Haircut w/ Kristy

 

Chemo Treatment #1 : It’s All about Girl Power!

 

Chemo:         Adriamycin/Cytoxin (“A/C”)

Treatment #: #1 of 4 of A/C

Companions:  Laura Cherry, Heather Bridges, Jackie Schultz, Winda Benedetti, Shea Young

Time:            11:30 a.m.

 

Wow.  I can’t describe how loved and supported I felt today.  I think the Cancer Care Center at Virginia Mason had no idea what to expect today.  The nurses were great and allowed my entire posse to support me on this important day.  My first day of chemo. 

 

Laura, Heather, and Jackie came to get me this morning and drove me to VM.  They sat through a preliminary ECG I needed to have done to make sure nothing’s wrong with my ticker.  Dr. Pinder tells me that Adriamycin can cause heart damage, so she wanted to make sure I have no pre-existing problems.  The ladies then accompanied me to the Cancer Care Center for all the pre-chemo and chemo processes.

 

I had to take a shitload of anti-nausea medications, including Emend, the new FDA-approved “miracle anti-nausea drug.”  I had to wait about an hour for the medications to kick in before chemo could begin.  When the nurses brought out the Adriamycin, I had a flashback to my childhood.  This shit looks like red Kool Aid.  It’s bright red and comes in two large syringes.  What’s more freaky is that the nurse had to put on full protective garb before giving me the Adriamycin.  She sat with me and slowly pushed each syringe into my port.  I think it took a total of 15 minutes.  According to the nurse, if I didn’t take any anti-nausea medications prior to receiving the Adriamycin, I may have projectile-vomited as soon as the stuff hit the tubing accessing my port.  Weird.

 

Laura actually got kicked out of the room in the middle of this process, since she’s pregnant and young children and pregnant women are not supposed to be in the chemo rooms.  What’s funny is that I don’t remember seeing any signs warning pregnant women in the Cancer Care Center.  Laura opined that it is probably more of an insurance/liability issue for the hospital.  I wouldn’t be surprised, but it’s a testament to how nasty this stuff is.

 

The Cytoxin was not nearly as exciting as the Adriamycin.  It’s clear, comes in a plastic bag that drips along with a bag of saline, and takes about 30-45 minutes for the full bag to drip through.  Pretty boring, really.

 

When I was done with the chemo, I met with Janet, who consults with cancer patients at VM to discuss “beauty tips” during chemo.  Heather had to leave us before we met with Janet, but Shea and Winda were able to join us for the “beauty talk.”  Janet primarily addressed headwrap options and moisturizing my face and soon-to-be bald head.  It was very nice to meet with her, but it was obvious that her usual audience is older than me.  Some of the hat and headwrap options she showed us were cute but very “grandma.”  I told Janet that I planning to “sport the bald” as much as possible.  Janet noted that although I may be okay with being bald, other people who don’t know me may interact with me uncomfortably because they don’t know how to talk to someone who is ill.  She gave the example of a patient she consulted with who asked what she could do to get people at the gym to stop staring at her while she was on the treadmill.  I totally understand this woman’s dilemma – the last thing I want on my head at the gym is a hat or a wig.  Janet suggested that this woman put on something as simple as a light cotton headband, and the woman reported less gawking when she followed Janet’s advice.  I find this weird.  I mean, I’m all about owning this experience and the process.  If others are uncomfortable around me, that’s their problem, right?  At the same time, god knows how I’ll interact with people if they are clearly uncomfortable around me.  It’s so early in the process and I still have my hair, so I can still hide behind this façade while it lasts.

 

 

 

 

Pathology Report

For those of you medically-savvy peeps (Jen Monks, Jason Ravenel, The Foreign Kid, and the list goes on . . .), here is my pathology report.

pathology-report  

 

 

 

About Me

I sent the original email to my initial group of friends and family on 2/10/08 and then updated my status to a larger group on 3/7/08.  Here’s the original 3/7/08 email:

From: Cat

Sent: Friday, March 7, 2008 3:05:08 PM
Subject: About Me — updates
Hello all:
 
Some of you haven’t heard from me in a while, and I apologize for the lapse in communication (I’m awful at written correspondence — even via email).  Others of you have heard from me recently.  I’d like to take this opportunity to bring those up to speed whom I haven’t communicated with in a while and update those who have been in touch with me recently.
 
