Sunday, January 22, 2012

Busy Week!

Hello!
Sorry for the lack of updates. I had appointments every day this week and it left little time for anything else.

Wednesday, I had my Herceptin infusion. My blood count was good and I was able to go over my pathology results again. Dr. Hartung was so happy with how well I responded to the treatment that she said she was no longer "gung ho" on my need for radiation.
She wrote me a list of things to go over with the radiology oncologist on Monday.
Her thought is that unless he says it's going to give me at least a 3-5% chance of not having a recurrence, I could decline without her arguing with me.
She really wants me to weigh the risks vs. pros with him.
I'm pretty nervous.

Up until this point, it was just assumed that I would have radiation.
How great would it be if I didn't have to do it?
My risk of lymphedema would go down. I wouldn't have 6.5 weeks of radiation appointments. I wouldn't have the possible later repercussions of receiving radiation. I would be able to be radiated on that part of my body if needed later in case of a recurrence. I wouldn't have the possible cosmetic effects on that side of my breast/arm that come with radiation.
I would also be able to get my expanders out about 3 months earlier to do the exchange.

On the same token, I would feel better knowing that I did everything possible so I will be meeting with Dr Herman for two hours tomorrow. Hopefully, I will leave the appointment with a plan and peace of mind.

Thursday I visited with Dr. Kobenia again for expander inflations. I love how they make it sound like I'm getting my tires aired up.
I was able to get another 50ccs on each side. That puts me currently at 425 ccs on each side.
They kill. Seriously. I never in a million years thought I would be in so much friggen pain with these dumb things. I would have never thought that I would need pain meds after a fill. They are massively big feeling. They are odd shaped and they rub the side of my armpits. Considering my armpit is still numb from the surgery, it's an ungodly awful sandpapery feeling. Yuck.
They don't feel too bad during the day, but I still can't lie flat.
I go back again on Wednesday for another fill.
Shoot me now.

I have to do exercises four times per day.
Here's one of my exercises.
It's called Elbow Winging. I'm supposed to start with my elbows pointed towards the ceiling and move them towards the floor. I'm making really good progress with my right side. My left side, eh, not so much.

It's frustrating. I feel like I start making progress and then I go for another fill...2 steps forward, 1 step back.

Here is what my expander boob things look like now. This is with no bra. I haven't had to wear a bra since my surgery.

Here's an update on my hair. It's filling in! I'm also starting to get some more wiry looking eyebrows. They're not ideal, but I'll take what I can get.

2 comments:

  1. You look fabulous! Good luck with your radiation consult appointment. I'm sure that you will be able to make the best decision after. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. You look great ! ended its looks boobalicious !!! This is trade of having this awful cancer ! But yes it did look great !! I hope your feeling better with all the exercises !

    ReplyDelete