We spent 2 hours with the oncologist yesterday – so exhausting! What we found out is that I have Stage 4 adenocarcinoma – just the name for the type of cancer. Untreated, life expectancy is 4-6 months at stage 4; with chemo, life expectancy is about a year. However, there are newer treatments coming out soon that can help chemo with reducing the tumors and improve quality of life.
The type of chemo I’ll be getting has a long list of side effects, as most chemo drugs do. One of them is hair loss. The upside to that is it isn’t just hair on the head but all over the body, so it looks like I won’t have to shave my legs for a while! And, a friend of mine is visiting family in Louisiana, so I’ve asked her to look for something fun for me to wear in either LSU or New Orleans Saints colors. Geaux Tigers and Who Dat!!
The rest of the side effects can mostly be controlled with more drugs. I need to get everything organized so I’m ready for Monday when I get my first chemo treatment. I’ve already asked, so I know they won’t let my bring Spud (my mini poodle) with me. I’ll have my Kindle and my phone all charged up and ready to go.
Neither one of us slept well last night. To hear the prognosis was kind of a shock, to put it mildly. So this week, we’re going to be tying up some loose ends so that Steve and the fur babies won’t be left out in the cold when I die. But I’m not planning on living for only a year. The promising therapies nearing approval will greatly extend life, and there are others in the chute.