I’ve received some news about my health that I want to share with you.  Some of you may have heard through the grapevine that I have been recently diagnosed with breast cancer.  Infiltrating ductal carcinoma, to be exact.  The good news is that infiltrating ductal carcinoma is the most common type of breast cancer, so my doctors are well equipped to give me the best care possible.  The unfortunate part of my situation is that I have an aggressive strain of this type of cancer, which is not unusual, given my age (younger women with breast cancer tend to have more aggressive strains).  I’ve met with a very competent team of doctors at Virginia Mason since my diagnosis in mid-February, and they believe I have Stage IIA cancer.  That said, they are very positive about my prognosis.
 
My treatment plan consists of a round of chemotherapy, surgical intervention (most likely a lumpectomy), and then radiation treatment.  I am scheduled to begin chemotherapy at the end of March, and they have told me the chemo will last anywhere between 12 and 22 weeks.  I am told I will lose my hair and that I will most likely be extremely fatigued by the process.  Thankfully, my office has been absolutely amazing — the partners at my firm are giving me all the time off I need to complete my treatment.  Call it fate, but shortly after my diagnosis, I settled the multi-million dollar case that has taken up 75% of my time in the office (yes — the one I’ve been bitching about forever that kept getting continued).  That said, I’ll be able to take some time off initially after chemotherapy begins so that I can evaluate how the chemo affects my day-to-day energy level.  My oncologist tells me that she has several other professional patients who continue to work during chemo.  However, she warns me that I won’t be able to work the 60-80 hours a week I do now, and that if I do decide to continue working, I may not have much energy to do anything else.  I have decided to take it easy and allow myself room to take time off as needed.
 
I recently had fertility preservation treatments done (freezing my eggs), which was an unusual experience.  I treated with the Northwest Center for Reproductive Sciences here in Seattle/Kirkland, and I cannot express enough what an amazing team runs that operation.  They were sympathetic, genuine, and always made me feel loved and cared for.  Coming from a bunch of people I don’t know, it was very uplifting.  They were able to freeze seven eggs.  I’m grateful for this “insurance” in the event that chemo negatively affects my ovaries.
 
I also recently received the results of my genetic testing to determine if I have one of two genes that are linked to breast and ovarian cancer (I learned that breast and ovarian cancer are closely related).  The genes are called “BRCA 1″ and “BRCA 2.”  The good news is that I tested negative for the BRCA 1 and 2 genes.  The bad news is that Myriad, the company that did the genetic testing, identified what they refer to as a “genetic variant of uncertain significance.”  The way it was explained to me, this genetic variant may be due to: (1) a cancer gene that researchers are unable to test for at this time; or (2) a normal variant because I’m a woman of color.  Myriad has tested primarily white, North American women, so their frame of reference is limited to that general type of DNA.  I am working with my doctors to further analyze my test results, because whether I carry a “deleterious mutation” will affect my treatment plan.
 
I will keep all of you apprised of my situation and want you to know that I am truly in good spirits, given the circumstances.  Ask anyone that is near me — it is very hard not to walk around with a smile on my face, knowing how much support I have to get me through this difficult time.  I am truly blessed.  My stance is that I’ve been dealt a pretty shitty deck of cards at this juncture in my life, but hell — I just need to keep a positive attitude as much as possible and follow my doctors’ recommended course of treatment.  On a funny note, I named the tumor in my breast — her name is “Karla.”  Karla also happens to be the name of the gal my highschool sweetheart cheated on me with.  For those of you who knew me back in high school, you know how I dealt with Karla.  I expect to do the same with Karla the tumor.  )
 
The amount of support that I’ve received since my diagnosis has been enlightening and uplifting.  I am very grateful.  At my friend Lars’ suggestion, I will be launching a blog within the next couple weeks so that those of you interested can keep up with my treatment and progress.  Thanks to all of you who have emailed and called me to offer your assistance and support.  My apologies to anyone who has an outstanding phone call or email to me — I’ve been in an out of the hospital over the last couple weeks, so it’s been hard to keep up with all the love! 
 
Love to all of you.
 
CAT