The week so far...

I have spent some quality time at Milford Hospital/Dana Farber this week.   

First up was a pre-surgical appointment for the port placement.  I was a little annoyed about having to actually go to the hospital for this since my pre-surgical appointment for my October surgery (at a different hospital) was done over the phone.  Turns out the only reason they needed to see me was that they did not have my height and weight on file... something they could have gotten over the phone.   I was a little annoyed but the nurse was apologetic.  I did find out that I should be at the hospital for about 3 hours on Friday.  I am having sedation, not general anesthesia, so that speeds up my exit.  I don't even have to go to recovery.   I found the anesthesia harder to recover from after the October surgery so I am happy to not go through that again.

Next, I was off to the "Look Good Feel Better" program which is put on by the American Cancer Society.   You get a whole bunch of free high-end makeup (much of which I will not use since it is full of potentially cancer-causing chemicals).   I did learn a few make-up application tips as well as what to do if/when you lose your eyebrows.  My friend Jen came and all the the other participants were very nice to it was a fun event.   There also was supposed to be a section about wigs and wig care but the woman that was supposed to do it was not able to come.  Luckily the place where I am getting the wig will go through all the care instructions with me.

My final appointment on Wednesday was my "chemo teach" with Mary-Beth who will hopefully be my chemo nurse for every treatment. I LOVED HER!  She is probably in her mid to late 30s and has 3 kids - 9, 5 and 3.   She took me through each of the chemo drugs and their side effects, as well as all the other meds I can/will take to combat the side effects.  The Infusion Suite is really nice.  Each patient has their own private bay with a comfy chair and a tv.   They come around with food, if you are there for lunch and have other snacks and drinks available.   Mary-Beth had a lot of good things to say about Dr. Sinclair, when I told her I was a little nervous about not meeting the doctor until the morning of my first treatment.  I have to have a shot the day after chemo to help with the white blood cell loss and I found out my neighbor (who is a nurse) can administer it, so I don't have to go back to Dana-Farber.   I can keep teaching CCD but need to make sure the kids use hand sanitizer.  Overall, it was a good appointment, but I was EXHAUSTED last night.

Today, I met with the dietician.  There are 2 on staff and I chose the one who is vegetarian.  She told me that my albumin level (measure of protein in the blood) was at the high end of normal so I am clearly getting enough protein in my diet.  She said some doctors might be worried about the whole vegan thing but as long as I keep up with my current diet, I should be fine. 

Now, my goal is to get a good night sleep tonight since we need to be at the hospital at 7:30am.   I feel like tomorrow really begins the chemo part of this diagnosis!