My Dearest Family and Friends ~
So, today was the day we met (again) with the Oncologist to find out what is on the road ahead of me ~ and I wanted to fill you in! There is a lot of road to cover, but, like I have said in the past, I run marathons...I got this!
First and foremost is having the Medi-Port put in. What this means is that I am going back to the hospital on Tuesday, October 5th for a Same-Day Surgery to have a port put into my chest. The reason for this is so that the doctors can hook me up and ingest "the goods" (the chemo) right into me. Then, I need to go in for a MUGA scan...let's see if I can explain this correctly. It is a test to check my heart. Because of the drugs, they could negatively effect my heart and lead to heart damage...but because I am young and healthy, my Oncologist is optimistic that I will be okay. HOWEVER, I will be getting regular scans to check my heart!
So, what's next ~ well, to be honest, something fun! On Sunday, October 10th, 2010 is the Susan G. Koman Race For The Cure Phoenix and there are a lot of people that are going to be partaking in this event, myself included!! I have a lot of support in the Phoenix area that will participating in the event and I'm really looking forward to being down there for it.
After that, comes Chemo ~ starting on Monday, October 11th, 2010. Chemo will encompass 6 full months of treatment. The first 3 months will include 4 total treatments given once every three weeks. It will be approximately 2 hours of treatment per visit. The following day after treatment, I will go back to the office so that I can receive an injection to increase my White Blood Cell count. That will be an easy in-and-out appointment. After the first three months, I will start going in to the Cancer Center once a week for the next twelve weeks for another set of drugs.THEN...I start 6-7 weeks of Radiations which will every day of the week. So, in a nutshell, I will be at the Cancer Center for the next 7ish months of my life!! Luckily it is close to home and I like my Oncologist!!!
So, with all that said, I am a bit overwhelmed, but handling it as best I can. I knew Chemo would be involved, I thought Radiation would be involved...now I just have confirmation of what exactly is expected of me and I'm ready to start my treatment so I can be on my way to recovery!
I hope I have covered everything that I wanted to for this entry...but if not rest assured I will be back to update you again!
Thanks again for checking in with the blog and me! I'm hanging in there and staying positive! I will get through this with a smile on my face!!! Hope to see you all soon!!!
Love always,
~ heather :o)