So this would be the day I find out from my oncologist all the results of my test and start chemotherapy. Everyday before appointments it tells me not to eat or drink, but I dont have instructions on what to do before chemo so I go on line and do research. They tell me that I should eat a good bland breakfast since it's best not to face chemo on an empty stomach and to pack a light lunch. I make 2 scrambled eggs and 2 slices of wheat toast and a glass of apple juice for breakfast while I talk on the phone with my dad and he packs a light lunch. My appt with the oncologist isnt till 11:15 am so I'm glad I get to sleep in a little. All the other appts were early so the rest is welcome.
We get to the care center before 10:30 am for a 11:15 am appt. The oncology dept is crowded on this day which it hadnt been previously. They call me up for the usual insurance card, ID, co-pay. I hand them over and they proceed to tell me that my insurance card has changed and I will need to get a new one. Fine whatever. I call my HR dept while I'm waiting and she informs me the new cards went out but she'll request one for me in the meantime. I go back to waiting and they call me up to take my vitals. My pressure for a change is finally around the normal range which it hadnt been in the last 2 weeks so I'm atleast thankful for that. I am sent back to oncology to wait and finally my dad & I get called back to the waiting room. We are sat in a small room and sit and wait. A doctor comes in and tells me Dr Tabarra will be in shortly just to be patient for now. I just nod my head. Finally Dr. Tabarra comes in and he asks me to switch to a paper shirt so he can examine my right breast. With my dad sitting there I feel uncomfortable but I have no choice. I pull the curtain closed and change real quick. Dr. Tabarra comes in and examines my breast real quick and has me change back. After 2 mins he comes back in the room and he begins going over the test results. I have stage 2b breast cancer in my right breast. It is triple negative meaning the cancer is not fueled by the estrogen, progesterone or HER2 protein in my body therefore no hormone or HER2 blockers will help with my treatment. CT & PET scans reveal the cancer has not spread to any other parts of my body. Blood test are negative, test on my heart shows it strong and healthy so beyond the cancer in my right breast I am in good health. My treatment will be 4 rounds of chemotherapy then meet with my oncologist to determine if more chemo is needed or if we can move onto surgery then radiation. Prognosis? My doctor is a realist not an optimist. He looks at me and says rather than give you stats I'll say we'll wait and see where we are then. Ok fine I guess that will have to do for now. I will be given Adriamycin, Cytoxan, and Taxol (ACT chemo) commonly known as "Red Devil" because of the color of the Adriamycin. The chemo will be administered 4 times every 3 weeks. Each chemo session will be 4-5 hours. I am sent back to the main waiting area. After a few minutes I'm called over to the infusion area. They sit me in a chair surrounded by other infusion patients. After a few mins they switch me to a private room. The nurse whose name is Pinky tells me she's doing this for the first time so she can go over some things with me and explain what I can expect. Understood. I show her my still healing chest with my port. She gets a needle and doesnt get it all the way through to the back of my port so she has to get a 2nd nurse and a longer needle for the 2nd attempt. This time it works and she flushes my port real quick which is a weird sensation to me. She hooks me up to saline first which she explains will keep me hydrated while they feed me the chemo drugs over the next several hours. She hooks up the first drug and leaves my dad and I alone in the room. These next several hours will be our alone time where we get to talk. We talk until I start to feel tired and then I lay down for a bit til my nose is stuffy & I cant breathe. We pull out our picnic and start to eat while Pinky comes back and forth changing the drugs. The drugs make my nose more and more stuffy til I cant breathe at all through my nose. Every so often I get up to go to the restroom which requires the IV machine to be unplugged and then dragged with me to the bathroom. During these walks I look around the room at the other patients. There is no television in the room, no radio, the only sound is hushed whispers of the nurses, staff and patients and the constant sound of whirring of the machines pumping the IV fluids into each patient. It is not a happy room but then considering what we are all going through I guess that is to be considered. I come back from the bathroom and my dad plugs the machine back in and I sit back on the bed again. The hours seem to pass slowly but finally it is over. My dad asks can we skip going to dinner, it's after 5 now and he's tired but then so am I so I say fine, I just want to get home and rest anyway. We leave and I head home. On the ride my dad keep asking how I feel. I dont think I'm supposed to feel anything immediately and honestly I dont. I get home and I eat a little and then lay down til my roommate gets home. After a few hours my stomach starts to feel a knot that continues to grow. By the middle of the night I am feverish and achy and the knot is leaving me curled up in pain. I text my roommate who comes out his room to check on me and I beg him to get me some advil and water which he does. I text the guy I've been seeing and he texts right back but there's nothing he can really say to comfort me. I doze off fitfully til morning.
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