CancerHacker

It has started! Yesterday I went for my first chemo session. Anxious? Yes! Terrified? Yes! Sobbing like a baby? Of course! It was too soon but it couldn't be soon enough.

My first test was scheduled for the day after I first met my team. It was a bone scan - my very first nuclear test. My mother had had several scans using nuclear isotopes during the period of her life when she had non-Hodgkins lymphoma (she's been in remission for over 2 years), so I was able to grill her regarding her experience. Mine was only slightly different - I was allowed to leave the hospital during the waiting period.

It was Leap Day, February 29th, when I found out I had breast cancer. What's worse - it had metastasized in my lymph nodes. I would have to wait another week and a half before I could see my new Surgical Oncologist, who would be coordinating my care. I felt lost. I was certain I was going to die. It was the longest and worst part of this experience so far. I finally met "my team" at Princess Margaret Hospital on March 12th. They immediately had me scheduled for several tests to determine if the cancer had spread. Regardless of the outcome, they knew exactly what to do now. They started a search for the first available Medical Oncologist - chemo doctor. Because the cancer is in my lymph nodes and is a fair size (about 2 cm by 3 cm) chemotherapy would be administered first. This should shrink the tumor (possibly even wipe it out) so that the surgery can be less drastic. It will also give the medical oncologist a good idea of how my cancer responds to the drugs given. Afte...