Janaury 21, 2005

Today I got all three chemo drugs.  The tumor continues to shrink; today I talked with my doctor about my surgery options.  I will know more as we get closer to the expected surgery date, probably around the end of February, but that could change.  Some of my surgery decisions will depend on what is found during the surgery.  

I did quite a bit of studying this weekend about my Her2 cancer cell and found out that the way I am getting Herceptin is very cutting edge.  In other places, it is only being used in cases where the cancer has metastasized (spread to other parts of the body), which isn't the case with my cancer.  We are very fortunate to have physicians in the Fox Valley who are way ahead of the rest of the country in many different aspects of health care delivery.  I found a website all about the Her2-neu cancer cell, and none of the stories I read involved women who had received Herceptin before surgery like I am.  Some are having trouble convincing their doctors to give them Herceptin.  I also found out that there is a clinical trial going on right now for a Herceptin vaccine that looks promising.  It is intended for after treatment to prevent recurrence.  I asked my doctor today about getting the word out to other oncologists about this because its not fair that other women aren't getting this treatment when it works so well.

My body is still am accepting the chemo drugs fairly well.  I get pretty tired for a couple days after chemo, but I am not experiencing nausea.   I am still teaching at least two Cycling classes a week, which really feels great.  Even on the days I feel tired, I need to get our of the house and do something at least once a day.  Otherwise I would go berserk!!

As promised here is a wig picture.  My human resources colleagues at work gave me separate nametags for each of the wigs.  I hope there is no danger of developing a split personality when this is all over.  There are two more wigs, so perhaps another time I will have another picture to share :-).