The Adventures of Toby the Ta-Ta Tumor

Chemotherapy round one is done - only seven more to go.  I'm not going to lie - it is brutal.  It is like having the worst hangover of your life for 48 to 72 hours.   One of the drugs in my chemo cocktail is not-so-affectionally nicknamed the "red devil".  It is one of the most aggressive cancer drugs available and comes complete with some less-than-desirable side effects. It is bright red in colour and looks like grenadine syrup, although I don't think anyone would want to put this is their Shirly Temple.   All I can envision as I lie here with severe nausea, shakes, fatigue, etc., is a fleet of little red devils with pointy tails, pitch forks and capes embossed with a "Super-Drug" crest coursing through my veins looking for and blowing up any remnants of Toby and the Minions, and thereby ensuring that I get to see my granddaughters grow up.  And really, that is what this all about.  Short-term pain for long-term gain. Again, I want to thank...

Well.....  my appointment with the oncology team yesterday didn't go as well as I had hoped. Long story short, guess who's getting chemo?  Yeah - me. Here's my treatment plan:  8 rounds of chemo on a dose-dense cycle of every two weeks (total of 4 months of chemo), followed by a 3 week break, and then 30 radiation treatments (total of 6 weeks).  AND hormone treatment for 5 years. Ugh. The process starts October 28 with chemo round one.  Because my tumor mass was extremely concerning ("ugly" was the word used by the doc) with many unusual features and extensive lymphovascular invasion (cancer cells on the highway out of breast town), my oncology team cannot rule out that Toby sent out minions to set up shop someplace else prior to his eviction.  Plus there remains a possibility that some of the smaller bits in my tumor mass are the dreaded triple-negative cancer.  Therefore, my treatment plan is aggressive but thorough. If any of the legend of Toby has ...

Here is a quick status update: My MRI that was supposed to be in four weeks got moved up to October 5 - this past Tuesday.  The good news:  both boobies and lymph nodes are clear of any additional cancer tumors.  Hooray!  Even better news is that the triple negative situation was a false alarm - extra hooray! I am still considered a complex case and have an aggressive, high grade invasive cancer, but the glimmer of hope that I might be able to avoid chemotherapy is glowing just a tiny bit brighter today. I meet with my oncology team on October 19, and will find out more details then.