Answers to FAQ

Cancer sucks, and it can really freak everyone out. People literally whisper to each other when learning about a friend or colleague's news of a cancer diagnosis. I know because I was one of them. And it's totally human to have that reaction. You don't know how they are doing, are they going to die, where is the cancer, what is the treatment, is there a treatment, will they become weak and scary-looking? Will I ask the wrong question and inadvertently make them feel bad? I want to help make this all a little less uncomfortable and less mysterious for you, reader.

Answers to FAQ:

• I have been diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) and I am between Stage 2b and Stage 3a. (edit: my records do say Stage 3a. However, Onc. Dr. F. said it "could be" Stage 2, but it doesn't matter so much right now as what it is at the end of chemo and before surgery.") 
• Thankfully, it has not spread to a second location (huge sigh of relief here, people). However, it is in the lymph, which means the little baddies (cancer cells) are floating about willy nilly. This is why we start with chemo-- we are going after those jerks first. 
• I discovered the lump on my own (PSA: humans with breasts, please be diligent about checking your breasts regularly. Be a warrior and face it head on, always.) It is in my right breast, and it is not super small (~4cm). Quote my friend K., "OF COURSE it is in the right one. It's ALWAYS the Right's fault!" 
• It does not run in my family, though I am awaiting genetic testing results. 
• I have amazing health insurance through John-- thank you, labor unions! 
• I will lose my hair. Possibly eyebrows/lashes, too. 
• But I will have a wig (or two), and I am determined to have fun with this. Also, hats. 
• A huge thank you to my long-time hairstylist/artist and dear friend, T., for her help on procuring and styling my future wig. 
• In the meantime, I have chopped a cool 10 inches of hair off and I am rocking a darling pixie these days. 
• Although I have not yet begun treatment, I am consistently told to expect to be able to live a mostly normal life. I will likely experience some fatigue, but most side-effects will be fairly easily mitigated (with other drugs such as steroids, anti-nausea medicine). 
• Every person going through treatment has their own story and is impacted differently. 
• We are living with my sister- and brother-in-law and 4 year old nephew in northern VA. They have incredibly and generously insisted that we now stay throughout my treatment so that they may provide extra support for both of us. (I have insisted that they always have an out, because while this is all manageable it is also A LOT. Additionally, I am known to be independent af so this will be a growing experience in vulnerability and such for me as well.) 
• My treatment: 
• I am participating in an Immunotherapy clinical trial, which is helpful for many reasons including putting one more tool back on the table for me. It has been blowing people away with its successful treatment of other cancers. (President Jimmy Carter apparently had Immunotherapy?) I am near finalizing all of the details and will likely begin chemo on Friday of this week. (The trial is standard chemo treatment, + Immunotherapy (or saline placebo). I start on Friday, September 29. 
• After a bunch of chemo, I will have surgery. Not sure yet on lumpectomy/mastectomy but I can guess which and I am okay with it. This is probably March 2018? 
• Then radiation. 
• Then a final round of Immunotherapy (or saline placebo). 

I may have missed some, so please let me know by messaging me here in the comments or by traditional methods such as Snapchat.

Selected quote:

"OF COURSE it is in the right one. It's ALWAYS the Right's fault!" --K.