Last leg of the relay
477 days have passed since we received the news of my cancer. While we are hopeful that this New Year brings brighter days, Nate and I are tired. 477 days of thinking, fighting, talking, writing, and breathing cancer is 477 days too many.
I had my exchange surgery on December 15th and I’m happy to report that it went as smooth as we could have hoped. I woke up high as a kite, with Nate by my side, and without hesitation, I housed a bag of popcorn. If there is anything I have learned in these past 477 days, it is that steroids are a stomach’s best friend.
Getting my groove back
I cannot believe it is November and before we know it, it will be 2022! I can’t say I’ll miss 2021.
I had my ***LaSt*** dose of chemo on October 25th and my final visit while in active treatment to Stanford last Monday. My oncologist was so reassuring by telling me she is very confident that I’m cured of my cancer. But as so many people have told me throughout this journey, there’s no way of knowing I’m cured. There won’t be regular scans or specialized bloodwork. In many ways, I’m entering the most challenging phase: survivorship
Out living again!
I’m two months into Xeloda and things are going quite well— so well that this past weekend Nate, Bernie, and I were able to drive to Sunriver, Oregon for my dear friend Grace’s wedding. I’m thankful for my inch-long head of hair as it has given me back a healthful demeanor. Nate and I had to continuously pinch ourselves throughout the weekend to make sure the pool-side hangs, mingling with friends along the Deschutes, and dancing with our unmasked faces were real life. Getting to spend quality time with seven of my closest childhood friends who are scattered around the country and globe today was extremely healing. We relived memories from our wild child days over beignets and shared stories of how our partners proposed. For five days this cancer nightmare that has unraveled over the past year disappeared into the ether.
The saga continues…
When my initial pathology report came back five weeks ago, my surgical oncologist relayed the news in such a way that my family and I heaved a great sigh of relief. It looked as though I was done, with a capital D. A few days later, I met with my medical oncologist, Dr. Nelson, and she drew a slightly different conclusion.
A Note from Nate
Hi all,
I wanted to post an update about the last week and a half of Katie’s Healing Journey. It began on Thursday, March 25th when I dropped Katie off in the predawn dark to walk alone (due to COVID protocols) into Kaiser San Francisco for her double mastectomy surgery. Her hospital stay was supposed to be for the duration of the surgery and some time in a recovery room only: a same day-discharge was planned. She ended up pushing to stay there for the night and it’s a good thing she did: she developed an internal bleed and had to be operated on again the following day, kicking off a 4-day stint in the Hospital featuring numerous COVID-induced restrictions and challenges. Katie’s mom Mary swooped in on night number two to be at her side full time, which was a massive relief for all involved, going above and beyond any help I would have ever imagined asking for.
Surgery Part II
Katie’s surgery went well, but what was initially planned as a single, outpatient surgery has turned into a 2-surgery, 3-day stay in the hospital.
Following Katie’s initial surgery, the big news is that her sentinel lymph nodes all tested negative - this is great news! (and means they didn't have to remove all of her lymph nodes) We actually won't know the pCR results until at least a week from surgery when the pathology report comes back.
Surgery Day
As I type this Katie is in the middle of surgery, and we are trying our best to keep ourselves busy. Reflecting on the last month and a half, a lot has happened. Katie completed her last two rounds of A/C (aka the Red Devil) and thankfully did not have any more trips to the Emergency Department. In fact, it was night and day to the first two rounds, likely attributed to a combination of the "new blood" she received, the better side effect medicine her nurses were able to procure for her, and her resilience and determination to "be done" with treatment and keep her treatment plan on schedule. She finished her 16 rounds of chemotherapy at the end of February. This is a huge milestone!
Tangoing with the Red Devil
It feels like decades have passed since I sat down to write my last blog post. From my body’s perspective, it has been decades. From a shared consciousness perspective, it has been about four months. In that time, chemo started off not all that bad. I kept my hair for the first four weeks or so, the weekly Taxol treatments had me down for about three days at a time, and the monthly Carbo infusions were intense on the nausea but not insurmountable.
The Next Treatment Phase
Like pretty much everyone, we couldn’t have been more excited to say goodbye to 2020. We celebrated New Year’s Eve Spanish-style, with tasty homemade tapas, silly colorful wigs, and speed-eating 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight for luck in 2021. (We also may have celebrated on East Coast time aka 9pm our time...)
As the year ended, Katie also finished her first course of chemotherapy treatment! This is a big milestone and we are happy to say her tumor is still shrinking!!
Katie is on a short 2-week break before her next round of chemotherapy with a new drug, A/C or Adriamycin / Cyclophosphamide. She will be on a new bi-weekly (vs. weekly previously) chemo schedule and will receive 4 rounds of treatment starting this Wednesday. From everything we’ve heard, we expect this will be a much more intense treatment for Katie. We are nervous, but we are also hopeful that she will continue to experience minimal side effects and combat them proactively.
Belated Christmas Update!
We started December off on a high note, with a much needed vacation to Sea Ranch for Katie’s 31st birthday, complete with ocean views, a fireplace, and hot tub. We celebrated with delicious homemade food - vegan breakfast crepes, fish tacos, and the cous de gras: an amazing homemade Boston cream cake from Nate’s Aunt Karla! (This cake is a 3-day endeavor and seriously so good.) Katie wore her wig for the first time paired with a fancy velvet head wrap. We played games, worked on puzzles, and took walks along the shore. It was a nice “cancer-cation” and we didn’t turn on the TV even once.
Gratitude
Katie is now two months into her diagnosis and 6 weeks into her chemotherapy regimen. At her last Oncologist appointment, we got good news, her tumor is shrinking! (!!!) She seems to be responding well to the chemotherapy regimen. There is still a long road ahead, but we are so grateful to hear this positive news.
Katie is still getting chemotherapy weekly on Thursdays. She’ll have a slightly different schedule these next two weeks due to Thanksgiving and her birthday! For those who don’t know, Katie’s 31st birthday is on December 3rd. Please send all the good vibes, per usual (THANK YOU!) and birthday wishes!
“Mermaid hair”
It is no surprise to anyone that knows Katie that she would use the opportunity of impending hair loss to launch a wildly creative, multi-phase hair project.
Phase 1: Bleach hair — goal to be as blonde as possible! The blonder the hair, the brighter colors will show up on top of it. Caution: avoid the roots!
Phase 2: Apply super bright hair dye.
Phase 3: Shave part of head in trendy celebrity-esque way.
Phase 4: Rock the mohawk. Will need vast amounts of hair gel.
Phase 5: Shave head. Learn to fashion head wraps, wigs, turbans, and scarves.
Month 1 in Review
The last month has been a whirlwind, filled to the brim with blood draws, imaging, fertility injections, ultrasounds, doctor appointments, phone calls (so many phone calls!), and endless hours on the road driving to and from doctor appointments and pharmacies. My body feels like a lab experiment, poked and prodded in all types of ways by many, many healthcare professionals.
Navigating Diagnosis & Heading Into Treatment
It’s been a very busy few weeks. Katie now has a treatment plan to manage to and will start chemotherapy on October 15th.