Some days, I crank and vent. Yesterday was one of those days. Thanks to all who put up with it and realize that sometimes keeping a smiley face on ALL the time just doesn't cut it.
Today is better, not because of any remarkable improvement in my daily situation, but because once again, I am reminded of just how fortunate I am. My appointment with Dr. DaSilva went well. He is someone who will "partner" with me in my care, not just issue orders and expect me to follow them blindly. He is open to questions and concerns, and assures me that he enjoys patients who do their own research and participate actively in their own care. This relieves me.
He is also very encouraged by my particular cancer profile. He said that even if I walked away and never did another thing to treat this disease, I now have a 70-80% chance of non-recurrence. Naturally, we want to see if we can improve that percentage (it's all about the numbers, as I've discussed before), through what they call adjuvent treatment. Hormonal intervention (shutting down the estrogen & progesterone production in my body) can probably give me another 15% or more. And, as I suspected all along, chemotherapy is still in the future land of "maybe."
Dr. DaSilva has ordered a very new test--called Oncotype DX--which genetically maps 21 of my gene pairs and matches them to my specific disease profile. I am a candidate for this test because I am "early-stage, node-negative." The test is used as a "predictor" for estimating which types of chemotherapy would most likely increase my chances of survival, and which drugs would likely have little to no effect. He says that in the recent past, patients with my T1c/N0/Mx situation were all automatically treated with aggressive chemo as a precaution, but within the last 6 months or so, we have the ability to actually tailor the adjuvent therapies to the individual patient, using genetic mapping. I find this so amazing! I am truly grateful that if I had to have this awful disease, I had it now, when so many treatments and tests are just now becoming available (AND our insurance will pay for most of it too)!
He also assured me that I am doing just fine, but that I still need at least another 3 weeks to heal and become strong again. This is not an overnight process or a quick recovery of a week or two. It takes a full 8 weeks for my body to adjust and balance itself after such a major assault. So, crankiness aside, I need to just chill. I knew this, but it sure is nice to hear it from someone who knows what he's talking about. Plus, he looks a little like Antonio Banderas (without my glasses on), speaks 5 languages, and has a South American accent. Dreamy stuff for a middle-aged woman. Perhaps I can eventually practice my stumbling Spanish during our appointments?
So, today is a rest-and-recuperate day. Mom & Bill are still doing their cough-and-cold thing, I am still holding out for immunity. Chicken soup for everyone! Be assured we are all taking care of each other, and each day is a blessing not to be taken for granted. We are all working on getting better, a little bit at a time.
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