Take a Right at the Fork in the Road

We have a direction...If you are following me on social media - you may already know that the chemo is working! So that puts me in the chemosensitive category, meaning the cancer is responsive to this chemo. Yes...that is great news because - it leaves me options in the future, when the cancer returns - says the doctor. And I guess when you have a cancer that is not curable but controllable - options are good.

So now what? Now I complete 2 more rounds of this "baby chemo" (another doctor term) and then we prepare for the autologous stem cell transplant. A stem cell transplant will make remission last longer (because seriously only 16 months in remission is definitely not going to work for me again). How long will it give me? Who knows. Every "body" is different. 

This past few weeks have been good for me in the sense that I am getting more information about what is in the near future. For someone who is a "planner," that is important. I heard from my Cedars Sinai oncologist who let me know that I have "officially" been accepted into the transplant program. 

When I first heard that, I thought it sounded like I just got into my dream school - but then realized that I should be looking at this as a gift. The team at Cedars Sinai, meets weekly to discuss transplant candidates - and when they discussed my case - they all agreed that I was a good candidate. That is a good thing. It also makes it all very real. and scary. and overwhelming.

Last week, I also got a phone call from Jean - my transplant coordinator/nurse navigator - yup I get one of those too. Honestly, she is already a critical part of this journey. She called me on Tuesday to introduce herself and discuss the process a little. She said she would follow up with an email with more information. On Thursday, I got that email filled with a LOT of information. A list of things I needed to provide right away, like a dental clearance, mammogram report within the last 2 years, a pap smear report. These are things that CIGNA requires to move forward. Also included, was a sample schedule of the different parts of the transplant process - they break it down into 4 parts - like a good mini series 😂.

Part 1: Evaluation - Pre-transplant work up and testing (they check all your organs to make sure you can hack it)
Part 2: Mobilization and Harvesting - (Zarxio or similar shot to increase stem cells, followed by the actual harvesting of my stem cells) - 7-8 days up at Cedars Sinai for this 
Part 3: High dose chemo/Transplant - (hospital stay at least 3 weeks, could be longer)
Part 4: Post Transplant 

I am not quite ready to process all that is involved here and now as I am still processing it in my head, but I have a couple months before the fun begins...so there is time. Things start to get real in July so for now, I am going to focus on today and now. I had my 4th round of chemo on April 28/29, followed by a rough week of nausea and bone pain. Today is a better day. 

Cycle 5 is in a couple weeks (May 26/26), I am grateful to at least be on the mend before my birthday! Because you know how much I love birthdays! (Dana - less than 30 shopping days....haha). 

That is all for now...as I said, there is a lot to process... and you know - the only way out is through.

My brain - information overload!