Yesterday, I met with my oncologist and got the low-down.
He was able to talk to a specialist at MD Anderson, who's agreed to see me. (Hooray!) He told me that they talked about administering MAID (it's an acronym for a chemo cocktail that's used to treat sarcoma patients - you can read about it here, if you'd like). I'd start with two rounds, once a week, three weeks apart. After those six weeks, they'd run another MRI to see if the tumor shrank (shrunk? ... why am I never sure which word to use?), stayed the same (which could also be considered a win), or got bigger. If the tumor got smaller or stayed the same, they'd most likely run more chemo through me to kill the tumor. If the tumor got bigger, they'd go in and take it.
So, chemo.
This particular blend will definitely make me lose my hair, but I should be able to keep my eyelashes. ... Yeah, I asked. The thought of losing my hair is pretty traumatic. Losing my eyelashes on top of that was too horrifying for words. (I mean, hello, I am the girl who takes mascara with me to the hospital. I go into surgery with no make up and jewelery-free. As soon as I am able to lift my arms above my waist, my earrings are going in and my mascara is going on.) I may lose eyebrows and other hair on my body, but my eyelashes should stay put. Hallelujah!
This blend of chemo can weaken the heart, and affect the bladder. They build blockers into it, so I should be okay, but those are known long-term possible side effects.
I had more questions, but the doc didn't want to go too deeply into what the chemo could do, side-effect-wise, since we weren't sure yet if I'd be doing it. He wanted me to go see the doctor at MD Anderson, get a feel for him, let them review my records and determine what they thought the best treatment plan would be.
I was told that, realistically, I am looking at 6 weeks out before chemo would start. ... I breathed a sigh of relief, and asked, "If we're going to wait until mid-March to start anyway, would it be okay if we waited until April?" The doctor said that would probably be fine, and asked why I wanted to wait. I explained that I have big plans in March, that I have a cousin coming in the beginning of the month and concert tickets later in the month. I told him that the long and short of it was that I had parties planned that I didn't want to miss. He laughed, and asked if he could hug me. I told him that he could, and when he pulled back from the hug he said, "I wish all my patients could be Laurie Evans. You are so brave, and you're so fun." (I love him.) "We can wait until April, don't worry about having to cancel your plans."
The plan for now is to get into MD Anderson and get more info. In his words, "We're on a fact-finding mission." This chemo treatment is what is currently on the table, but it's not a for sure thing yet, and we aren't sure how everything will play out. What he'd like to do is get guidance from the specialist at the cancer center, while he remains my primary oncologist and be the doctor who administers the chemo and follows me. ... I'd like that plan, because I so love him, but I did remind him that I'm always searching for a single oncologist, and if this new doctor happens to be young and single, I may have to break up with him. He laughed out loud and told me that he hoped he would be, and that he would be my sugar daddy in a heartbeat if that were possible. ... If we can, I'll stay with him and let him give me the drugs that the specialist recommends. There's a possibility that they'll go with a different kind of chemo, or an experimental/trial drug, and that would change the game plan a little, but for now the plan is to keep Scottsdale Cancer Center my home, and I'm liking that plan. A lot.
I was told that MD Anderson should be calling in the next few days to set something up, that he'd been told that they should be able to get me in this week. (Wouldn't that be awesome? ... I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere, like maybe the waiting game is coming to an end. Hooray!)
On the way home from the doctor, I got a call from scheduling at MD Anderson, advising that before they could make me an appointment, I needed to have my current and prior doctors (my surgeon and radiation oncologist) fax over my medical records for review. ... Requests have been put in at all three doctors' offices who've done the cancer thing with me and I'm hoping I'll get a call with an appointment in the next few days.
Am I looking forward to chemo? No. No, I'm sure not. ... But I'm hopeful that it will kill this tumor and stop my body from growing another one.
Things on my list of Stuff To Do This Week:
See if I can find a wig shop that will make a wig out of my own hair.
Maybe put the dishes that have been on my counter (for over two weeks) away.
Purge my closet. (I am required to get at least ten things out of my closet that I haven't worn in the last year.)
Yup. Three things. I have three things to do this week. Wish me luck!
