News from the genetic counselor

If I look drugged up, it's because I am!
Benadryl and Ativan.

 So today was a big day. I started on the Taxol, which is the fifth of my eight chemo treatments and a new drug. I also met with the genetic counselor about my test results. They were very surprising: I had NO genetic mutations, meaning my cancer was not caused by genetics. There are no genetic indicators of cancer risk, of any kind they are currently able to test for! How awesome is that? So, whenever I meet with my surgeon I'll talk about the options. I may only remove the affected breast now. We'll see what she says...I definitely don't want to go through this again should it come back, but I don't want to remove an entire body part if I don't have to. We had an awesome dinner to celebrate.

Love watching that chain get shorter!
Delightfully touristy scarf all the way from
Paris thanks to thoughtful friends.

I tolerated the Taxol well; no allergic reaction as I feared (it's rare and they assured me I wouldn't, but I was apprehensive anyway). No nausea or other side effects so far, but of course I'm still fatigued. The doctor confirmed it's my low blood counts--and my labs showed that my RBCs, hematocrit, and hemoglobin are all still low (but about the same as last time so at least they didn't drop more. The white blood cells were they lowest they've been so far but still well within normal range.

Oh, and the doctor seemed pleased with how small the tumor has gotten. We talked about sleep, and he gave me yet another drug to try (Trazodone, which I used years ago). I'm going to try it in combo with Ativan to see if that helps. At least I can take Ativan at 6am and not have it screw up my whole morning. He suggested not drinking fluids after 6pm, but I'm not ready to do that yet.

That's all for tonight. Thanks for all the support today! You all help me more than you know.