TRIUMPH!
So we've finally made a decision! We had our (groan) 7:00am appointment in Denver today, so we farmed out the girlys across Northern Colorado (many thanks to Sarah, Jo, Katie, Wendy and Wes) and headed down at, as the scheduler said, "0 dark:30".
Dr. Paul was pretty cool. He began by recapping our entire journey from start till now, then he continued on to what his vision of treatment might include. Initially, I was annoyed, thinking, "Yeah, yeah, I know all this stuff--I've lived through it over the past two and a half weeks." But, actually, it ended up being a great baseline for us to start from.
When he got to the treatment suggestions, he began by acknowledging that every treatment that has been suggested has been a reasonable option. Then he quoted a couple of recent studies and gave his recommendation, answered our questions, and then said "Yes," when we asked if we could seek care there. Turns out he's treated around 20 patients with my similar diagnosis, and he said that he'd like to, through the chemo option, put the cancer into a "nice remission" as he put it, and get a handle on the growth, and then move through the remaining treatment options. And, he never once used the word "palliative". He's a saint.
So I've opted to do chemotherapy accompanied by Herceptin and Zometa first, for about 6 months, then move to a mastectomy provided the chemo has been effective, most likely removal of the ovaries, and then hormonal therapy with Zometa and Herceptin will follow. The chemo regimen, for those interested, will be a Taxotere/Carboplatinum combination, with the Herceptin.
The challenging part of this, aside from the obvious side effects, will be the child care and scheduling involved. I will be going in once a week for three weeks, then have a week off, for about six months. This means that the day I get treated, we mostly likely will need child care, though it's not guaranteed. Then, apparently the third day after chemo can be a bitch, so I might need someone here to help out.
Once we have the dates, I think I'll ask Makeesha to put up a calendar and allow anyone who's interested in helping out to sign up for either half or full days. If you're only able to take two of the kids, I'm sure we can arrange that in some manner as well. We will post a schedule as soon as we're able. Again, please accept Clark and my gratitude for all the support that has come in. We are humbled and amazed.
Dr. Paul was pretty cool. He began by recapping our entire journey from start till now, then he continued on to what his vision of treatment might include. Initially, I was annoyed, thinking, "Yeah, yeah, I know all this stuff--I've lived through it over the past two and a half weeks." But, actually, it ended up being a great baseline for us to start from.
When he got to the treatment suggestions, he began by acknowledging that every treatment that has been suggested has been a reasonable option. Then he quoted a couple of recent studies and gave his recommendation, answered our questions, and then said "Yes," when we asked if we could seek care there. Turns out he's treated around 20 patients with my similar diagnosis, and he said that he'd like to, through the chemo option, put the cancer into a "nice remission" as he put it, and get a handle on the growth, and then move through the remaining treatment options. And, he never once used the word "palliative". He's a saint.
So I've opted to do chemotherapy accompanied by Herceptin and Zometa first, for about 6 months, then move to a mastectomy provided the chemo has been effective, most likely removal of the ovaries, and then hormonal therapy with Zometa and Herceptin will follow. The chemo regimen, for those interested, will be a Taxotere/Carboplatinum combination, with the Herceptin.
The challenging part of this, aside from the obvious side effects, will be the child care and scheduling involved. I will be going in once a week for three weeks, then have a week off, for about six months. This means that the day I get treated, we mostly likely will need child care, though it's not guaranteed. Then, apparently the third day after chemo can be a bitch, so I might need someone here to help out.
Once we have the dates, I think I'll ask Makeesha to put up a calendar and allow anyone who's interested in helping out to sign up for either half or full days. If you're only able to take two of the kids, I'm sure we can arrange that in some manner as well. We will post a schedule as soon as we're able. Again, please accept Clark and my gratitude for all the support that has come in. We are humbled and amazed.
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