Checking in on Amy

I just woke up from a 3+ hour 'nap.' I was sleepy after dinner and headed straight for my bed, and didn't get up until after 10PM. It was a really good sleep and I guess my body needed it. The side effects of radiation haven't been too bad for me yet. I have completed my 16 treatments and one of my 'boost' treatments, so I've only got three more boost treatments to go. I met with my radiation oncologist on Tuesday and he was very generous with his time. One thing I learned from him is that the protocol for radiation treatment has changed since my treatment started, and 'boost' treatments will no longer be separate but they will instead become part of the initial course of radiation. Had this change happened before my treatment started I would have saved myself four trips to the hospital. I'm glad that the people who come after me can benefit from this change. My doctor explained that, in general, the number of visits required to treat just about ...

I have had a great couple of weeks. Lots of energy, many great hikes and walks, and time to focus on healing and resting before radiation starts. Things continue to go well with my physical therapy. My scars are looking better, little by little. My mobility is awesome - I can finally do a snow angel! - and when I keep up with my lymphedema massage regimen I don't have any noticeable swelling. This week was a busy one. I was at the hospital 4 out of 5 days this week. On Monday I had my latest (3rd) heart echo which went smoothly. I haven't seen results for that yet, but we don't expect any changes. On Tuesday I met with my radiation oncologist to find out the plan for radiation treatment. I will be having 20 radiation treatments. 16 will be to my breast and remaining regional lymph nodes. The final 4 are 'boost' treatments that will focus only on the breast. We spoke about side effects from the most obvious to the most obscure. I didn't learn anything completely ...

Yesterday morning I got my 4th COVID vaccine because I am on my way to being immunocompromised. My arm is SORE and I was a little feverish through the night. This has been the case for all of my COVID vaccines, so I expected it, but it sucks feeling sore and feverish on one of these last few pre-chemo days. In the afternoon I had a virtual meeting with my radiation oncologist. I like that there is an effort made to introduce me to all of the people in charge of my care even if I won't see them again for a while. If my treatment goes as planned my chemotherapy will wrap up around the end of July, surgery will happen before the end of August, and I will have radiation treatments in the fall sometime. The doctor spent some quality time with me discussing the 'big picture' of my treatment plan and the reasons for sequencing the three main 'events' (chemo, surgery, radiation) in that order. Since I know some science-y things he taught me about about Bragg peaks and how t...

This morning I met with my surgeon. How are all of these humans so amazing? It is hard to put into words how wonderful everyone is.  My surgeon let me know more about the pathology of my cancer and outlined a plan for a few more tests in the next couple of weeks. The pathology tells us that the cancer I have is aggressive, and also that there are good treatments available to fight it. Additional diagnostic tests will include an MRI of my breast to learn more about the lump as well as an echocardiogram which is done to assess my heart health before starting cancer treatment.  The plan for treatment is to start with chemotherapy and to re-assess the need for (and type of) surgery after we see how successful the chemo has been. My surgeon did a wonderful job describing in general terms what type of information is considered when making decisions about surgery. She and I also discussed how genetic markers can play some role in these decisions. I had already been leaning towards ha...