My Lemons: The Diagnosis
After the flurry of appointments after meeting my surgeon everything moved VERY quickly! My surgeon in Calgary specializes in young women with breast cancer and is currently doing her research in cancer genetics. I am in good hands here.
Turns out I have one of the more rare breast cancers, triple-negative. When they test your breast cancer they look for three receptors:
Progesterone
Estrogen
HER2 protein
I didn’t test positive for any of these (hence triple-negative). Triple-Negative Breast Cancer is typically more aggressive. This also means that my cancer isn’t fueled/grow from any of those hormones or the HER2 protein.
This diagnosis combined with the fact that my Dad passed away from pancreatic cancer 16 years ago has made the chances of my cancer being genetic higher. I actually had no idea the two cancers were related, I almost didn’t even write it down on my intake form! Hopefully, I will be getting those results soon.
So what does this all mean?
Basically, this determines my treatment plan. First, with the triple-negative, this means I don’t have a lot of options, I can’t do hormonal therapy. My only option is really chemotherapy, which I started 2 weeks ago.
Now that I’m in this world, it’s like it has its own lingo. I’ve been asked what my chemo cocktail is, which is the mix of chemo drugs I am on. I have been scheduled for 4 rounds every two weeks of AC chemo. Both letters stand for some chemical I can’t care to remember the name of. I’ve just been told one of them is also referred to as “the red devil” perfect! Or the “red chemo”, it is the strongest and about to kick this cancer to the curb.
Unfortunately, it is also the chemo that makes your hair fall out. Yes, all of your hair! This chemo typically can make you very nauseous. Thankfully for modern science, they have a list of drugs for me to take to prevent this and man oh man am I grateful for that! In the first round, I wasn’t proactive enough and felt icky the first night but since then it’s been smooth sailing. They also have this amazing drug that I take as a shot in my belly to help my bones create more white blood cells! It’s like magic.
After this round of chemo I have another 4 treatments every two weeks of the “T” chemo. Again that stands for the actual name I’ll never remember.
After all that they wait about a month for the chemo to leave my body and I go in for surgery. This is when genetic testing comes in. If I test positive for the gene test I would be more likely to go for a double mastectomy, which I honestly think I will do anyway. As Adam has said, “they’ve (my boobs) have done their job” so I like the idea of lessening the risk of this all returning. But we will ultimately cross that bridge when we get there.
For now, it’s just one day at a time. Count down the treatments, make the appointments, rest.
Through all of this so far I have been the most overwhelmed by the love and support everyone has shown me. It has been absolutely incredible. I feel so lucky to have so many amazing, caring, and thoughtful people in my life.
It’s unfortunate that it sometimes takes something like this to make us truly appreciate what we have. So today’s takeaways are to go count your blessings. I’m going to start a gratitude journal with my sister and cousin. I think it’s an important exercise to be reminded daily of what we are thankful for.
Today I am grateful for you.
Lots of love and big hugs
-e