I talked to the doctor. She reassured me this is still beatable. It's aggressive, yes. More aggressive than they thought....but - they have me on the most aggressive treatment plan available right now.
No, I am not eligible for local clinical trials. Those are reserved for stage 4 patients. Yes, they will see if there are others around the US.
Yes, they will assay my tumor. No, it won't change what they are doing right now. Hopefully, the results won't change anything because it's just used for recurrence.
Yes, there are things I can do. I can work out 5-6h/w, even just walking. I can eat a healthy diet. I can drink less. Those things are proven to help lower recurrence rates.
No, they can't give me extra AC. The risk is too great to the heart. 4 doses is the max they do. The 12 week Taxol cycle (instead of 8w dose dense) is more effective on triple negative. Yes, it will be longer and probably more sucky. But, better.
Bottom line. Yes, this is still beatable. There is a 22% chance the cancer will be beaten completely with this first round of chemo. The more aggressive the cancer, the more responsive it is to chemo. The Taxol works in a completely different way and should kill it if the AC doesn't.
Pity party over. Ready to try to beat this thing.
No, I am not eligible for local clinical trials. Those are reserved for stage 4 patients. Yes, they will see if there are others around the US.
Yes, they will assay my tumor. No, it won't change what they are doing right now. Hopefully, the results won't change anything because it's just used for recurrence.
Yes, there are things I can do. I can work out 5-6h/w, even just walking. I can eat a healthy diet. I can drink less. Those things are proven to help lower recurrence rates.
No, they can't give me extra AC. The risk is too great to the heart. 4 doses is the max they do. The 12 week Taxol cycle (instead of 8w dose dense) is more effective on triple negative. Yes, it will be longer and probably more sucky. But, better.
Bottom line. Yes, this is still beatable. There is a 22% chance the cancer will be beaten completely with this first round of chemo. The more aggressive the cancer, the more responsive it is to chemo. The Taxol works in a completely different way and should kill it if the AC doesn't.
Pity party over. Ready to try to beat this thing.
In the "I can drink less" department, please do us a favor and reserve at least one wee dram of Scotch each week for you to sip and savor...
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