Treatment Cycle 3 - Day 5

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Treatment last Thursday went well - I used Emla, the numbing cream Maddie prescribed for me, on my port, so this time connecting my line was painless. And the infusions, once again, were very easy. After only three treatments, I already feel like a pro - so by the time I get into my adjuvant treatment, I imagine I'll hardly even notice it's happening. This is such a blessing - if each of these treatments was an ordeal, it would be much harder to face the remaining fifteen.

Prior to treatment, I saw Maddie and Dr. Hurvitz for my usual checkup. I got to ask Maddie a number of questions that I've accumulated since my last treatment:

  • Is my treatment chemotherapy or not? This question stemmed from a debate, mostly semantic, that Seth and I had, where he thought it was and I thought it wasn't. The answer is that he was right - technically. Technically, it is chemotherapy, because the definition of chemotherapy is any treatment that causes cell death. Maddie said that under this broad definition, even antibiotics would be considered to be chemo, although of course no one ever calls it that. The chemicals in my treatment do cause cell death, but because it is only the cancer cells that are affected, Maddie said that in their office they refer to it as "targeted therapy", not chemotherapy.
  • How soon after surgery can I start my adjuvant treatment? Maddie said that I can start adjuvant therapy as soon after my surgery as I'm up to it, possibly within two to three weeks. This was very welcome news to me, as I was worried that I would have to wait until I was completely through recovery, which in the case of mastectomy could be several months. Especially since I'm tolerating the treatments extremely well, Maddie said surgery shouldn't slow me down.
  • How will I be monitored if I have a lumpectomy? One of my concerns about having a lumpectomy is the greater need for monitoring for the rest of my life (I had heard a frequency of both three months and six months mentioned by other doctors). According to Maddie, all I would need to have is an annual mammogram - which would still be fifty-plus mammograms if I live as long as I hope to, but it's less than I thought. 
  • Why isn't the risk of recurrence significantly reduced by mastectomy versus lumpectomy? This is a question that I keep asking, and I still haven't gotten an answer that completely satisfies me. According to Maddie, local recurrence can still occur even after a bilateral mastectomy because some breast tissue still remains at the chest wall and in the axilla (armpit). However, it still seems to me that if there is less breast tissue, there should be less risk of recurrence. We're meeting with Dr. Funk at Pink Lotus and Dr. Giuliano again next week, so I plan to keep asking this question until I understand it.
I have a lot more to write about my surgical options, but a lot less time to write now that I'm back at work! I'll try to work on it soon...

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I had some side effects over the weekend (as one of my support group friends put it, "Oh, now my stomach is going to do that - and that!"), but they were mild. One side effect that has snuck up on me is dry mouth - I think it started a while ago, but at first it was hard to distinguish from regular thirstiness. Lately, however, I've been noticing it while I'm eating - drier foods have started becoming too dry, almost chalky, after a few bites. I think my sense of taste is slightly affected too - most things taste normal, but certain things are just different enough to be strange (for instance, Altoids taste a bit like tomato soup). With all of these side effects, I am reminded of my pregnancy, the only other time in my life when my body simply did not behave the way that I was accustomed to. However, as then, it's worth it. 

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