And to top it all off, my ankle hurts!

So, yesterday I went for my Second Opinion at Dana Farber.

First of all, I was reminded how much I HATE walking in bitterly cold wind and how under-prepared I was for it. I need a hat that covers my ears! I think I shall be adding some sort of ear-covering hood to my knitting queue.

Secondly, Holy Sitting Around and Waiting, Batman! I got there at 10:40, was thrown some papers, then went to a couple of different offices where they checked my ID and such before having me wait some more. I then went to get some vitals taken...BP was fine, height had not changed, and weight was 118.6 -- sounded about right! I then waited some more, finally finished filling out the paperwork, and was brought in to talk to some coordinator for support groups and such. I liked that they had specialized groups for Young Women with Breast Cancer because I had been having a hard time finding that through Mt. Auburn -- DF sees many more people, so I guess I'm not surprised that they'd have a bigger group. I was then led into an examination room and left to wait again.

Ok, so don't get me wrong, the doctor was very nice and gentle and explained everything really well. Her thoughts on the treatment weren't really any different from the oncologist's at Mt. Auburn -- the only difference was that she said it 'could be done every 3 weeks instead of every 2' and that I didn't need to 'start within 6 weeks of the surgery date but could start within 12 and it would be ok'. Other than that, it was the same. There was one clinical trial that could have worked, but she said that since my prognosis was 'really very good' that the clinical trial really wasn't necessary since it was geared to people who had more aggressive issues than mine.

The issue I had, besides the waiting, was that I felt like I was just a number. They see SO many people and the waiting room was SO crowded...and at Mt. Auburn, people recognize me, they know my name, they know my concerns and they spend a lot of time with me explaining things or answering my questions. I really do like that. I don't want to be 'just another person'.

So, because I was left waiting so long, I barely had enough time to grab lunch before going to my second appointment, this time with the Radiation Oncologist back at Mt. Auburn. First of all, they were so friendly! The head R.N. who took down my history and such was great -- she was thorough and friendly and truly seemed concerned and interested in getting everything. Then the Rad. Oncologist came in and she reminded me of Holly! She had so much energy and was so upbeat! She suggested having the radiation first (and I get tattoos! Granted, they're tiny and look like faded freckles...no big, fancy things, I suppose) and then doing the chemotherapy since I had the opera so soon. We went to talk with the Med. Oncologist who really didn't advocate the idea. Drats.

So, as I went to get my oil changed (and transmission fluid and power steering fluid) in my car, I played with my calendar. I still need to talk to the oncologist to see if this is possible, but if I'm thinking about starting on Wednesday, Jan 20th, hopefully around noonish. I do have rehearsal that night, but I'm told that I should feel fine that evening -- if I'm going to have any side effects, it'll be the next couple of days afterwards. However, I don't have huge commitments on the Thursday and Friday afterwards so I can recover, if needed, then before the next rehearsal on Saturday.

The next treatment would then be Wednesday, February 3rd. The one after that, however, would switch, if they will let me, to Monday, February 15th which is between performances and would give me Tuesday and Wednesday to rest up before Thursday's performance. The final for this first round would be Monday, March 1st, giving me plenty of time to rest up for my Birthday on the 6th before the next round begins.

I am told that the first round of Adriamycin and Cytoxin are the worse of the two rounds, but I'm going to insist that my body can handle it well. I refuse to let it do anything less. Also, as T noted when we talked on the phone, my 'taking it easy' is pretty much most people's 'normal' as I'm always on the go! It's true :). The second round (Taxol and Herceptin) usually has (possibly) only some body aches (flu-like symptoms) for a day and maybe some temporary neuropathy in my fingers and toes (tingling). I can deal with that. Sadly, however, it will get rid of the rest of my body hair. I guess I won't mind not having to wax or shave for a little while, but I do like my eyelashes and eyebrows :(.

So. Now I'm waiting to talk to the Oncologist to see if this will all work. Then I will call the salon and make an appointment to get my hair chopped off. I will also call the dentist and see if they can expedite a root canal/crown before the 20th. I will then see about ordering the wig. I decided that I wanted a longer one since I will have at least a year of short hair. I also need to get started on knitting some of those hats -- I've been working on my mom's mittens, but it's kind of slow going. I may be able to put some real time into them later this week/this weekend as I don't think I'll have much downtime at rehearsal.

I will also be telling the director tonight. I have a really big fear that he'll replace me, but I'm hoping that he'll be as awesome as the Scarlet Pimpernel director was about it (you know who you are! It was such a relief!!!). I want to warn him that yes, at some point in the near future, I will have very short hair and that I will get a wig if it is necessary (I found some nice-looking period ones on Ebay and can make a trip to Dorothy's if needed).

There may be a plan in place. I'm not looking forward to it, but at least there will be a schedule.

On another note, I don't think Maggie is doing too well. She's started some weird, very infrequent wheezing which is much like when she is going to cough up a hairball. It could be just that (she seems otherwise fine) as I've let her groom herself a little more than I had in a long time, or it could be one of the warning signs I've been told to watch for. Poor baby :(. I hope it's the former.