Another week passes, more tests scheduled and more information scribbled at a breakneck speed in our dedicated cancer notebook.
Who knew there were different types of chemo medicine? I thought chemo WAS the medicine. Chemo simply means chemical. And lucky me, there are all sorts of chemicals depending on the variety of cancer you have. Oh what a privilege it is to not know these terms!
Before we schedule my treatment, I will have a PET scan and an echocardiogram. The PET scan will detect or rule out any additional areas of concern in my whole body. They will inject radioactive tracers via IV and this will help highlight any areas that have suspicious growth activity.
The echocardiogram is an ultrasound on my heart to ensure I am strong enough to start chemo. Unfortunately chemo can put stress on the heart on top of all of the additional side effects.
In two weeks I will have a meeting with the educator on scalp cooling. This is to help preserve hair and prevent permanent hair loss from chemotherapy. I have a dear friend that has had success with cold capping and I am excited to learn more about it!
I have also learned about neuropathy, nerve damage to your fingers and toes. There are special gloves and socks you can wear with ice packs in them to help reduce this side effect. Compression gloves and socks are also proven to be helpful.
A lot of the information I have learned has been from my friends, doctors and reddit threads. What I'm finding is that a Google search can sometimes be outdated with the information is provides, especially if you don't know what you are looking for. Reddit and friends who have been through cancer recently provide first hand experience of what current treatment can look like (spoiler: it's not like the movies!). I'm hoping this can also serve as a resource to those newly diagnosed.
Tomorrow I will have my port placement. If you're interested in learning about that THIS video is helpful. It should be a few hours all said and done and then I can head home to recover. I'm looking forward to having the "all clear" to start chemo. The next few weeks will consist of appointments, check ins and final tests before I start with my treatment plan.
Things that bring me joy:
- Our sprouting garden and vegetable starts
- Beach trips and local ice cream shops
- Dinners on our back porch
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