Video: Chemo treatment 3

by Thursday, October 31st, 2013Breast Cancer12 comments

Well, I’m three-quarters of the way through the first phase of my chemo treatments. This was round 3 out of 4 with Adriamycin and Cytoxan. I have been told that these drugs are the roughest, because your white blood cells are hit so hard. After the A/C, I have 12 rounds of Taxol, which should be a little less compromising on the immune system. I’ll still have to be careful though. It’s been hard not going out in public. Mark has been running all the errands that I used to. I can’t wait to be able to be around more people sometime soon. I know this is only temporary and I guess it’s better to be safe than sorry. All in all, I feel pretty good this week. I hope that taking Claritin every day this week reduces the aches after the Neulasta shot.

The other day my friend Cindy, who is a breast cancer survivor, told me about a program that aired over the weekend. It was Breast Cancer 2013 with Dean Richards on WGN Radio in Chicago. Apparently, for the past 16 years, Mr. Richards has been doing a live broadcast dedicated to the topic of breast cancer. This year, his panel of physicians included Dr. Catherine Pesce, co-director of the Breast Center at NorthShore Highland Park Hospital, and Dr. Mark Sisco, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon at NorthShore University HealthSystem. Also on the program was Executive Director Ginny Finn from the support group ABCD, which started in Milwaukee. There were also a couple of survivors/mentors from ABCD. Some of the phone calls to the show were pretty powerful.

The broadcast is available as a podcast on the WGN website,  so I listened to it yesterday.  Here is the link:

Breast Cancer 2013 with Dean Richards – with audio and resource guide

Wow! What a great service Richards does regarding this topic. I think it is well worth a listen.  I know it helped me. Maybe it’s just because I am going thru all this right now, but I think it could be helpful to anyone.

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12 Comments
  1. Maria

    The tumor has shrunk?! THE TUMOR HAS SHRUNK!!! Omg Amy that is such good news! And I must say – you look amazing. For sure blue is your color but you have a radiance or glow about you. Maybe its Mark? ; )
    And its cool that you are getting all this great info. I will for sure check out the podcast. Thanks for another great -scratch that – Inspiring post!

    Reply
    • Amy Czerniec

      Maria I know the news couldn’t be better. I feel so good that all this is working. :)

      Yeah I do think that your brother maybe the reason that I glow. He is so patient and wonderful. I love him so much!

      Reply
  2. Linda Surratt

    Great news about the shrinkage! Mark seems like a wonderful guy, sorry I didn’t get to meet him. Hope all continues in a positive direction…be well my friend

    Reply
    • Amy Czerniec

      Well Linda this gives me more of a reason to come out to Washington for a visit. You can finally meet Mark and he can see just how wonderful you and Derek are. I miss you and love hearing from you. :)

      Reply
  3. Donna Flannery

    That is fantastic news !! So glad to hear the tumor is shrinking :). You look great in your wig. Love you.

    Reply
  4. Gayle Strege

    Hi Amy,

    I’m a friend of Maria’s in Ohio, but a Wisconsin native and 13 year breast cancer survivor. We had lunch the other day and she shared your blog site with me. You are doing great and will do great. My diagnosis and treatment are almost the exact same as yours. I had stage 2 tumor and 1 lymph node involved (found during mastectomy surgery). So that meant I had to do chemo. I did 4 AC followed by 12 Taxol–although it was in clinical trials back when I did it. I found that when I had nausea during AC treatments it was because my stomach was empty. I don’t know if that will be the same for you, but the good news is with the Taxol I did not have the nausea, so maybe that will be the same for you too. I was a little more tired with the Taxol, but worked all during chemo, so that may also have been a contributing factor. Positive attitude is the best thing and you sure have that going for you. All the best!

    Reply
    • Amy Czerniec

      Gayle It’s great to hear from a 13 year survivor that is wonderful. I am looking forward to being part of that group. :) I am really looking forward to having the A/C behind me. One more treatment yippie!!! I have been wondering about the Taxol if I was going to be experiencing the nausea like the A/C. I just read about taking Glutamine to help to protect the peripheral nerves while taking Taxol. I have heard from other survivors that they had nerve damage from the Taxol.

      Thanks for checking in and all the best to you as well.

      Reply
  5. Erik Germinaro

    It’s good to see your treatment is going well Aunt Amy. You look great! I wanted to let you know that I’m now working at a Walgreens near Froedtert in Wauwatosa. If you’re ever in the area it would be great to see you. Just give me a heads up so I can let you know if I’m there. I love you.

    Reply
    • Amy Czerniec

      Erik that is great that you are working so close to the hospital. I will defiantly let you know when we can meet up.
      I love you too.

      Reply
  6. Amy Evans

    WOOHOO!!!!! Such good news. You were cracking me up with that crooked wig talk. You are so funny. I miss our maidenform days together. We laughed a lot there! Speaking of laughing, you should watch jimmy kimmel’s clips of parents telling their kids that they ate all of their halloween candy. I laughed as hard as you did watching Ellen. Love you. So proud of you!

    Reply
    • Amy Czerniec

      Amy I miss all the great times we had at Maidenform. I feel so fortunate that we have so many great memories. :)

      Thanks for the heads up on the Jimmy Kimmel clips. Mark and I watched them all last night and really got a kick out of them. All those kids are so stinking cute.

      Reply

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