Liz writes:
"I'm a little late with this update...we had a busy weekend! Griffin turned one on Saturday, and we had a little party. Despite the rain and hail (!?!?!), and the fact that he was sick, it was a fun celebration. Then on Sunday we traveled to Richmond and had a very nice visit with Emma. I'm kind of relieved the Rams didn't win, because it would have been pandemonium while we were down there.
This past week was a bit hard, as I came down with a bug on Monday (my lowest white cell day) which included a fever. You are supposed to call if your fever gets higher than 100.5, which mine did. I was told to go to bed and come in Tuesday morning. But I already had an appointment scheduled for Wednesday morning, so I decided to wait...I'm glad I did, because apparently they would have admitted me to the hospital for observation if I had gone in. By Wednesday the fever was gone, but the annoying cough is lingering, I now am on antibiotics, and I've been extra tired, at times a bit woozy, and feeling like I didn't get back to my normal self during this week as I did the other off-weeks.
I had two appointments Wednesday, one with the surgeon and one with the oncologist. My surgeon (Dr. G) did an exam and sonogram of the tumors, and the measurements show a significant shrinkage, even though I'm not even half-way done...from 3.5 cm across the largest diameter to 2.5 cm across; plus it feels a lot softer and more movable. So the chemo is working well...good news! The oncologist (Dr. D) agreed that there is good progress. Both of them answered a lot of my questions...I've been doing more reading about everything these days, now that the initial shock is past and the weaning is done, so I had a lot of questions for them. One thing I read is that by the time most women are diagnosed, the cancer has been there already for 5 to 8 years! Dr. G doesn't think so in my case (it is a fast-growing type), and there is no way of knowing for sure, but she thinks maybe it's been there for around 2 years. I also asked a lot about the surgery, as I am really thinking about it lately and weighing my options as far as do I want to do a single or double mastectomy. The surgery will most likely be the last week of June. I'll also be talking to a plastic surgeon soon to learn about reconstruction options.
Tomorrow is my last AC chemo (adriamyacin and cytoxan)...then I switch to taxol. My mother is coming with me tomorrow to keep me company. I'm planning to bring a large supply of ginger ale with me...last time, just being in that place made me feel queasy, mostly from the smells...drinking ginger ale helped, but the hospital only has mini cans, so this time I'm bringing my own. I think I forgot to post that last time Nathan came with me...we passed the time playing scrabble on the ipod and watching Northern Exposure on the laptop. So nice to have such great company, and those high-tech gadgets, to help get through the treatments.
There is progress on the health insurance front. I qualified for the pre-existing condition insurance ("Obama care"). We sent in the first payment this week (using some of the very generous donations you all have sent!). The insurance started April 1st...but there is a $2000 deductible. We already owe WAY more than that in medical bills...but not sure yet if it will count as the deductible. We are still waiting to see if we qualified for financial aid through the hospital.
Love you all,
Liz"
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