All of my post-surgery pathology results are in! My cancer is not the especially aggressive, less treatable form of breast cancer my oncologist feared I might have. It’s nice to get good news for once!
I’ve been spending a LOT of time at the doctor, clocking 6-7 appointments per week. Each visit requires multiple phone calls to schedule and follow up. Cancer is a full-time job!
Last week, I began fertility treatments to freeze my eggs, since chemo will most likely end my fertility.
The fertility clinic looks like a hotel. Huge windows look out on the San Francisco Bay. Very different than the community clinics I am used to.
The fertility treatments are expensive – it will cost upwards of $7,000 to freeze my eggs and another $8,000 to do IVF after chemo is over. None of it is covered by insurance. We’ll be sharing a Go Fund Me once I get my shit together to create a campaign.
I have to give myself 3 hormone injections each day: one at 7:30 am, and two at 8:00 pm. (OK, Brian does one of them – the painful one; I can’t make myself do it.) We make the trek to San Francisco every day for a blood draw and ultrasound. An hour-long trip each way.
Pro tip: chugging water makes your veins easier to find and makes blood draws easier.
My ovaries are swelling to the size of apples. Normally they’re the size of almonds. Two hormone drugs cause a batch of eggs to ripen, while another drug prevents them from being ovulated down into the uterus. I’m not allowed to exercise or do anything strenuous. Exercise puts me at risk of the swollen ovaries twisting on the fallopian tube, which would mean emergency surgery. It all sounds gross & kind of extreme, but I feel pretty good and overall the experience isn’t terrible. Things become routine quickly.
I’ll have about 12 days between the egg harvest (that’s what they call it!) and my chemo start date. 12 blessed days to feel good in my body. I can’t wait, and I plan to take advantage of every damn minute!
postcards from cancer land 