Tuesday, October 7, 2008

H-Town, USA

herceptintown, antibodyville, 94305, ITA...
whatever ya want to call it, we are back..

today should be a relatively quick day... 30 minutes of herceptin, and we should get home before caden goes down for his nap...

its 9:30am and nurse shelby is gonna tap trish's port, and get some premeds going in..
herceptin will probably/hopefully start in about an hour or so..


trish, jane, cerena and i made a trip to the cancer center yesterday to have our first meeting with trish's surgical oncologist, Dr. Stefanie Jeffrey.

we went over a rough time line of when surgery will be... 4-6 weeks away, as we already knew. as for the exact surgical strategy, dr. jeffrey wants to make that decision after an updated round of scans are performed. she wants to see how trish's body has reacted to the chemo, but after a physical exam of her boobie and lymphnodes, dr. jeffrey was really happy with how trish's body has responded to the chemo, saying things such as 'great' and 'this is awesome'.

the doc ordered several scans that trish will have in the coming week or so. starting off with an MRI on wednesday night, and a PET-CT friday afternoon. next week there will be a mammogram and an ultrasound.

the results of the scans will will give a better insight on exactly how we should proceed with the mastectomy and determine the extent of the lymph node removal.

this was the first time any of us have met dr. jeffrey, and we were really happy with her. she obviously knows her trade, but it was really easy to talk with her about different options/methods/philosophies, etc..
all four of us left with a good feeling, knowing that trish would be in great hands, and i think having a female surgeon will help ease trish's anxiety a bit.

the highlight of the day for trish was when we were on our way to meet dr. jeffrey, we saw another chemo buddy, cindi, in the waiting room for her doctor.
trish and cindi have only met once, while getting chemo months back, but they have exchanged many emails since then. both the the girls are looking and feeling good.. its really nice to see others around ya getting better as well.

after we left the cancer center, we headed over to town & country village in palo alto for a little lunch at Douce France, a french cafe and pastry shop.

october is breast cancer awareness month, and town & country village is hosting a fundraiser called "Town & Country Goes Pink", and all proceeds go to a local organization called Breast Cancer Connections.

http://www.paloaltodailynews.com/article/2008-10-6-community-fund


During the month of October, Town & Country Village in Palo Alto will be draped in 5,600 pink lights in support of National Breast Cancer Awareness month. It's the first year Town & Country management and the shopping center's 20 tenants have partnered with the Palo Alto-based nonprofit Breast Cancer Connections to "shine a light" on the disease and broadcast the availability of helpful services.

The shopping center presented a kickoff reception for "Town & Country Goes Pink" on Wednesday night, and general manager Joan Fantazia invited the community to purchase a light for $10 to honor a friend or loved one who has experienced breast cancer. One hundred percent of the funds raised by the lights will go to the free support services provided by Breast Cancer Connections.



Douce France's owner, victor, and trish's coworker rochelle, purchased a pink light in honor of trish... since it was lunch time, we didn't get to see the lights turned on, but we plan on taking a look tomorrow night after we finish up the MRI.


the last few days have continued to be good to trish...
she is eating well, and is just battling a little bit of nausea..
nothing too extreme, nothing unexpected.
she is getting sore from the neupogen shots (this is a good thing, unfortunately)

so, considering by this time, last round, we were sitting in the emergency room...
trish is doing much better in her 3rd round (insert cliché here).


thanks for checking in...


a quick update...
-------------------------------

11:15am: herceptin is done... just waiting on a quick flush and we are outta here..

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Trisha...you looked absolutely radiant when I saw you yesterday. I am glad to hear that everything went well with the surgeon and you feel comfortable with her...that is the number one priority. I had treatment yesterday...so yes only 3more to go!!! When my mind is not as "loopie"from all these anti-nausea meds I will drop you a quick e-mail. Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers for your next scans...you will get wonderful news...I can just feel it. Remember to wear metal free...sports bras are good for scans :-). Keep staying tough...you look amazing.

Staying strong-
Cindi

Anonymous said...

So good to hear the final (ya-ba-daba-doo) chemo cocktail is being kinder to you this time around. So the doc is awed already, hope she is really wowed when your every-which-way scans are done next week. Thanks for the updates Oak, the pics are great,and you look fab Trish. Hang in there. I think about you every day.

Anne (Davidson)

Anonymous said...

Trish & Oak,
Glad to hear about the positive visit you had with Trish's surgeon. That's fabulous she was so impresssed with Trish's progress. We think about you guys everyday. Hang in there and keep smiling. Lots of hugs!
xoxox,
Lyndee & Family

Anonymous said...

Hey Trish and Oak,
So happy to read some good news here. I am sorry i missed you guys at Douce. I have a card to give you for your light. I hope you can see Town and Country at night...it is cool. Looking forward to seeing you soon.
ro

Unknown said...

Hey Trisha! I wanted to share with you that my Leadership class has been spedning time gearing up for Breast Cancer Awareness month. We hosted a rootbeer float stand at our school carnival and made $400. We also formed a team for the American Cancer Society's inaugural walk in San Jose on 10/25. The kids (all 8th graders) have riased over $1000 for the team. Amazing!! We are also having a Pink Spirit Day on 10/24 and the boys keep saying, "real men wear pink!" My kids will walk in memory of my mom and in your honor!! I told them about you and they are excitied to help find a cure!! All my love and congrats on the chemo being done!! Shari