I have now entered a space in my breast cancer treatment in which the marginal benefits of chemo cannot be measured. The point at which we do no harm.
Hearing this was a watershed moment for me in which I realized that more chemo is not necessarily better. Sometimes, more chemo is just that: more chemo.
I find myself at a real crossroads right now with big decisions to make about chemo and radiation for my breast cancer, e.g., To do. Not to do. If doing, how much?
Rather than make my FBC sitation subjective (as Chemo Sobby is want to do), I need to be fully objective (by asking the right questions) as I actively take the next steps in creating my plan of care.
Today was the day that I wondered: How much chemo for this breast cancer is enough? At what point does the toxicity cease to be effective and start to cause pejorative long-term ramifications? When does the body get to have a say in the treatment plan? These are the questions I hope to answer. Soon.
Today is Chemo #6. It was supposed to have been my final dose for breast cancer; however, since I reacted so horrifically (yes, I am UNDERexaggerating it), my chemotherapy regimen has changed, but not without finding some Silver Linings along the way.
While my reaction to the last round of chemotherapy has been better (Silver Lining), the nausea has been much more acute. What this means is that I have nausea everyday, all day, but sometimes it feels particularly bad. Well, today, that pesky nausea upped the ante.
Because traditional, Western medicine has not been particularly effective with my gnarly chemotherapy side effects, I’ve been open to trying and incorporating all kinds of alternative treatments on my breast cancer treatment train.
Today was Chemo #5. Since I was unable to have chemo last week (because I didn’t recover from the 4th treatment), I had a revised version today. Though the original plan was that this was supposed to be the 5th of 6 treatments, I will have to go a little longer (maybe a lot longer… Continue reading Chemo Course Continues
This morning, I woke up a little grumpy. At first I didn’t realize why. What is THIS about, I wondered. Well, I became conscious of the fact that my Oscar the Grouchiness was because I have chemo tomorrow. F-bomb. I thought to myself that I’ve only had a handful of good days this month and… Continue reading Rafa Ready
Bad News: Today was supposed to have been my 5th of 6 chemo infusions. However, I have not yet recovered from the last round of chemo (three F-bomb weeks ago!). As a consequence, my Oncologist and I decided (everything is a joint decision with him – as it should be!) that I need another week… Continue reading Bad News, Good News, Silver Lining News
Being in the hospital last week and now home (attached to an IV pole) still feeling rotten has made me feel very isolated. Isolated from friends. Isolated from conversation. Isolated from school drop-off. Isolated from hiking and tennis. Isolated from the world. Isolated even from the bathroom (now that’s low!). Now, it’s not to say… Continue reading Isolation Island
