84 DAYS OF CHEMOTHERAPY - BEFORE THE 84 DAYS

Life comes at you fast. I was diagnosed with Invasive HER2+ Lobular Carcinoma on April 7th, 2022, which just so happened to be World Health Day. When you get that call, your world stops- especially if you haven't ever been through a diagnosis personally or with a loved one. I had no reference point for any of the terms the doctor was using. The only thing I knew was the tumor was small, because I asked the radiologist that question when I had my biopsy. That gave me some refuge from the shit storm that was hitting me.

The next morning, I was on the phone with The University of Pennsylvania and Fox Chase Cancer Center. I didn't know much about treating cancer, but I knew they were the best. I reached out to my friends and doctors to get their opinions on which I should go to. My primary care doctor told me "That I need to be confident that the team I choose will save my life". That felt like great advice and a gut punch all at the same time, as dying from this had never entered my mind.

I ultimately decided to go with Penn. I was assigned a Nurse Navigator to help me through the process. Cindy, my NN, is my guardian angel as well as my own 24/7 personal Cancer Concierge. She jumped through hoops to get me in a week after diagnosis to see Dr. Lola, the Breast Surgeon and Dr. V, the Oncologist.

Liz, my bestie from kindergarten, went with me to be my second set of eyes and ears to help digest all the info the experts were throwing at us.

My first appointment was at Penn in Philadelphia with Dr. Lola. At the time, my tumor was 1.7 cm, right on the border as to whether they do surgery or chemo first. The decision would be made after an MRI provides a better look at the tumor, as well as whether any lymph nodes were involved. I have probably had 25 different tests, scans, biopsies, ultrasounds, and blood work within 3 weeks. The MRI broke me. I have had a predominantly positive attitude about my diagnosis, but that pushed me over the edge. It was extremely uncomfortable, as you lay on your stomach, your masked face smooshed into a headrest, with your boobs hanging through holes like udders. They provide noise canceling headphones which were no match for the loudness of the machine. All my weight was on my upper ribs which was really painful and made it even harder to breathe. At one point, I was told "not to breathe as heavy as it created movement in the photos". Okey Dokey then.

After 25 minutes it was finally over, but the results led to needing another biopsy, this one of my lymph node, and to the discovery that my tumor was slightly over 2 cm, which steered my treatment to chemo first. But finally I received a call with some good news: my lymph node was clear - just a little angry from my original tumor biopsy.

More good news came from a phone call from Dr. V. There is a nationwide breast cancer treatment trial for my specific type of disease that I am able to participate in through Penn's local affiliate, Chester County Hospital. It is a Stage 3 trial, which means that it is in the third round of providing trial patients with the new type of care. Typically with my cancer type, the chemo cocktail includes 4 drugs. The trial will prove that it is possible to remove the harshest drug and result in the same positive outcome for the patient. It is believed that in 5 or 10 years, this will be the new standard of care, so I feel very privileged to participate in this groundbreaking study.