Chemo Doctor

Richard and I met with Dr. Katherine Richert-Boe, one of the chemo oncologists at Kaiser in Longview. She looked at my surgery area, asked a few questions, than got down to what the treatment will be for chemo. The treatment will start next Thursday March 18Th. The treatment will be once every three weeks for 24 weeks. The treatment lasts two to three and half hours each time. Names of the drugs that are prescribed are: Adriamycin and Cytoxan followed by Taxol and Herceptin. The Herceptin I will be on for a year. Side effects you ask?? They range anywhere from hair loss, (yes I will lose my hair-don't know if I will ever get used to thinking about it happening and how I will deal with it the day it starts), nausea, diarrhea, sores in mouth, fatigue, infection from low white blood cells, and a 1 to 2% chance of heart and lung damage. And a 50% or higher chance of putting me into menopause. I sound like the disclaimer on a TV commercial! How will I cope with being sick from chemo and hot flashes??? Our appointment lasted a little over an hour and the nurses were so nice. They are really excited because they are getting a new annex at the kaiser and said it is really really nice. Before leaving, they scheduled me for one more test at St. Johns Hospital in the nuclear meds dept. on Tuesday March 16Th this test they call the MUGA, (Multiple Gated Acquisition scan) it has to do with my heart and how it pumps. This is the short name for it, the other name is: nm cardiac blood pool imaging, gated equilibrium, wall motion study with injection frac, single rest So today wasn't too bad, they only drew blood before I left. I felt like crying when we left, thinking that I am really doing this.. that it is me that we are in here for, this is going to be a regular routine for several months. Yet, I feel like the tests all came back good and now we are on a road to get it done, get it over with and get on with life. So I think by January 2011 I will be ready for a nice vacation in Hawaii! ( Missy, get ready!!) Now I will research more on these drugs and try not to become an Hypochondriac!!