Chemotherapy
The Decision to Undergo Chemotherapy
Due to the size of the cancerous tumor in my breast, my surgeon stated I needed to undergo chemotherapy to shrink it. I had left ductal carcinoma, and the tumor was very close to my skin. Doing the chemo first, allowed the surgeon to cut out the smallest section of skin possible during the surgery to remove the tumor. My oncologist suggested I get a chemo port, so the nurses could easily administer treatment through it.
Coping with Chemotherapy Side Effects
Chemotherapy was a battle. I would have my treatment, and two days later, I would start to feel the effects of the drugs. There was the loss of weight, the loss of hair, the sickness and nausea, the weakness, and the tiredness.
Balancing Parenthood and Treatment
The treatment was hard on my body. There were days I just wanted to stay in bed and not get up. But I couldn’t do that because I had to take to my daughter school on the days when I didn’t have my chemo treatments. For my nauseous days, ginger was my best friend. I would cut fresh ginger and place it under my tongue, which helped me so much.
About my Chemotherapy treatment
I was supposed to have 16 sessions of chemotherapy: 4 weeks of AC which is Adriamycin & Cyclophosphamide once every other week and 12 weeks of Taxol once a week. During my 6th session of chemo, which was my 2nd session of Taxol, I had to get a blood transfusion because my hemoglobin levels were too low for chemo to continue. Before the transfusion, I was extremely weak. Afterward, I had the highest level of energy I’d felt in a long time. While on chemo, I experienced peripheral neuropathy in my feet. My oncologist decided to end my Taxol treatments early because of the tingling and numbness. I completed 10 out of the 12 planned treatments of Taxol. My oncologist warned me that the neuropathy might get worse before it gets better or it might be permanent.
Triumph Through Challenges
It was not easy going through chemo. But in the end, I made it through with the support of my family and God’s help. It was a great day when I rang the bell on my last day of chemotherapy treatment.
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