Rock and Roll, Baby!

Six down - 2 to go! Rock on!

I just cannot believe I have had six treatments! Good day today!
Jamie and his brother, David, were my company today. I also met with my new friend, Tina, the Pluta social worker, Susan, and the Pluta massage therapist, Jean! And I talked to another survivor who just finished chemo, Barb. It was a very social day!

My white cells looked good, my red cell count rose 3 points due to the Procrit shot to raise my red cells - so I am only border line anemic vs. being anemic. I will continue to get a Procrit shot to keep the red cells from dropping too low (if they drop to low I will need a transfusion - and honestly, I REALLY don't want to do that).

They are so thrilled that I responded with little side effects to the Taxol too! My nurse, Gayle, got goosebumps when she found out how well I did! She really thinks I am responding incredibly well. And Dr. Yurinek when doing the breast exam, actually said, "it's in this area, right?"......meaning it really is not a defined mass anymore, just feels like dense tissue. Dr. Yurinek definitively said that my long term life expectancy is not affected whether I do a lumpectomy with radiation or a mastectomy. The effectiveness of the chemo (extremely effective) and the hormone treatment therapy - Tamoxifen are what give the long term success rates. He will order a breast MRI at my last treatment to get a good look inside to see if that helps determine a more definite path forward for surgery.

I also made a new friend at Chemo today - Tina. We exchanged numbers and email. She has an inspiring story as well. She was diagnosed with metastasized breast cancer 2 years ago (she has a 3 and 2 year old now) and is 36 years old. They immediately put her on chemo (all three drugs at once) and that, along with hormone treatments, has stopped and/or greatly slowed her cancer growth. She may be able to keep it at bay for a VERY long time. She is positive and determined to not let this get her! I invited her to join Christy's Crew (even if she does not do the walk) just to spend time with such a wonderfully energetic group of people!

I'll keep you posted on how I feel this week. But - with only 2 to go - I feel like I can almost touch that finish line!