Final Chemo - Hurrah!

On Tuesday I had my final chemo session - hopefully I won't ever have to go through that again! I now just have to get through the last cycle of side effects (terrible stomach pains today) and then it will be on to the next stage of treatment - surgery (eek!) 

I will get an ultrasound in two weeks time and then I meet with the mastectomy surgeon to assess the success of the chemo and arrange the surgery date. I also have an appointment with a plastic surgeon to discuss reconstruction options, although that won't happen for 3-6 months after radiotherapy, to avoid damaging the reconstruction and to allow the radiation to heal.

My genetic testing results came up as "inconclusive", meaning they didn't find any mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, but that I am still considered high risk for there being a genetic reason to my cancer. So it feels strange - not that I necessarily wanted a positive result, but since it is not negative result either it is just a bit inconclusive really. It is up to me now to decide whether I want to have a double mastectomy to avoid the risk of a new breast cancer in the other side in the future, or whether I just have a single. I'm leaning towards having a double, since I think that if I am going to have surgery and live without one boob anyway for six months, it might as well be for two boobs, but I'll talk to the surgeons to get their opinions before I decide.

Once I have recovered from surgery, about mid-April, I am going to start radiotherapy. This only takes 20 minutes but has to be done every day (well, weekdays) for 6-7 weeks, so imagine that is going to get a bit tiresome. They do have parking though - woohoo! There will be 4-5 beams of radiation aimed at various points on my chest/neck, with the rays 1,000 more powerful than an x-ray. They permanently tattoo marks on to my skin to assist with lining up in exactly the same position each day. Apparently the side effects are minimal (especially compared to chemo), just hope the radiation doesn't cause another cancer in years to come... The radiation oncologist even pointed out that I won't be radioactive, so I can be around pregnant women - I hadn't even considered the possibility that I would be radioactive, so lucky that is not the case!

Chemo - 5 down, 1 to go

Chemo seems to be similar to last time - vein issues at the time, aches have set in a few days later, and the pains will probably start soon. Only new thing to report is that I have lost almost all my eyelashes, and my eyebrows are fairly sparse too (I'm looking a bit alien-like!) Leg hair seems to still be going strong though - typical, useful hair falls out while the useless hair stays put...

Surgery and Genetic Mistakes

I'm feeling much better after the last chemo, the only residual issue is really sore eyes. I get to go through it all again next week, so not really looking forward to that, but at least I know that the pain does go away - last time I was worried it was going to be like that for the remaining months of chemo.

This week I met with the specialist/surgeon. He had a bit of a feel and announced that he is very pleased with the response to chemo ("excellent, excellent"), since there is no longer really a lump to feel, which is good news. He is still recommending a masectomy though, given how big it was and the fact it is in the lymph nodes (they have to come out too). Apparently they can reconstruct on the same day though - after the specialist does the removal, a plastic surgeon would take fat from my stomach and use it to rebuild. I asked how much fat he could take, while he is there, get rid of the excess would be nice... Bet I'm not the first person to have asked that! I think that a reconstruction at the same time would be psychologically better than waking up from surgery with no boob, especially if it is only on one side. I keep thinking of being in primary school, typing 55378008 into a calculator and then turn it upside down to show "boobless" - hilarious when you are eight, now a little more sensitive...

Anyway, it would be almost a whole day operation. I thought it might be like getting my wisdom teeth out, so I asked if I go home that night - "er, no". It would be a week in hospital. There is something about having "drains",which I am not yet sure on the details of, but doesn't sound appealing. I asked how much surgery would cost and didn't get a straight answer - "quite expensive", "you have to negotiate with the plastic surgeon" - hmm, I'm guessing plastic surgeons drive flash cars for a reason... 

This week I also had an interesting chat with a genetic counsellor. Apparently we have about 30,000 genes, but so far they (scientists) have identified two as potentially causing breast cancer (imaginatively named BRCA1 and BRCA2, breast cancer 1 and 2, although they also cover ovarian cancer). Everyone has these genes and usually the code sequence is the same for everyone, which tells the body how to operate. However, some people have a genetic "mistake" or "mutation", perhaps a missing or additional piece of code, which can mess up the instructions to the body and cause cancer. I am at a high risk of having a genetic mistake because (i) I have breast cancer at a relatively young age and (ii) there are more than two instances in the family history. So my blood is being tested and I will get the results in 4-6 weeks. If the result is positive, it means a 50% chance of developing cancer in the other breast (and/or ovaries, but that would probably be at a later stage). I don't really like those odds and I don't like the thought of waiting to go through all this again at some point in the future, so I think I would opt for a bilateral(double) masectomy - on the plus side it would mean removing more fat from my stomach and it should be easier to get them nice and even :)

Getting Worse

I am so sore now, I'm not sure if it is muscle ache or bone ache, but even my insides hurt and I've moved from nausea to actual vomit :( This is the first time that I really feel rough, as you would expect a cancer patient to feel I suppose... Fingers crossed that this will pass soon, as it is taking it out of me - harder to stay positive when feeling sicky-sick-sick!

Aches & Pains

It seems that I was a little premature in thinking this chemo was going to be better - the muscle ache side effect of docetaxel has kicked in - yesterday I felt like I had run the city to surf given the soreness in my legs and ankles. The pain was so bad that I was awake most of the night, so I'm exhausted now. The oncologist gave a prescription for strong painkillers that I was hoping I wouldn't need to use - I'll be getting those today! Really hoping that it doesn't last too long, I will be really hard to be like this for weeks or months, so fingers crossed it will "only" be a few days...

Chemo - 4 down, 2 to go

I had my fourth chemo treatment on Tuesday, new drug this time - Docetaxel. Initially the nurse tried to go in my left hand, the same vein as last time, which immediately blew (went through to the other side) so we had to move to the right hand. I have some quite impressive bruising on both hands now! Apparently the damage isn't permanent though, just some internal scarring that will eventually heal.

Luckily I was in the 60% who don't have a reaction to the drug (difficulty breathing) so that was fairly uneventful. I got to wear some lovely cold mittens and slippers to try to prevent damage to my hands/feet/nails so hopefully they did the job:

There has been much less nausea this time, but I have to admit that I am really tired.

Not too much else to report. I have appointments with the surgeon and genetic counsellors for the week after next, to discuss surgery and whether a potential genetic "mistake" caused my cancer at this age respectively. Will keep posting any news as I get it.

(Virtual) Headwear Fashion Show

For those who haven't seen me since I became a baldie, I thought I would post a selection of my new headwear looks (apologies for the dodgy photography - they were taken by myself in the bathroom on my iphone!)

My second wig - $40 from Paddy's market and annoyingly I think I prefer it to the $500 one:

Hats and scarves from the US (sorry Gerry, Bernie et al, but it really isn't unAustralian to buy online!):

Scarves made by mum from material made in Marrickville (thanks Mum!):