Friday, January 30, 2009

Perhaps I Was Too Hasty


Another day another doctor's appointment.
Today is the day I went back to see Dr Young. I misjudged her. No, really. Maybe I was in a better state of mind, or maybe it was the fact that I was in a room that didn't have this poster. Something about this poster really bothers me, but I've not yet figured it out.
Anyway, I was honest with Dr Young and told her how I felt about our first meeting. I didn't feel the need to go into detail. Mostly I just told her that I didn't walk out of her office feeling like she was with me on the Save Sheri From Cancer Train. Wooo! Wooo! (I just read that out loud to Tom and asked him if the 'wooo wooo' sounded stupid and his response was, "not for your writing." More than likely I should be offended, and yet I'm not.)
Dr Young and I discussed how I felt about her last treatment plan and that I didn't feel it was aggressive enough. She said that old treatment plan was off the table now. After last week's MRI results, it seems she's going to have to give aggressive a new meaning. We talked about how the breast center said that with cases like mine, the treatment plan is to give chemotherapy first, then surgery, then more chemo and top it all off with a lovely dose of radiation. I realize I've said all along that I want the most aggressive treatment possible to stay alive, but the idea of two rounds of chemo doesn't thrill me like you might think it would. What Dr Young decided was to make the decision pending the results of more tests.
Yay. Flippin yay. More cancer tests.
Monday I have to be back at the hospital for a CT scan and a bone scan. Should both those tests come back without any sign of cancer, it will be business as usual. I'm not really sure what business as usual is now. I have an appointment with my wonderful surgeon on Tuesday, who will have the results of my Monday scan tests (riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight! because there is no way they won't be ready in time.) Pray, pray, pray, pray those test return without any problems! With no more cancer lurking in my body beyond the breast area, I believe my surgery will actually go as planned on Feb. 12.
MRI finding - or the thing they lied to me about after the first surgery...
The 1.6 cm tumor that they removed from my left breast during the last surgery, is actually over 2 cm in size. I mean - it's a more than 2 cm large tumor, but they missed getting out quite a bit of it...all they actually removed was 1.6 cm. Due to the amount of said tumor still hangin out in my breast, I got to be kicked up from a stage 1b triple negative breast cancer to a stage 2 n1 triple negative. And I qualify for Dr Young's clinic trial! Yessss! I am very happy about that. Dr Young rocks! I've always thought so, and those of you who doubted her doctoring ability should just be ashamed of yourselves.
Because of this leap up in the cancer stage and the increased size of the tumor and the cancer in one or more lymph nodes.... I am going to get three different types of chemotherapy medications. What she said they usually do is they will combine two of the meds for a few months or so then start the third med after that. This has less stress on you body. Much less chance of wicked side effects. The worst way to give them is all three at one time. You guessed it. Of course. I get em all at once. The good doctor explained that the three combined would destroy the veins in my arms so they will have to put a shunt in my chest at the same time of my mastectomy.
Blah.
Anyway, here's praying this next tests don't show anymore cancer. Cancer sucks and stuff.
Added comment:
To my sister Abby: you married my brother, but I think of you more as my sister than my sister-in-law. If you ever do again what you did today and NOT tell me about it because you think I've got too much going on in my life...I will start calling you "some girl who buys me stuff", because I'm not going to let you stop buying me stuff just because I'm upset with you. It would be wrong to hurt you like that.

3 comments:

  1. I can tell you what's disturbing about this poster; it's the fact that this poor woman who's already had her right forearm amputated at the elbow is trying to sniff her own armpit to see if her skin-eating bacteria that has exposed all the insides of her breast and arm and pit while leaving the other side still sheathed in the more attractive skin covering has also resulted in an offensive odor. Shari, when they do your surgery, don't let them also take off one of your forearms as this apparently is a favored surprise during breast surgery, since the other woman in the poster who is examining the circle tatoos on her breast has evidently also lost her left forearm at the elbow. You might find those useful, so look out for that - especially since they might charge you extra for it.

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  2. I have an appointment with my surgeon in the morning and am writing down this concern to mention to her. It's nice to know that after all these years you've still got my back.

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  3. LOL!!!!!!!! You had me rolling on the floor. Humor is great cancer treatment I think.

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