A few people have asked what my treatment plan is and also have questioned why I am doing things in the order I am.
I am on six rounds of chemo, these take place once every three weeks. My first three rounds is a chemo called Docetaxel infused with Herceptin. The best way to describe Herceptin was explained to me by my chemo nurse, Amy, "It is the lock on the door so that the cancerous cells cant get through the door and escape." The last three rounds is solely a chemo called FEC. FEC is known to be very strong. I am not looking forward to this but I am also excited to count down the sessions.
A lot of people have asked why I am doing chemo first before my Mastectomy. This is because the Oncologist wants to see what chemo drug my particular cancer responds to the best, they study the behaviour of the tumor to ensure the best results. My total time span of chemo is eighteen weeks.
Chemo is an accumulative drug and becomes stronger the more rounds you have so I expect to feel pretty crap by my last dose. I will receive a scan to see how my tumors are responding after my third infusion. My cancer is known to respond slower to chemo than other strands but hopefully we will see some progress.
Once chemo this is completed I will have my first round of purely Herceptin only. Herceptin hasn't got the side effects like chemo. It is a risk to the heart but as I am so young I have a very healthy heart but I will head back for check ups on my heart regularly to make sure it is not causing any damage. Over the course of 2019 I will receive fourteen rounds of Herceptin, once every three weeks. These infusions only take an hour each time, much less lengthy in comparison to the four to five hour chemo sessions. This is the happy part of the process, my hair will be growing back and I will be feeling much better.
All going according to plan, a week after my first infusion of Herceptin I will have my surgery, so early December. I have opted for a double Mastectomy with rebuild at the same time. My left breast is in great knick but I do not want to risk this every happening again. On the 27th of September I am meeting my surgeon to discuss the procedure and outcome. All I know is I will be going from double D to a lot smaller, possible a B.
It is a long road, but I am curable and I hold onto that fact every day. This is all temporary.