Treatment Plan and Next Steps! (Updated July 29, 2006 4:32 AM)

Now that we have a better idea what we are up against, the next step is a treatment plan.

• Thursday, July 20 - 9:30 AM - Today we meet with Dr. Barstis the Medical Oncologist who will lay out the treatment plan for Radiation and Chemotherapy (two very informative links on both kinds of treatment) today. Valerie also has another pre-op meeting with our regular physician, as she will be going under (about a one hour procedure, so the doctor says) one more time next Thursday to have an "Implanted Port" put in.
• Friday, July 21 - 10:12 PM - Well we met with Dr. Barstis and yet the final treatment plan is still not finalized (it would seem the plan changes as needed, depending on new information and patient reaction to what is being done!). They are still awaiting the results of the "FISH" test to determine what (if any) Hormone therapy can be used after the Chemotherapy. We do know that the first Chemo treatment will be on Monday, August 7, 2006. Apparently there are many new drugs that will try to eliminate the side effects (nausea, low red, white and platelet blood counts) that normally occur after a Chemo treatment. However Dr. Barstis says within 24 hours, Valerie will likely feel very weak (like how you feel on the back end of a cold, aching all over and wanting to sleep) for about 3-5 days after the treatment.
• Tuesday, July 25, 2006 - 9:00 AM - Valerie finally got her drains (two) removed at UCLA. Gross, but reality, they helped drain fluid from the surgery area and had to be emptied every 12 hours. She was also given the good news that she could finally take a shower on Wednesday! YEAH! We do love you Valerie, but love is blind not Anosmic!

  

  She also got to pick up one of her wigs today from Intimate Images....funny, I do all this polling (like I was ever planning on letting you dictate which one she could get) and then she goes out and picks her own! Oh well, she is happy with it. This one is her "just got to run to the store" wig, and she ordered her custom made one (which we have not seen yet) from Piny that is to be done next week. I am told the one from Piny is long and looks even better than her real hair! Time will tell (and so will I). We also met with Dr. Barstis today, to go over the Hormone test results. Unfortunately they do not have the FISH results yet. They tell us it should be in a couple days. This does not change when Chemo starts though. Chemo will start Monday, August 7th.

• Wednesday, July 26, 2006 - 7:23 PM - She really did take a shower! Tomorrow we head in for the Implanted Port surgery (she will be under for about one hour) and then rest in preperation for our trip next week. Yes we made the decision to go on our planned trip to Lake Mohave with our neighbors and Dion's cousin. Don't worry, if it is too hot for Valerie she already has plans to sit at a Blackjack table at our hotel while I drag the kids around the lake (something tells me 73 degrees will be too hot!).
• Thursday, July 27, 2006 - Into surgery for the Implanted Port at 9:14 AM and out at 10:57 AM (although I don't get to see her until almost 12:30 PM). Dr. Senofsky says it went great and she is fine. While it seems like a very simple procedure and small incision, an unexpected side effect is that Valerie has quite a bit of pain in her left shoulder, arm and upper chest area (where the port is). Two days later and she can still only barely lift her arm. Doctors say it is normal, but we are both a little surprised.
• Saturday, July 29, 2006 - 4:32 AM - Well we got some great news yesterday! Dr. Barstis called with the test results and her cancer cells are hormone receptive which basically means they like hormones to grow. Valerie will be able to include in her treatment, drugs that will limit or eliminate her body's production of Estrogen and Progesterone with some side effects. Another good piece of info the FISH test indicates her cancer cells are HER2 negative which means she won't have to undergo Herceptin treatment and the cells tested are less aggresive than originally thought. One advantage to living near the treatment center is that Dr. Barstis is going to be able to treat Valerie with her Chemo treatment every 2 weeks instead of 3. For women with node-positive disease, a common treatment regimen is four cycles of AC, followed by four cycles of Taxol or Taxotere. Bottom line Dr. Barstis says her prognosis is better than his initial expectations! We will be asking why AC and not TC treatment and ultimately go with what Dr. Barstis believes will beat it! Today Valerie also picks up her other wig at Piny in Beverly Hills (I hope it is longer than the other one!).
• Sunday, July 30, 2006 - 12 years ago today I told this beautiful woman who stood in front of me that I would stand by her side "in sickness and in health", I'm still here and we're still in love! We are taking a family vacation to Lake Mohave to do some boating, skiing, tubing, fishing and relaxing. Next step will be chemotherapy on Monday, August 7th, I'll update more then!