And now...a belated Dr. update

Ok, so I am behind on doctor updates. I would much rather just have all the fun pink party posts on my blog then this stuff but it helps me to keep everything up to date and organized and it helps to keep all of you informed and in the know. :) I think that for the most part I will be a little behind because it seems to take me a bit to process the info before I am able to sit down to the computer and write about it. I have had a couple more doctors appointments since my last post:

1. July1st, I found out the results of my PET scan. They told us that the PET scan showed a few spots on the bone in the pelvis that we needed to get biopsied to confirm if they were cancer or not. Our doctor was unsure if it was cancer or not because there was not cancer in the lymph nodes at all which is usually the next place breast cancer travels too. The news made me very nervous, I was really hoping for a much clearing path from here on out. "PET scan just shows cancer in breast, so you are Stage 2, we will proceed with chemo as planned." That is what I was really HOPING to hear!
2. July 5th, I went for my bone biopsy. I was extremely nervous, but it really wasn't that bad, especially compared to the breast biopsy. The big game changer? SEDATION!!! I got to have this lovely "Twilight Sedation" that made me drowsy but not fully asleep. I don't really remember the procedure. Once it was over we went home and began the waiting game. On Thursday we would find out of we were at Stage 2, or Stage 4 breast cancer.
3. July7th, My hubby (who is amazing by the way) and I went to chemo class. We spent two hours learning all about chemo, the side effects, what to expect and how to cope with everything. It was a bit overwhelming. What I remember from chemo class: I CANNOT HAVE PEDICURES DURING CHEMO, I can't clean our fish tank anymore (uh, I am not very good at that now, but now I have a real excuse), my taste is going to change, and I CAN'T WEAR PERFUME. I really did listen to all the real stuff but that is the real life stuff that stuck out to me.
4. After we had chemo class we met with our doctor to find out the results of the bone biopsy. I am going to be very short and to the point here and maybe later after I have had more time to deal and reflect, come back and expand on this. But, he told us that the biopsy showed that the cancer was in the bone, which put us at Stage 4 breast cancer, which means that it is no curable, just treatable. The average is 3-4 years to live, but he has had patients live much longer than that and my outcome is brighter than that especially since it isn't in any organs or lymph nodes. The goal is that the chemo (six months now) will shrink everything down in breast and get rid of what is in my bone for now. Then I will have surgery, then reconstruction, then radiation. Then hopefully a long period of dormancy, but they will always be monitoring and scanning to check for a reoccurrence of cancer anywhere and then we repeat.
5. July 8th, To prepare for chemo I had a medi-port placed in out-patient surgery. If I was keeping track, WHICH I AM...that was the worst thing by far!! I was again under the sedation, but I think that this procedure was more painful so I was much more aware. They placed this plastic port which is a small device used to carry medicine, my chemo, to your bloodstream. It sits under my skin just a bit below my collar bone on my left side, it has a catheter that runs to a major vein so that they don't have to try to get an IV started in my arm all the time. I am already hooked up with my port. I was supersore after getting it put in and am STILL sore today several days later. I think it will take a while to get used to having something foreign in my body all the time. I feel like a robot, every time I turn my neck I can feel it. Weird.
6. July 11th, ONE MORE TEST before chemo...jeez! I had to get a MUGA scan which is a scan of my heart to make sure it is strong enough for chemo. So they drew blood, mixed it with radioactive stuff, then re-injected it into my bloodstream then took scans. I am happy to say that most people's left ventricles perform somewhere between 50-80% and mine was pumping at 74% so it was kicking some butt. At least one test came back with good news right?! Oh, I forgot to mention that they tried to start a reg IV on me, failed, and decided to use my Medi-port, let me just say that since it was still new and tender, I felt like I was being skewered by a harpoon instead of stuck with a needle. NOT FUN. Hopefully it become easier as we go along. I did get numbing cream for my chemo on Thursday. Landon and I wondered, hmmm...shouldn't everyone with a mediport have numbing cream in their back pocket?  Why did I have to ask for a script for that??? :)

Thanks to everyone following me on this journey, it really does help to type out my thoughts on this blog and know that there are so many who care! xoxoxoxo
JJ