Port Placement & more appointments

The port placement yesterday went very well.  I was awake the entire time but didn't feel any pain after the little pinch of the anesthesia. I rested at home most of the rest of the day.

I had only gotten 3 hours sleep the night before the procedure so we figured for sure I'd sleep during it. Nope. Nor was I able to sleep later that day, at least not until bedtime. Here's a couple of pictures:

This is what the area looked like when they were done. Not painful, but it has been sore since the anesthesia wore off.

I also got some beautiful flowers from my grandkids in Kansas

And a beautiful Survivor figurine from  my mom:

Today I had a CT of the chest, abdomen and pelvis for baseline information. I expect to get those results over the weekend. I have chemo teaching on Aug 31. Hopefully I will start actual chemo shortly after that. I am hoping and praying I can get it done on a Thursday or Friday so I can recuperate over the weekend and be back to work on Monday. Then, 3 weeks later I will repeat the process, for a total of 6 cycles.

I see my surgeon on September 8 to discuss the new surgical plan and talk about scheduling. I need to know the date as soon as possible because my mom is planning to fly out here from Tennessee and my son also wants to be there. He lives in Kansas. September 14 I have my annual appointment with my primary care physician and September 19 I have a bone density scan. That's all the appointments for now.

Plot twist! Chemotherapy....

The MRI I had done on August 10 showed a second spot, as well as my first spot being 3.6 cm not 1.7 cm as the ultrasound had measured it. So, I had an ultrasound and a biopsy for the second spot. It came back showing cancer, measuring 1.3 cm. 

Because of the size change in the first spot, and the addition of the second spot, I am no longer a candidate for lumpectomy.  I have to have a mastectomy.  Because I want reconstruction to be done at the same time as the mastectomy,  it will take some time to arrange.

So, I will be doing chemo first.  I get a port placed this morning (in about 4 hours). I should start chemo soon, don't have a date yet. I will be doing 6 infusions of 4 different chemotherapy medications (TCHP : Taxotere® [docetaxel],  Carboplatin,  Herceptin® [trastuzumab], and Perjeta® [Pertuzumab]). I will have 1 infusion every 3 weeks and will be doing chemo for 4 1/2 months.

Not gonna lie, I'm starting to feel the gravity of the situation. The infusions will last for 4-7 hours each time. There are a ton of side effects. And then I have to face major, life altering surgery. I've only slept about 3 hours tonight. I know I'll sleep during the day today, both during the procedure and after I get home. 

My husband, mother and son have been my biggest supporters but I worry about them. I wonder how I would feel if my spouse, daughter or mom had cancer. This has been a bumpy ride so far and today marks exactly 2 months since my diagnosis. 

I have missed 6 days of work so far and had numerous appointments I scheduled around work. I am a behavioral counselor for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and am an independent contractor. If I don't see clients I don't get paid. Because of this and because I expect to be out a lot more days over the course of my treatment,  I started a Gofundme. Please give if you can and if you cannot, please share my link. To those who have already donated, I am eternally grateful!! Thank you!

https://gofund.me/4d057759

More tests

 I had my MRI 2 days ago.  It was fairly quick and definitely easy. I'm not sure when I'll get the results.  I think the results will be sent to the VA first.  I will have to check in Monday.

My Worship Playlist

 If anyone is interested, here is the ink to my Worship playlist on YouTube