The Hurry Up and Wait!

I was not going to seek treatment right away because of the cost.  I had to give up the apartment that I was going to rent because I could definitely afford both rent and medical.  My mother came to me and said we are in this together.  Your sister and I will take care of the financial side of your treatment.  You just get better.  I had been stressing over finances for the past five months at this point in time.  I decided to take a break and trust God.

My original oncologist had ordered a bunch of tests.  There is nothing more unnerving to a cancer patient than to have no treatment and all of these tests.  I was assigned MRI of the brain and right breast, CT scan, PET scan, Echo, and Ultrasound.  Then we also got the second opinion from Emory. I decided to switch my care under my current Oncologist Dr. Pakkala.  

What really made me switch was when went for chemo training and the nursing staff ignored us at the original oncologist. I wanted something different for my care.  The nurse forewarned me that I would be tired.  I was able to schedule the chemo on my weekends off and go back to work the following Monday.  When you go through this type of treatment choosing the hour on hour off process works best.  I would be on my feet for an hour and then off streaming a program or reading a book.  I couldn’t incorporate breaks like this at work but I was able to do something similar.   The first drug they gave me for chemo was A and C.  This is the hardest chemo.   The first couple of rounds weren’t too bad but when you get to rounds three and four they require more rest.   

Oh yeah and there is that losing the hair thing.  I am very good at following directions.  So when the doctor gave me a prescription for a wig with no explanations.  I had truly hoped with cutting my hair short enough that I would not lose it.  I wouldn’t then need a wig because I wasn’t going to lose my hair.  I made it almost to the second chemo before my hair started falling out.  So I asked the nurse who was drawing my labs from my port what to do. She told me to go to a wig shop.  I found one in Dunwoody Bernadette’s Salon and Wig shop.  We didn’t make it there until the week of Fourth of July and by then my hair was truly starting to fall out.  I bought some hats to hide my bald spots.