Chemo starts Tuesday midday. TC x 4 plus a Neulasta shot on Wednesday, every 3 weeks. I’ll be done in mid-November (then radiation). I get to take steroids too. Yee. Hah.
Author: ekhb
the stuff I want to be doing
What I’ve done for the last few days/plan for the next few days: Last Thursday: doula visit Friday: birth Saturday: family outing, then be useful to a friend because of being a “birth person” Sunday: postpartum visit to Friday’s new parents Monday: initial meeting with potential doula clients Tuesday: work on doula-client filing system, fill […]
whatever happened to that minute group of cells?
Last Tuesday afternoon, late, the surgeon called and left a message: the tumor board had met that day and discussed the re-excision results, and they determined that “everything looks okay” on the margins. I need to ask for more of the story, but my informants tell me that the radiation oncologist, surgeon, and oncologist confer […]
busy friday indeed
Friday was my second-opinion visit at Dana-Farber. It was also the birthday of my doula clients’ baby…scheduled for just the day I couldn’t be there for them. I was there to help them get started and there to rejoice afterwards, but my doula partner was there for the labor and birth. Everything went fabulously and […]
more on taxanes
Better coverage of the one Taxotere-Cytoxan study: abstracted/presented 2005, not yet published, 1016 early-stage women, all with surgery, chemo, & radiation; those taking TC x 4 had better 5-year disease-free survival rates (86%) than those taking AC x 4 (81%). That’s a significant difference overall, but for node-negative women there wasn’t much of a difference. […]
waiting on a baby in the midst of all of this
I am still waiting for my doula clients to have their baby (the due date is today and the mom is 3-4 cm. dilated already) so as usual I’m juggling the various places I have to be, carrying my cell phone and birth bag around, and hoping the baby arrives before Friday or after. I […]
no walk-ins
Last Thursday I tried to get a second-opinion appointment at Dana-Farber with the breast oncologist most recommended by Dr. C., my oncologist, and was told she didn’t take walk-ins, only special requests by other oncologists. So I asked Dr. C. to contact her. He did, she said yes by e-mail on Saturday, and I have […]
down the rabbit hole again
Yesterday Dr. P. the surgeon called while I was out school shopping with Will. She said the final path. report from the re-excision showed “a single minute group of atypical cells consistent with ductal carcinoma,” only showing on the permanent (staining?) and not the frozen section analysis (that they did while I was in surgery). […]
what I dare to think I’ll be doing this fall…
…between chemo treatments. September 17: CABC board meeting in Valley Forge, PA October 13-15: Midwives Alliance of North America conference in Baltimore (I’m presenting) November 8: 15-minute presentation at the APHA in Boston on our MANA statistics Web system November 11: nephew Jacob’s bar mitzvah in Madison, WI November 22-26: Family Thanksgiving celebration in San […]
possible chemo regimen
Here is what my oncologist is leaning towards: taxotere/cyclophosphamide because “TC (docetaxel/cyclophosphamide, 4 cycles) has a superior disease-free survival compared to standard AC (doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide) in 1016 women with early stage breast cancer.” I like that 4 cycles. I would be done by Thanksgiving.