Updates: Port surgery done and chemo scheduled
Hey there! It's been a while. I figured constant updates would get wearing. :)
I had my port surgery on Wednesday. It was a quick in and out -- I mean, general anaesthetic, but I went in at 6am and was out by 11am. I've got this weird...hard spot on my chest now and the pain was more than expected and I'm tiring easily. In fact, on Wednesday, the pain was SO much more than expected that I actually called the surgeon's office. They made noises about punctured lungs, but it wasn't that. I figured it was just...like, air in my torso from the surgery. It felt like a really REALLY bad exercise stitch. I keep saying it's more painful than the mastectomies, but with those I was on IV pain medication for 12 hours -- AND I USED IT! So, you know, it's all relative.
ANYWAY, I have my port.
I went in today to talk to the Physician's Assistant (PA) about scheduling chemo. And we did. So, I'm scheduled for my A/C chemo:
*Friday 6 November
*Friday 20 November
*Friday 4 December
*Friday 18 December
Then January 1, 2016, I start the Taxol -- once a week for 12 weeks.
Apparently I'll feel worst 3-5 days after the treatment? Apparently? So I went with Fridays of the weeks WITH my boys, so they go back to their father on Sunday, and then I can feel like crap for a full week when they're not staying with me.
So...if anyone is interested in coming to help with chemo treatments, I'll have them on Fridays and would love to have companions for the actual treatment. And then will really need someone with me the following week, apparently (?). BUT don't forget the weekly treatments in the New Year, which are apparently a lot milder, but still! Companionship is a wonderful thing.
That's what I've got! I'll be bugging you for your best wishes and thoughts and love and light next Friday. <3
And people are so wonderful! I'm surrounded by lions, and people have sent me the most thoughtful, beautiful gifts. I'm truly blessed. Thank you everyone. <3 <3 <3
But what I'd REALLY like right now, more than anything else, is information! If you or anyone you know has been through these treatments, please just...give me advice? Tell me what it feels like? Tell me when it was bad and when it was good and what you could eat and when hair started falling out and...just...anything? I know it's as personal as pregnancy and I had two of those and they were both totally different. So I get that everyone's different. But experiences and advice and narratives are good. I'll feel just very slightly more in control, I think?
I had my port surgery on Wednesday. It was a quick in and out -- I mean, general anaesthetic, but I went in at 6am and was out by 11am. I've got this weird...hard spot on my chest now and the pain was more than expected and I'm tiring easily. In fact, on Wednesday, the pain was SO much more than expected that I actually called the surgeon's office. They made noises about punctured lungs, but it wasn't that. I figured it was just...like, air in my torso from the surgery. It felt like a really REALLY bad exercise stitch. I keep saying it's more painful than the mastectomies, but with those I was on IV pain medication for 12 hours -- AND I USED IT! So, you know, it's all relative.
ANYWAY, I have my port.
I went in today to talk to the Physician's Assistant (PA) about scheduling chemo. And we did. So, I'm scheduled for my A/C chemo:
*Friday 6 November
*Friday 20 November
*Friday 4 December
*Friday 18 December
Then January 1, 2016, I start the Taxol -- once a week for 12 weeks.
Apparently I'll feel worst 3-5 days after the treatment? Apparently? So I went with Fridays of the weeks WITH my boys, so they go back to their father on Sunday, and then I can feel like crap for a full week when they're not staying with me.
So...if anyone is interested in coming to help with chemo treatments, I'll have them on Fridays and would love to have companions for the actual treatment. And then will really need someone with me the following week, apparently (?). BUT don't forget the weekly treatments in the New Year, which are apparently a lot milder, but still! Companionship is a wonderful thing.
That's what I've got! I'll be bugging you for your best wishes and thoughts and love and light next Friday. <3
And people are so wonderful! I'm surrounded by lions, and people have sent me the most thoughtful, beautiful gifts. I'm truly blessed. Thank you everyone. <3 <3 <3
But what I'd REALLY like right now, more than anything else, is information! If you or anyone you know has been through these treatments, please just...give me advice? Tell me what it feels like? Tell me when it was bad and when it was good and what you could eat and when hair started falling out and...just...anything? I know it's as personal as pregnancy and I had two of those and they were both totally different. So I get that everyone's different. But experiences and advice and narratives are good. I'll feel just very slightly more in control, I think?