7 E-mail: "baby coming on Monday, March 13 if things go well"

3/8/2006

Today I had a long consultation with the oncologist. He didn’t rush the appointment. He let me ask a zillion questions and was patient while I wrote notes on things we discussed. He even spelled things for me so I could write them down properly.

The oncologist will become the head of the team of medical professionals already looking out for my health, such as my obstetrician and my breast surgeon and later on my radiologist. He seems to be a nice man with a strong connection to leading-edge breast cancer research. I feel comfortable trusting my health to this knowledgeable, compassionate person and that is an important part of things.

The oncologist went through the pathology report with me from last Friday’s surgery. It said that the kind of breast cancer I have is the most common kind. That’s the good news. They know how to deal with the common variants better than the rare stuff. It also said that the cancer has been exposed to my lymphatic system and my vascular system, so it could have already traveled to other parts of my body by now. That’s the bad news. That’s why starting chemo right away is so important, and the end of March is now the target for the first session of chemo.

The amniocentesis is scheduled for early this coming Friday morning. We should have results back by Friday afternoon. If Kelric’s lungs are ready, then I’ll check into Seton Medical Center this Sunday evening to receive drugs that will start the dilation. Early Monday morning I’ll receive the drugs to start contractions to induce labor.

The breast surgeon will be out of town on spring break so I’ll meet with her the following Monday and probably have my day surgery to remove lymph nodes the next Wednesday. So I’ll have a week and a half old baby and I’ll have a new incision under my right arm and a tube put into my other arm to receive the chemotherapy drugs. The doctors will need the full pathology reports from the lymph nodes before they can make final decisions, but we’ve got tentative activities already mapped out.

The third week of March I have scans scheduled on three separate day to establish baseline data about my health before chemotherapy starts. We’re still waiting on test results from the breast surgery and the pathology report from the lymph node surgery, but with the current schedule it looks like I will be able to complete 2 out of 4 of the first set of chemotherapy treatments before I return to work. The first set has chemo every 2 weeks. Then I’ll begin a round of chemo with a different set of drugs once a week for 12 weeks, and that will be followed by 7 weeks or so of radiation. It looks like I won’t be able to take any out of town trips for most of the year.

If you would rather not receive future messages with this level of detail, please let me know. I won’t be offended.

My parents, of course, are interested in every detail. It’s all new to me so I find the details interesting as they are scary. But some of you may find this hits too close to home if you’ve seen other loved ones go through cancer treatments. I understand.

By now I’ve resigned myself to this battery of treatments. The oncologist said I can expect to lose my hair about 2 weeks after the first chemotherapy session. Great. I’ve even resigned myself to that.

I’m just happy that I will have a few days to be an ordinary mother of a newborn before I’m taken back into the realm of surgery and tests and toxic treatments. That’s more than I thought I would have last Friday.

Guy and I still have moments where we start crying. This is such a serious situation and it has hit so fast and hard… I must’ve cried about five different times today. I feel confident about the ability of modern science to help me fight this disease and I believe that Eastern medicine and a better diet can help me cope with the aftermath of chemo and help my body heal. But even so, the emotional and financial ramifications are powerful and it’s a lot to take in. I’m receiving emotional support from friends, co-workers, family, friends of family, and the medical professionals. It makes a huge difference in helping me find the courage to take the steps I have to take if I’m going to overcome this thing. I’m also incredibly grateful that my baby is close to term and that this little person, long awaited and much loved, seems to be extremely healthy and resilient.

I’m going to try to get some sleep now. Tomorrow is the only day this week that I don’t have medical appointments interrupting my workday. Guess I should attempt to get some rest while I can…

Angela

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