Okay, so it turns out that all the denial was for nothing. I really have cancer and I really have to start chemotherapy on April 8th, and I'm really going to get hit with everything because aggressive cancer apparently requires aggressive treatment.
So it goes.
The treatment is called TAC:
Taxotere
Adriamycin
Cytoxan
And then a shot the following day to whack up the white blood cells. The platelets ... well, sucks for them.
Next week I go in for a PET scan to make sure the cancer hasn't spread (yes, another test for that - yay Zeus) and a MUGA scan, to make sure my heart can handle the adriamycin -- yet another reason not to like it. Did I mention that adriamycin is red and goes right into a vein? The rest is done by IV. That's needles, pets.
It's chemo every 3 weeks with 6 treatments and at the end I'm rewarded with surgery and radiation. Then comes 5 years of drugs that will keep my estrogen levels low, because being a whole lotta' woman makes cancer grow. So that, coupled with the projected early menopause, probably means I'll have a mustache. If that happens I will grow it out like Lemmy and take up speed metal.
If you like to gamble, I tell you I'm your manThe good side: the chemo room looks nice and I'm allowed to bring in knitting (which will be great until I lose sensation in my fingertips). They also have dvd players, which means that the 4 hour session I have on the 8th will give me plenty of time to watch a Bollywood movie ... hmm Sholay or Veer-Zaara? They have free juice and WiFi so Facebooking and blogging are a maybe ("Hi everyone! They've got the IV hooked up and I'm already feeling the heat") or a maybe not. You can even order food for delivery if you want. Okay, sure, maybe it's going to suck later when I'm barfing and unable to get off the couch, but at least it'll be comfortable in the chemo room.
4 comments:
Of course the appeal of take out in the chemo room has to be dampened by the possibility that you'll end up throwing it up in the chemo room. Just make sure you avoid the Taco Bell.
I'll be praying for you. And if you need anything I'm a phone call away.
I thought about that when the nurse said "You can order a pizza, but you'll have to share!" like the smell of hot pizza is something you'd want to share with people on treatment 5. Maybe I'll just burn popcorn in the microwave instead.
Did I mention they have Godfather I and II?
I know you're up. Call me!
The nurse probably meant you'd have to share with her. As a side venture, she most likely takes a cut of any goodies that find their way into the chemo room.
Also, fwiw, I work with three women who went through treatment for breast cancer, and none of them are mustachioed in any way. Well, one has a 'stache, but she had one before and it's no fluffier now. Lemmy does have enviable facial hair, though, doesn't he?
(<:
Post a Comment