I have to be honest and say that the bad news CT scan really caught me off guard and was a bit of a sucker punch. I was all ready to have my liver resection. The liver resection isn't canceled forever, but we have to get my lesions back under control.
I have an appointment with Dr. Wheler on Tuesday. I will be entering a clinical trial with a new Aurora Kinase Inhibitor in combination with my very first original chemo...Taxol! So I will be back to getting weekly infusions, losing my hair, and having other strange side effects like a bloody nose, skin issues, etc. It took a couple of weeks, but I think I have my "game face" back on and ready for the next round. What other choice do I have? I will dearly miss Afinitor but I am so thankful for the wonderful year it gave me.
I got to go to New Orleans this weekend for a breast cancer conference. It was the C4YW (conference for Young Women). I decided to go because they had a good choice of breakouts/workshops for metastatic breast cancer and Dr. "Super-Litton" was also speaker at the conference. Me and my good BC buddy, Jessica, were roomies at the event. I really didn't know what to expect and was a little apprehensive. I'm not exactly a "rah-rah" cancer girl and didn't really know if I wanted to hold hands and sing kumbaya with other metastatic ladies. It turned out to be a great weekend. I got to spend a lot of time with Jessica on Bourbon street, I meet a few other metastatic ladies, hung out with Dr. Super-Litton, and got to go to a really amazing workshop on writing final words and/or legacy letters (I know it sounds kinda creepy but it was such a fantastic workshop). Most of all it was good to just hang out with other ladies going through the same issues I face day in and day out. I think it was really good timing for me to network and be around so many cancer gals since I am just about to go down that rabbit hole of chemo again. I feel ready...I feel like I can do it. Here's a couple of pics from this weekend on Bourbon Street.
This is a pic of fellow BC metster, Rhonda, and her sister Sherri and me! They are from Kentucky. Rhonda will be coming down to MD Anderson is a couple of weeks for a second opinion and will be staying at our house. YAY!!!
This is my Htown friend, Jessica, who is a single breast cancer survivor who CLAIMS that she has a hard time meeting men, dating, etc. Sure, Jess. This random guy at Krazy Korner latched on to her and wouldn't take a hint. We eventually had to leave because he was too smitten with her and she wasn't feeling it and got really annoyed with him. Jessica is such the HEARTBREAKER!
I will check in with you guys again later this week to let you know when I will be starting the infusions of Taxol again. I may be needing some chemo buddies, especially if I have to get my infusions in the dungeon of the first floor infusion area for the Center for Targeted Therapy. Ugh! No more Sugarland!
