Happy post Fourth of
July! I’m thrilled to report that almost
two weeks into treatment I am feeling great except for the few days right after chemo. I now feel better about making some summer
plans but we are taking each day as it comes and working around treatment
schedules.
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| No wig! My new hairstyle for a few weeks |
My first chemo treatment was Tuesday, June 24th. Mike and I were at the Mayo Clinic almost all
day. My chemotherapy is called TC chemo
which stands for Decotaxel
(T) and Cyclophosphamide
(C ). It actually takes about 3 hours to
intravenously inject but there seems to be many steps before it actually
starts. It was surreal to sit there with
Mike and look around and see people of all ages who have to do this week after
week; some without anyone at their side.
I am again reminded how lucky I am to have Mike, my family and all of
you.
Monday, prior to chemo, I had my blood drawn to check my
white and red cell count. This will give
doctors as my baseline throughout treatment.
The chemo, as you probably know, kills the cells as they are dividing,
both good and bad. So, there is about a
one-week period where I am more susceptible to infection than other times. The Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of chemo
treatments, I actually feel AWESOME.
They give you a steroid; which made me want to organize my house – my
idea of FUN! After, this first
treatment, Thursday and Friday were pretty tough, but I rebounded Saturday and Mike
and I joined friends at Steak44 for dinner.
So, it is basically and up-and-down, day-by-day, process.
My next three treatments will be July 15th,
August 5 and the last one will be August 26th. I will take a break after chemo before
beginning radiation. I think lots of
progress has been made in regards to chemotherapy. The doctors really try to help control the
side effects as best they can with other drugs and suggestions on how to take
care of yourself and your body at this time.
The day after each chemo treatment I will be given an injection called Pegfilgrastim, which
helps my body make more white blood cells to fight infections. YOU will not believe it, but this little shot
alone costs $10,000! It is crazy! But, we are committed to following the
doctor’s recommendations.
Okay, well I hope I answered some questions and also hope
that you feel a little bit more educated about breast cancer and my treatment. Thanks for reading! xoxoxo
