This chemo thing is getting real

I finally heard back from Dana-Farber in Milford today (after calling yesterday to find out when they were going to call me to schedule everything).  The oncologist that the Boston doctors referred me to (Dr. Sinclair) left on a 2 week vacation yesterday.  According to the new patient coordinator, Dr. Sinclair would not be able to see me until the week of Thanksgiving.  This obviously was completely unacceptable so I called Dr. Goel (Dr. Winer's fellow) for help.   He actually answered the phone (it was his cell).  I explained the situation and he told me to give him 30-45 minutes to get things sorted out.  

About 15 minutes later my phone rang and it was Dr. Goel.  He had spoken directly with Dr. Sinclair who told him she could definitely see me before Thanksgiving and that I could start chemo the week of November 10.   I actually want to start the next week after that so I have treatments over a week before (rather than 2-3 days before) Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Dr. Goel told me that Milford would call me back soon to get everything scheduled.

About 15 minutes after that, my phone rang again and it was the new patient coordinator.   After much back and forth, we settled on the following dates:

• Friday, November 7 - consultation with a thoracic surgeon about installing a port (**See below).  Actual port installation would be the week of November 10.
• Wednesday, November 12 - Chemo "orientation" with Mary Beth, a chemo nurse
• Tuesday, November 18 - The first chemo session, along with my first appointment with Dr. Sinclair.

I am a little nervous about not meeting Dr. Sinclair until the first day of chemo but this is the way it has to be given her vacation and my desire to get going. She looks super nice based on her picture on the DF website.  ;)  (She also looks super young.  It makes me feel old to have doctors that are way younger than me...)

(Apologies to my friend Dennie for spending much of our walk this morning on the phone with various doctors and Craig.   Our walk did not go as expected but she was a good sport about it!)

After getting back from running some errands, I made a bunch of other calls:

• Moved my December dentist appointment to next week since you can't have your teeth cleaned during chemo, as lots of bacteria are brought out by the cleaning
• Found out from our insurance carrier that I need a prescription in order for insurance to pay for a wig but that I can go anywhere for the wig
• Got Dr. Goel to write me a prescription for the wig since I want to get that done before chemo starts and I won't see Dr. Sinclair to get it from her
• Made an appointment at a salon in Boston for the initial wig consultation, which will be next Thursday.   I burst into tears when the woman asked me (in a very sensitive way) why I needed the wig.   Thanks to Elizabeth to coming with me.
• Left a message for the oncology social worker at Dana-Farber in Milford to see if I can set up a time to talk to her.  I am in need of some help right now to process all this crap. 

After all that, I got the kids off the bus and ran them around to soccer and dance.  Just another day in the life of a suburban mom.   I wish...   The reality of chemo is starting to hit me and it literally takes my breath away.  I know so many people who have done this and all of them made it through.  I know I will too but it scares the crap out of me.   And the hair loss...   I have this really thick hair and I will be sad to see it go but hopefully it will eventually come back.  But if it all comes back grey, I will be pretty pissed.  (Craig, on the other hand, will laugh at me since I have been making fun of his every growing white hair for YEARS!)   I know I can do this.  The unknown is just a bit overwhelming now.

**Implantable ports or port-a-cath. A catheter connected to a port is surgically inserted (tunneled) under the skin of the chest, or sometimes the upper arm, by a surgeon or radiologist. You will receive either local anesthesia or be consciously sedated. You may be able to see and/or feel a small bump in your chest or arm, but you won’t see the tip of the catheter outside the body. Before each “access” or needle insertion, the skin over the port may be numbed using a cream. When treatment is given, the skin is cleansed and a special needle is inserted through the skin into the rubber seal. This allows blood to be drawn or treatment to be given into the catheter that is connected to the port.