It's been a few weeks since my last chemo treatment and so much has taken place. Based on a recommendation from Dr. Browne, I started seeing a psychologist to help with my anxiety about the future and how to deal and put all that has transpired so far and will continue into perspective. I've done a great job of staying positive etc, but it's catching up to me mentally and emotionally. Dr. Browne suggested I start to see someone to not allow myself to spiral. So, I started going and it's helped center my thoughts and emotions - Dr. Janet Brown comes very highly recommended - I really like her! Go figure, I now have 2 Dr. Brown's!
I've also finished all my appointments leading up to the start of Radiation. Dr. Ping Zhou will be my Oncology Radiologist. We determined that based on my case, I will be doing 6 weeks of radiation, everyday. The treatment will be targeted to the right chest wall area. This will start at the end of July.
I've also completed all my appointments leading up to Surgery #2 which will be the Hysterectomy & Oophorectomy with Dr. Rachel Clark. Long story short, 4 days before surgery, I got a call from her office - her nurse so kindly informed me that my insurance wasn't going to cover the cost for the procedure. I flipped out! Seriously, I have another major surgery to get my head around and 4 days before they call me to tell me that? Well, needlesstosay, after lots of last minute calls and running around, the procedure got approved the day before the surgery. Dr. Clark really advocated for me and I'm very thankful - talk about stress!
All that brings us current to where I am now. I so wish I could get the chest port out of my chest, but it's staying in due to my continued treatment of Herceptin. As of July 19, 2016, we re-start Herceptin for up to a year. The reason we are continuing this is due to the fact that I am HER2+, it is a targeted treatment that along with the chemo I've gotten helps reduce the chances of recurrence, by acting as a HER2+ blocker. Before we could re-start Herceptin, I had to go get another Echocardiogram to ensure my heart is strong enough as Herceptin can have effects on the heart. Luckily mine was perfect!
There was some discrepancies in my pathology reports AFTER surgery. Initially I was diagnosed as HER2+, after surgery, the pathology reflected that parts of the remaining cancerous tumor was HER2-. This totally made me nervous and concerned. Dr. Browne and Dr. Coopey weren't convinced so they reached out for another review with Mass General. Ultimately, it came back HER2+. So, my treatment doesn't change going forward, hence why we are continuing with Herceptin every 3 weeks for up to a year. All this continues and we continue with it, staying as positive as possible.
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