Monday, April 13, 2009

Chemo Training 101

Well, I went to meet with the nurse today about my upcoming chemo, and I did learn a few things...I'm surprised Dave didn't go through something like this, it would have been helpful. I did learn a few new things, remembered a lot of what Dave went through and also realized that dealing with breast cancer chemo is different than sarcoma chemo. Hormones are definitely involved with mine (it can actually put you into menopause, good riddance!) I'll be receiving two types of chemo: Taxotere and Cytoxan...different from the kind Dave received, hopefully they won't be too hard on my system. I guess I'll just have to see how it goes.

Anyway, I was finished up with the nurse, talking with the gal that does the"benefits" (insurance billing) and then the power goes out. Have you ever been in an Oncologist's office when there's no power? All I can say is thank goodness all those patients receiving their chemo had battery backups on their pumps.

The power stayed off for about a total of an hour...during which I fumbled down the dark hallway to my surgeon's office to sign consent forms for my port placement. Fortunately, by the time the surgeon came in to see me, the lights came back on...they scheduled me for my port placement for tomorrow morning, so that will be another thing off my check list.

We picked out a wig this past Saturday which was fun. Dave and the boys came with me to help make the decision. It's about my length and actually a slight tad darker than my color now. We liked it though and the contrast looked good. I'm also interested in finding some scarves and hats (with material) for the summer. Like my cousin said, at least I won't have to worry about shaving during the summer months! Got to find the silver linings anywhere I can! Actually, speaking of silver linings, we discovered our Aflac policy pays towards "prosthesis" which a wig qualifies as...so that was something good to discover. That Aflac policy has been awesome and I highly recommend it...and this was not a paid endorsement!

I do plan on getting my hair cut short this Wednesday, something I haven't done in about 20 years. I figured there's no better time than now, it'll all be coming out anyway, so I may as well see what I look like with short hair...

So, that's all the news for now. Hopefully we'll get pictures on here soon to make this a little more "entertaining"...Dave promised he'd help me with that so...we shall see!

1 comment:

Julie Rice Ferguson said...

Hey Holly, So sorry that you have to go through chemo. But I want to tell you not to be afraid. It is not as bad as you think, I promise. I went every 2 wks. 8 rounds. It really helped me to talk to women who had been through it. If I can help you in any way I would love to. If you want my number just send me a note and I will send it back to you. I will continue to pray, Julie Rice Ferguson