Update to Treatment Plan and Final Surgery

I know I have been quiet lately. Most of my energy has been focused on pushing through my treatment plan. There has been a small change in the plan and I wanted to share where things stand.

I was originally scheduled for eight cycles of the chemo pill Xeloda, also known as Capecitabine. However, due to progression of symptoms from treatment such as my hands and feet swell, become extremely sensitive, and feel hot. By the last day of each cycle I can barely walk. Even before that final day I can only manage short distances before it feels like my skin might blister and peel. It has limited what I can do. The insomnia from the chemo pills has also been rough. As well as a lot of other minor but annoying symptoms, the chemo pill causes dry eye, well that makes my eyes water and then my nose run. So if you see me out and about wiping my eyes and nose I am not crying or sick, it is just the result of some not so fun side effects from the chemo pill.

Because of all this, we have decided to stop the chemo pills early. I am currently in my sixth cycle and this will be my last. My final day of taking them will be August 12th and I fully plan to celebrate that milestone. 😀🎉

I will continue with immunotherapy, specifically Keytruda, for now. My doctor believes most of my symptoms are coming from the chemo pills and that I should feel much better once they are done. If symptoms continue we can discuss ending immunotherapy sooner, but for now it will continue every three weeks through an IV.

With chemo ending, I am now scheduled for what I hope will be my final surgery. They will complete the last step of breast reconstruction and remove my port. The port has been helpful because it allowed lab work and treatment with only one poke. However, because of where it is positioned it is in the way and I prefer it be removed, prior to the final breast reconstruction. Immunotherapy can be done through a regular IV, which means two pokes, one for labs and one for treatment. Surgery is scheduled for September 18th, so I have a few upcoming appointments in preparation for that. From what I have been told this surgery should be a much easier surgery to get through compared to what I already went through. 

I am looking forward to getting this chapter behind me and moving forward with life. I hope and pray that all of this has been worth it and that I get a very long stretch of time, hopefully forever, without having to face cancer treatment again. Once was more than enough and now I’ve been through it twice. Both were hard but very different in many ways. I am ready for this to be the last time.

Unfiltered Pink Lemonade has always been about finding the sweetness in the sour moments. Double the lemons, double the strength. I have walked through breast cancer twice now and I am still standing, still fighting, still finding ways to make something meaningful out of the hard days. Thank you for being here with me as I continue to turn these lemons into something stronger and brighter.