A Doctor a Day Keeps the Apples Away

I don't know what that title means; I was just trying to be clever because I had so many doctor's appointments today.

In addition to my daily radiation appointment, I also met with my oncologist (not to be confused with my radiation oncologist with whom I meet every Monday) and my plastic surgeon.

First of all, I have a radiation update. When I get close to the end of my treatment, they are going to start doing something they call an electron boost. (I think that's how they referred to it.) Anyway, they do some extra treatment with electrons along the incision scar. So, on October 25, I am scheduled to go in for the simulation for that.

Basically, that will be the same thing they did for me the first time I went in to get set up for radiation. They take a lot of pictures, they draw out the shape of the beam, and then they try to program the machine to match the drawing. That is sort of a lengthy process and requires me to lie very still for quite a while. Limbs fall asleep while it's happening. However, I will have my iPod to keep me company. I can only hope that Dane Cook doesn't show up on my playlist while I'm lying there because I might break into uncontrolled laughter if that happens.

I basically met with my oncologist so that we can talk about the next phase of treatment. He scheduled my CT scan and bone scan for restaging. We also talked about different treatments. He said that he discussed my case with several of his colleagues and they all seemed to think that I should not go through another round of chemo at this time.

However, given the aggressiveness of my disease, my age, and how healthy I am (outside of the cancer), both my doctor and I are inclined to ignore this advice and pursue an avenue of chemo treatment now. As I told him, I'd rather go through chemo now and stop any further growth of the cancer than to come back a year from now and discover I need to be treated for lung cancer or brain cancer or something else.

Maybe if I had a less aggressive disease, or if my health was poor, I might feel otherwise. But I'm strong enough now to take on another round of chemo, and I'd rather do that than risk the cancer spread any further. The success they've shown in treating ibc has been a result of being aggressive with treatment. An aggressive disease requires aggressive treatment. So, I'm still planning to get more chemo after I'm finished with radiation.

I have another appointment scheduled with my oncologist after my restaging scans. At that time, he's going to present a couple of different treatment options based on what has been successful in treating the aggressive growth of ibc. He indicated that there would probably need to be some recovery time (for my skin) between the end of radiation and the beginning of chemo. So, I should know by mid-November what my next stage is going to be, when it will begin, and how long it will last.

I also met with plastic surgeon today. Originally, this appointment was planned so that he could add some additional fluid to my implant expander. However, the radiation therapists asked that we wait until the completion of radiation before expanding it further. As it is, they already have to tape down that side a bit because it gets in the way a bit of one of the radiation treatment angles. So, no expansion today.

I really like my plastic surgeon. He is so warm and concerned. He told me how great my hair looks now that it's coming in. (I have to admit that I really do love the short hair. I'll take a picture soon and post it.) He also asked how everything else is going and was very supportive when I told him I'd be getting more chemo. I'm scheduled to see him again in about 6 weeks and should resume expansion then.

One other thing happened today that I'm really excited about. Last week, I met with the social worker in the radiation oncology department and asked her to help put me in touch with the right people at the hospital so that I might get permission to film more of my treatments. While my doctors have all consented, hospital staff has to be cleared through the legal department in order to appear on camera. Several have been willing, but unable to obtain permission from legal.

Today, I got a call from someone in media relations at the hospital. I explained what I'm trying to do and why I want to do it. She loves the idea and is going to work with the legal department to see if she can help me get the permission I need. Of course, there are no guarantees, but I'm really excited to have a champion at the hospital that might be able to help me get this through. If that happens, I'll be able to film things like my radiation treatment and the CT scans that I've been unable to film in the past. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

That's all the news I have for now. I'll keep you posted on everything as I learn more. :)