Chemo update

isaiah4031
isaiah4031 Member Posts: 240
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Hello,
Yesterday was my last radiation treatment. After much prayer and consideration of all the info you have given me and talking with my onc, I have decided to have the chemo. It has been hard making the decision, but now that it's made, I feel at peace about it. I want to thank you all for helping me make my choice. I couldn't have done it without you. I'll keep you informed and I'm sure I'll have many more questions as the date approaches for my first treatment. I covet your prayers.
Love, Jayne

Comments

  • melm
    melm Member Posts: 104
    #2
    Jayne -
    My prayers are with you. We will all be here for you to answer any questions you may have. When is your first treatment? I will say a special prayer that day.
    God's grace & love to you -
    Mel
  • isaiah4031
    isaiah4031 Member Posts: 240
    #3
    melm said:

    Jayne -
    My prayers are with you. We will all be here for you to answer any questions you may have. When is your first treatment? I will say a special prayer that day.
    God's grace & love to you -
    Mel

    Hi Mel,
    My first day is on August 16th (my 46th birthday!) I am at peace with the decision, but a little anxious about what to expect. I am not sure how long the treatments last. I was told that I should bring a book or something else since it takes a while, but I have heard that it takes anywhere from 20 minutes to 5 hours. So I am a little concerned about that - more for the person who comes with me. The onc said I need to have someone there with me. Any thoughts?
    Thank you so much for your prayers. I know that God hears and responds!
    Love, Jayne
  • jbeardslee
    jbeardslee Member Posts: 75
    #4
    Hi Jayne,

    We will keep you in our prayers and be thinking of you on the 16th. If your daughter wants, remember Michelle is here to listen. Take care.

    love, Judy
  • isaiah4031
    isaiah4031 Member Posts: 240
    #5
    jbeardslee said:

    Hi Jayne,

    We will keep you in our prayers and be thinking of you on the 16th. If your daughter wants, remember Michelle is here to listen. Take care.

    love, Judy

    Judy,
    Thank you so much. My daughter, Samantha, said she does plan to write her. Do you think it is a good idea to take my daughter with me to the chemo teaching session? I was thinking maybe it would ease some of her anxiety.
    Love, Jayne
  • jbeardslee
    jbeardslee Member Posts: 75
    #6
    isaiah4031 said:

    Judy,
    Thank you so much. My daughter, Samantha, said she does plan to write her. Do you think it is a good idea to take my daughter with me to the chemo teaching session? I was thinking maybe it would ease some of her anxiety.
    Love, Jayne

    Jayne,

    I did not have chemo myself but yes I think taking your daughter to the teaching sessions would be good. Michelle went to my doctors' appointments with us after my diagnosis and she joined in the discussions and was able to ask questions. I think it helped her to feel like a part of my treatment & recovery even though she could not be in town for my surgery. I do know that not all of my decisions were the ones my daughter would have made, but we listened to each other's thoughts and stayed open to discussions. Over the passed several years many women in our area have dealt with breast cancer. I think it helped us to sit down and think about those women and that they are now living normal lives even though many of them required much more treatment than I. We kept coming up with more & more names and as we did, we felt less and less alone in our cancer battle.

    Take care.
    Love, Judy
  • taurean12
    taurean12 Member Posts: 5
    #7
    I must tell you that you have given me a lot of support and reading your messages has encouraged me to fight and stay strong even if I am feeling depressed, Thanks and God Bless
  • pcarver
    pcarver Member Posts: 18
    #8
    Hi,
    I really do think you have made the right decision about taking the chemo. Four years ago I was diagnoised with breast cnacer. They removed my breast and 29 lymph nodes because the tumor was about the size of a quarter. But thank God there were no modes involved. The doctors however, suggested that I take six months of chemo. It did not take me long to decide to do this because I was not ready to give up, and I wanted to live to see my daughter grow up, get married, and have children. I have lived to see her graduate as Valedictorian of her high school class, and she is now a sophmore in college. I am now going through another challenge. I found a lump through self examination. It was removed Wednesday and will find the results out tomorrow. I really feel good about everything, but I will tell you that if it is found to be cancerous, I will take chemo again. Hair loss and all because I do not give up easily and you should not either. You do whatever it takes to get better. Yes, there will be days that you will want to hate those of us us who suggested that you take chemo, but in the end you will be thankful that you took your life in your own hands and did what seemed best. When you get down, pray to God. HE will give you the strength that you need to get through the next few months.

    pcarver

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