Longest. Day. Ever. (of 2011)

Friday was a very, very long day.  The day flowed nicely in terms of scheduling. I was able to get to St. John's and get the injection, walk over the Tower Imaging for the Brain MRI from the Hospital, get the Brain MRI then walk over to Veggie Grill for lunch with the hubby for the "all hail kale" salad with Tempeh and a vegan chocolate chip cookie (while David had Poquito Mas from next door), then walk back the Hospital for my Bone Scan.  That machine was very quiet but they harness you so you lie perfectly still then position the camera a 1/4 above your face.  That was a bit claustrophobic, even for me and my meditating mind...Finished the bone scan then raced over to see Dr. McAndrew in Beverly Hills at Tower Oncology (no small feat on a Friday afternoon from Santa Monica!)...

After waiting about an hour (I only say that because I was already exhausted at that point) I was able to see Dr. McAndrew.  Since I hadn't planned to see her I didn't have time to prepare my full list of questions so I had to come up with a quick list from memory...

1. Scan results?  
2. Lumpectomy vs. mastectomy 
3. Reduction or reconstruction 
4. Hysterectomy or Oophorectomy
5. Giuliano vs. Funk 
6. Do I qualify for any trials now? 
7. Next round of chemotherapy - weekly or every three weeks?
8. Worth a visit to go see Dr. Block?

When she came in she told me that both the MRI Brain and the PET/CT scans were normal.  This was great news of course.  Still waiting for bone scan results but I'm feeling confident.

After talking to McAndrews I am very overwhelmed by information.  I don't even feel like I can enjoy the good news about my scans.  I probably can retain about 25% of what she told me.  I really admire McAndrew.  She knows her stuff.  I am really in the best care.  She's amazing.

Long and short of it...I'm starting Chemo again next week (was supposed to start this Thursday but I freaked out...I need some breathing room, I mean I was *just* poked and prodded and scanned for two days straight on Thursday and Friday).  I will be doing the WEEKLY taxol and carboplatin treatments.  It's lower dose so hopefully it won't be as harsh as I'm anticipating...

Both McAndrew and Giuliano separately said they are fine with lumpectomy and radiation; given no family history, my age, response to treatment, etc. they feel I do not need to rush and do double mastectomy and reconstruction. There is also no need to rush for hysterectomy or oopherectomy at this point.  She said I could do it later if I really wanted to... I hope I don't eat my words later on.

No need to go to Evanston, IL to see Dr. Block.  She said there are plenty of capable people here like Dr. Mao or Mary Hardy at UCLA who can provide the integrative oncology and the mix of East and West.  And for supplements and diet she recommended going to a nutritionist here and gave me a referral for Rachel Beller.  I may still do the phone consultation with Dr. Block which seems much easier and I do really like his book.  It makes a lot of sense to me...

This week is all about getting my house in order.  Training Ava. Coordinating the staff. Making sure everyone is ready for next week.  Oops, gotta go...more later!!