Sunday, December 26, 2010

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Had my 4th chemo treatment yesterday – I’m now halfway through this 2nd cycle and can’t wait for it to be finished!!  Spent 5 hours in the infusion clinic because I had to have 2 blood cultures done as well as my first herceptin treatment and the taxol treatment.  There was a family there – Ponti has colon cancer and was receiving her first treatment.  Her husband and daughter Francesca were with her as well.  Spent some time talking with Francesca – she is a pilates teacher and gave me a great lead for a small yoga studio in Herndon that focuses on breathing and stretching poses which will be great for me when this is finally finished.  When she and her dad stepped out to make phone calls, Ponti actually became very talkative and spent some time just the two of us talking about how to manage the treatments.

I don't understand why the part of our treatment doesn't include someone sitting down and saying here are the side effects you may experience and the ways we have found to manage them.... where is that information??!!  Maybe they are worried about you manifesting something if you know about it? What about patients like me, who are not used to being sick so just wait things out thinking they will pass.  I'm now beginning to wonder just how long I've had the lung infection.  I've had tightness in my chest since the first cycle back in September and have been through a few courses of antibiotics to treat the fever, chills, and sickness I've been experiencing.  Could all of that have been alleviated by an earlier diagnosis and put me on regular prednisone back near the beginning?

This is really starting to bring home the statement friends have made about "managing your own health care," but then you have to know what to ask and what to manage....

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