Today I start chemotherapy. For people who know anything about chemotherapy, Dr. Funky Glasses is going to give me a mix of taxol, carbo-platin, and herceptin. I go in at 10:00 today and because first she has to talk to me and then the nurses have to talk to me and I guess today they’ll give me the mix slowly — to see how I react to each of the chemicals — today will take from 4-5 hours. Typically a chemotherapy day will take from 2-3 hours.
People tell me that they hope it’s not too awful. When they hear that it’s for at least six months, they groan and say how awful that is. And I suppose I’ll be moaning and groaning about it myself at points in the process. But for now, all I can say is that I’ll do what it takes. How can I complain about it, especially before it’s started? How can I complain about it when it’s the very thing that, along with prayer, is going to save my life? Oh, like I said, I’m sure there will be complaints. I’m human, after all. But I’m definitely not going to complain about it before it’s even started. At this point, yes I’m apprehensive, but I’m more than willing to get things started. Let’s start killing off those cancer cells, Dr. FG! As she said:
We hit it now and we hit it hard.
Well, OK then!! Let’s hit it!!
There’s another woman who is having a banner day today, a bigger banner day than I am. Whymommy, who has been through her 6 months of chemotherapy for Inflammatory Breast Cancer, is going in today for a double mastectomy.
When I was first diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC), I hadn’t heard of it before. Most people with breast cancer had “regular” (for lack of a better word) breast cancer and not IBC. I felt alone in my diagnosis for IBC is a different beast than other breast cancer. Then I came across Whymommy’s blog and her writing and she really helped me. Then Imstell — I think she introduced herself here. Stella is an IBC survivor. These ladies became my lifelines, my sources of understanding.
I’ve met a few other IBCers too who live in my area. So far we’ve only corresponded through email but I hope to meet them in person as well. It’s a “sisterhood” that none of us wanted to belong to, but now that we’re in it, we need each other, we can understand and support each other and we speak a slightly different language than others. We understand the fears that others don’t.
I am so very grateful for these women.
But I digress.
I ask you all to keep Whymommy closely to your hearts and in your prayers as she goes through her double mastectomy today. I will keep her in mine, asking not just for a wonderful, fantastic outcome of the surgery, but for her to feel the peace that comes with God’s grace.
I wish all the best to Whymommy and her family. I know that God is holding them up. May they all feel that as they go through the difficult hours ahead.
Today’s the day. For me with my chemo, for Whymommy with her double mastectomy, and probably for many people with breast cancer who we’re not aware of.
Prayers all around.
