My dear sister Angie, who is a walking miracle and knows what life altering health issues and a bald head is about, having survived a brain anyerism a year and half ago, took me to my appointment. we get to the Ortezio Cancer Center, get checked in and go to sit down and wait my turn and I stopped and stared, then started grinning with tears in my eyes, there on the one receptionists desk, front and center was a sign reading....wait for it...... GOD IS IN HER, SHE WILL NOT FALL!!!!!!!!!! My Verse!!!! that's not coincidence, that's my ever faithful, My Jesus going before me, in the room with me!! We made the right decision and He was speaking truth and whispering confirmation i'm not alone!! I believe He is with me always, but sometimes those real life visuals I need too!!!
my port worked great and labs were perfect!! My appointment with Dr Lee and Nurse Stacy was very helpful in answering questions and explaining all that's going to take place. Angie brought a delicious sub lunch along for us, so once we were settled in the infusion room and meds were hooked up and running in we enjoyed our lunch together and chatted. The nursing staff and chemo nurses were fabulous, they were upbeat, full of smiles and laughter and took excellent care of me. since I was a "newbie" I was gifted a chemo care bag filled with all manner of chemo comforts, donated by a family that had already been down this road and wanted to give back. before I left I was given a Neulasta injection box on my arm, it has meds in that is on a timer and the next day at a certain time it releases its meds then when finished I can remove it and bring back for disposal at the next treatment, its pretty nifty and allows me to stay home rather than make a trip back in the next day for an injection.
I had a beautiful bouquet of love from our church waiting for me when I got home!
this kind of disease and diagnosis has so much info and decisions to retain and make and process and sometimes it's overwhelming to keep it all straight, but the genetic test I took at the very first surgeon consult came back positive with BRACA 1 mutation, which then along with it being TRIPLE NEGATIVE and INVASIVE ups the anti on treatment methods. it also means that my children and siblings could very well have the same gene mutation. in the woman of the family, if I remember all this correctly, this disease targets the breast, uterus and ovaries and the men it targets the prostate, breast and sometimes the pancreatic areas. in talking to my Dr about all this, she wondered what decision we came to since all those tests came back, I told her that I already had a hysterectomy but we decided that we would go ahead and do the double mastectomy and ovary removal, unless as my dr she feels this isn't the right move. she said unfortunately in this type of diagnosis that is the perfect move, cause of the mutation and triple negative once you go through all this by leaving any of these target areas there we have a very high probability of getting rid of it and past this only to have it return in another of these areas. she did remind us that it is still our decision what we want to do first and how we want to proceed, and should we decide we want all surgeries first then treatment that was our call, the down side to doing it that way would be that should any of my kids or siblings have the same thing, they wouldn't have any history to fall back on as to how the tumors responded to treatment. we decided since I have to have the chemo regardless of before or after surgery, we chose to stick with doing it before so they can have record of it's response, and pray that they never have to fall back on that for any of my family!! well, I must run, was hoping again, to have more updated, but it is what it is :) maybe I'm to wordy and detail, but it works for me, so until next installment, be blessed.....
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