year's gift from one of my favorite people, Diana Nyad.
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