Categories
Breast Cancer

Change is Inevitable

I met with my medical oncologist today to plot out my chemo calendar and go over the final biopsy, etc etc and the current problems I’m having that need to be addressed.

Since my biopsy I’ve averaged about 4 hours sleep per night; 1/2 of what I should be getting.  Part of it is mental stress, the other part is the physical pain of both surgeries.  Problem is…the body heals while you sleep; if you don’t sleep, you don’t heal.  So first issue being address is my lack of sleep…I’m back on pain meds and have also been given a sleeping pill.
Our insurance is changing effective September 1st – great timing eh?  LOL  If everyone can get their ducks in a row, chemo is set to start September 5th but that’s where things have really changed.  I’m going to be doing 3 types of chemo; A, C and T.  I’ll be double-dipping the A and the C for the first 16 weeks, along with Neulasta and fluids the day after each treatment.  THEN I’ll be doing the T for 12 weeks…for a whopping total of 28 weeks (cycles).  Then I’ll have another 3-4 week rest period before starting radiation treatments.  Thankfully, that course hasn’t changed; 30 sessions of ‘RADS’.
So that means treatment won’t wrap up until mid-April…then it’ll be scan time again and if those all come back clean, they’ll remove the port and I can get on with the rest of my life!
As upsetting as today’s appointment was…there is a positive to it all.  The chances of my cancer returning will be reduced to 4%; currently my recurrence rate is 40%.
Thank you again for all the love and support you shown me these past 3 months, it truly makes a difference 🙂
Categories
Breast Cancer

Just Maybe

Since I’ve been trying really hard to give my body a chance to heal from these past two surgeries, I’ve been spending this down time reading into Macrobiotics and the whole relationship between food and how ill our society is in general. Cancer is on the rise, obesity rates are staggering, food portions are insane, food ‘quality’ seems to be a thing of the past and don’t even get me started on healthcare costs!

So could there be some serious truths with Macrobiotics? There’s certainly no argument that the diet most Americans eat is what’s causing our health problems… And I’m certainly not innocent; I know what I’ve eaten in my life and it’s nothing to be proud of. I just don’t know if it’s my burning desire to survive breast cancer that has me contemplating such a radical change in my eating or if it truly does make sense.

I do know this; miso soup with lentils and fresh arugula is mighty tasty and never disagrees with my system.

Have I actually matured enough to contemplate such things as ‘balance’…as in the natural balance…yin and yang, give and take, etc.? Or am I just on way too much Vicodin?!?!?