Got to my 3:30 appointment with Dr. Young at about 3:15. That is usually plenty of time to fill out paperwork. Unless it is cancer paperwork. All sorts of genetic questions....which probably wouldn't have annoyed me if I didn't already fill out a huge amount of paperwork for the genetic counselor! ugh! The thing is, these people DO all talk to each other and share paperwork....no reason for all that nonsense.
Anyway- they call me back after a few minutes, and I get to go into the library. There is one little table and a few chairs. I sit down and speak with the cancer naviagator. She gives me a huge leather briefcase to keep all my info in, and a book on good recipes for cancer- healthy eatings as well as foods to help with some of the chemo side effects. She told me that if I ever need anything that is in that room it is all free for the taking. There are some decent wigs in there, as well as hats, pillows, and a lot of books! sweet!
Next, we take a mini tour- there are radiology offices there, a lab, and a pharmacy. They also have a gym somewhere (after treatment is complete you get your own personal trainer!) and massages and counseling, and lots of other things are all free. After showing me some of these things, I get led to the Dr's waiting room. I meet Fred. Fred is a woman that is really named Yvonne or Yvette...apparently there are too many of those working there so they renamed a few of them- LOL! I met someone else too...just more people to answer different questions for. Apparently they are people I will become quite aquainted with over the next year!
Dr. Young finally came in- she is middle aged with feathered hair that is a bit goofy but she is very nice. She was wearing a hawaiian print sundress and birkenstocks- very laid back! That is not how she was about cancer though- not at all. She said my cancer is right on the border of stage 1, but it is very fast growing so she thinks it will be closer to a stage 2 by the time it is removed. She still felt no swollen lymph nodes (yeah!). She told me that I would be on the TCH combo for chemo- that is Taxotere, Carboplatin. and Herceptin. There will be 6 treatments, spaced 3 weeks apart, which totals 18 weeks. It is mandatory that I get a port-a-cath, because apparently if Taxotere gets on my skin...it is something a plastic surgeon would have to fix. Nice! That is exactly what I want running through my veins! I bet I will feel great! LOL!
Here is the exciting part- so far, as long as the cancer has not spread to another part of my body, I qualify for a study. I think she called it 'The Affinity Study'. The placebo group receives the standard TCH chemo. The test group receives TCH plus a 4th drug targeted to HER2 receptors in a different way than Herceptin. It requires some extra bone scans and other tests, and a sample of my tumor will be sent to Italy to be tested there, where they are doing the study. Exciting, right! It isn't a new drug, just a new combo- so it shouldn't be too bad, I figure it really should only be better. I think it does give a slightly higher chance for heart 'issues' but any chemo related stuff does that- they will keep an eye on things, so I am not worried.
When she was finished explaining everything she gave me a big hug, and walked me out to the parking lot- we were the last 2 people in that place. I didn't leave there till 6:30!!! Gosh!
I am sure that I learned alot more today, but right now my brain is fried.
good night friends!
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