Julie can't eat cheese

Me either! But 2023 is the year I find out! It’s time to buy all the wigs I saved on Amazon – I have to have chemo. I’m not surprised (because my surgeon called it) but it was still a lot to take in. By the way, how many wigs is too many?

I met my oncologist today, who will be my best friend over the coming months. She reviewed all the pathology and information to date with me and Dan. Due to the lymph node spread, I am stage 3 and will be put on a 3 drug regimen for chemo. I’ll start about a month after my surgery next week (mid-late February) and still have radiation after chemo is over. They won’t do the Oncotype diagnostic testing, which is a genomic test, that looks at benefits of chemo and recurrence rate. They have concerns with the lymph node spread, so are recommending chemo already and I am also at a higher risk of recurrence, also due to the spread – so the test wouldn’t give them any additional information.

My chemo regimen will be as follows (about 5 months):

• Adriamycin/Cytoxan every 2 weeks for 4 cycles
• Taxol every 7 days for 12 cycles

Adriamycin is also known as “Red Devil” both for it’s red color and because of the rare but serious cardiotoxicity it can cause. I will have an echocardiogram before I start chemo to get a baseline on my heart. I will also get a port put in and have to take a chemo class.

Then a month after chemo ends (maybe late July?), I will start radiation (maybe late August?). When I met with the radiologist in November, she thought I’d have anywhere from 20-33 sessions – so I am guessing it will be the higher number of sessions. I will meet with her a month before I finish chemo to get set up for radiation. So *hopefully* by mid-late October, I will be done!! I will then be put on Tamoxifen (a hormone suppressant) for 5-10 years, which will kick me into menopause (hot flashes – here we come! I’m always cold – is this a good thing?! We’ll find out!).

I asked the doctor about cold capping (device that prevents hair loss) and ice mittens (prevents neuropathy in hands and feet), but she didn’t seem to think they worked. She said because I am young I may not get the neuropathy and they won’t really know what side effects I may have from chemo until we start and see how it impacts me. But possible side effects: hair loss (will happen), change in taste buds, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, can decrease white blood cells (I’ll have labs regularly to monitor), and mouth sores.

I have almost been feeling back to normal this week after my first surgery (swelling almost gone, some feeling returning, I can almost sleep on my side), which has been a good reminder that I will feel better eventually. I need to remember this next week when I start recovery all over again! Complete node dissection is the next thing up on 1/18.