A Diet to Die For! Breast Cancer in Canada.

Digital mammography doesn’t appear to be available in Canada yet, or at least I couldn’t find any sources.

As you can see from the photograph below, there is a clear advantage to having mammograms digitally,  rather than the archaic way we currently have.  And if you’ve read from my About Me page, I’ve had annual mammograms which didn’t find the cancer — thank goodness it was painful, as I may never have found it otherwise.

The article the above photograph refers to an article I found in Star-Gazette (Elmira, NY) entitled New digital mammography equipment could help many women. An excerpt from the article:

” … In 2001, the National Cancer Institute enrolled 49,538 women who had no signs of breast cancer for a Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial at 33 sites in the United States and Canada …”

This is obviously great news for women, and I hope this will become available at all North American hospitals.

I just got back from seeing Dr. Chemo and as pleasant as everyone is at the clinic, it’s not an appointment I look forward to.

This is probably my third or fourth “follow-up” with Dr. Chemo. The poor guy … he’s such a mellow doctor and here I come flying in at a million miles an hour with millions of questions and probably look like a neurotic nutcase!

When I first saw him at the end of December, 2008, he gave me information on a treatment cycle called “FEC Chemotherapy” [link opens UK cancer site] — the FEC stands for the 3 types of injectionable drugs used during a cycle — and “cycle” or “regimen” stands for the drugs given every 3 weeks typically over a certain period of time, i.e. Dr. Chemo recommended I do 6 cycles of FEC which lasts approximately 15 weeks.

Confused yet?

I found out today that I do indeed have “node-positive breast cancer” [link opens a PDF document that is very self-explanatory]. This is news to me! Two of my lymph nodes had cancer cells which means that I probably should seriously consider chemotherapy as a preventative measure to hopefully save my life.

Right now, I’m told I have approximately a 75% chance of survival — add chemotherapy for a few short months of my life and my chance for survival jumps to 90%-95% — an easy decision, right? Wrong! I still have lots to think about … and if I’m really sick from chemo, how on earth am I expected to pay my bills? Anyway, it really isn’t an easy decision, and yes, I realize that I’m playing Russian Roulette with my life.

Oh, and I’ve lost a few more pounds  for a total of 15 pounds so far …

I also don’t feel sick, nor do I look sick, and most people who see me say I look healthy … I guess I”m a better actress than I thought

Towards the end of the appointment, I’m sure he notices how squirmy I am, he says that I have another chemotherapy option called “TC chemotherapy” [link opens eChemotherapy site and here's another discussion about it at MayoClinic's web site].  I only need 4 cycles for a total of 9 weeks of treatment. I have to look it up, but it certainly sounds more promising than the prospect of being bald and nauseous for almost 4 months. I know I’d wear my bald proud (no wigs for me!) but man …

I ask Dr. Chemo if he recommends a cold cap or ice cap — I’ve read somewhere that these sometimes can prevent hair loss during chemo — he says it’s an old wive’s tale, so I won’t add any links to information on them. If you’ve used them and can absolutely say it worked for you, feel free to comment.

So I still need to answer my own question: to chemo or not to chemo.

I just got back from seeing Dr. Chemo and as pleasant as everyone is at the clinic, it’s not an appointment I look forward to.

This is probably my third or fourth “follow-up” with Dr. Chemo. The poor guy … he’s such a mellow doctor and here I come flying in at a million miles an hour with millions of questions and probably look like a neurotic nutcase!

When I first saw him at the end of December, 2008, he gave me information on a treatment cycle called “FEC Chemotherapy” [link opens UK cancer site] — the FEC stands for the 3 types of injectionable drugs used during a cycle — and “cycle” or “regimen” stands for the drugs given every 3 weeks typically over a certain period of time, i.e. Dr. Chemo recommended I do 6 cycles of FEC which lasts approximately 15 weeks.

Confused yet?

I found out today that I do indeed have “node-positive breast cancer” [link opens a PDF document that is very self-explanatory] – this is news to me! Two of my lymph nodes had cancer cells which means that I probably should seriously consider chemotherapy as a preventative measure to hopefully save my life.

Right now, I’m told I have approximately a 75% chance of survival — add chemotherapy for a few short months of my life and my chance for survival jumps to 90%-95% — an easy decision, right? Wrong! I still have lots to think about … and if I’m really sick from chemo, how on earth am I expected to pay my bills? Anyway, it really isn’t an easy decision, and yes, I realize that I’m playing Russian Roulette with my life.

Oh, and I’ve lost a few more pounds  for a total of 15 pounds so far …

Towards the end of the appointment, I’m sure he notices how squirmy I am, he says that I have another chemotherapy option called “TC chemotherapy” [link opens eChemotherapy site and here's another discussion about it at MayoClinic's web site].  I only need 4 cycles for a total of 9 weeks of treatment. I have to look it up, but it certainly sounds more promising than the prospect of being bald and nauseous for almost 4 months. I know I’d wear my bald proud (no wigs for me!) but man …

I ask Dr. Chemo if he recommends a cold cap or ice cap — I’ve read somewhere that these sometimes can prevent hair loss during chemo — he says it’s an old wive’s tale, so I won’t add any links to information on them. If you’ve used them and can absolutely say it worked for you, feel free to comment.

So I still need to answer my own question: to chemo or not to chemo.

Update: April 3, 2009

I’m quite positive I will not do the chemo — Dr. Chemo gives me an additional 3 months to think about it, or talk with a social worker or psychologist. He’s given me an appointment for April 27th and since I still have not heard from a therapist, it’s likely I will cancel the appointment.