My Surgeon

Here he is. My surgeon Dr. Weiss. We are standing next to each other and yes, he is that tall. He is such a wise, yet humble man.
One of my favorite things about him, is this little bow that he does as he leaves the room at the end of an appointment. He loves his work caring for patients, and it shows.

He has a very to-the-point way of explaining what surgery will involve. As he told us that I would loose my breast, go through chemo and possibly radiation, I felt as though he were giving me a list of things to buy at the store. He knew how to soften the blow and reassure me before I even knew I needed it. Somehow hearing that I had an aggressive form of breast cancer didn't seem that bad coming from him. He is one amazing man.

Hospital (check)... Now On To Chemo

We met with Dr. Weiss again yesterday to have my drains removed. Oh that hurt bad! But it is so nice to have them out! We have now left the hospital behind us. The first item to check off in the battle!

We were able to get in with Dr. Ali Ben-Jacob, my oncologist, for a last minute appointment. He took as much time with us as we wanted, over an hour, and really discussed my case. We now have a war strategy which will begin January 7, 2010. Exactly 1 month after my mastectomy.

Chemo strategy... 8 treatments(intravenous) 2 weeks apart (so 16 weeks). Four treatments of Adriamycin and Cytoxzn and then 4 treatments of Taxol. Along with that, I will have 52 intravenous doses of Herceptin which is one time a week, starting after my fourth chemo treatment. (Herceptin is not a chemo drug and has no side effects. What it does do, is cut my odds of cancer recurrence by 50%. It is the third item in my triple positive diagnosis. So even though it will be long, it will be worth it.) When the chemo drug treatments are complete, I will follow them up with a Tamoxifen pill for the next 5 years. I will also have radiation. It will come part way through the chemo treatments. (Radiation will be with another doctor and so we don't have the specifics on it yet)

That is one life sentence packed paragraph! And it is for my life...to keep my life...to live my life.