AbbysMom's Journey:

Stunned that a tumor was found. There was no pallable mass. I had just been to my gynecologist 2 weeks prior to my first mammogram. I was spinning!

The lumpectomy went as I expected though having any kind of surgery is traumatic. A week later, my surgeon informed me that he needed me to have more surgery to extend the margins. Oh Yay!

I started AC on August 3rd of 2011 - three weeks after my second surgery. My infusions were scheduled for every threes weeks for a total of 4 treatments. I started losing my hair about 10 days after the first infusion. I was nauseated all the time and I took meds for it that helped curb it a little. I developed sores in my mouth and lips and peri-area. I felt miserable! My oncol. decreased my dosages. I continued with low WBC counts and was given Neulasta. After AC, I had Taxol once a week for 12 weeks. I had some kind of reaction 3 weeks in and I was given more Decadron. Compared to AC, Taxol was better. I had a constant and awful taste in my mouth though.

I started radiation on Feb. 1st about 3 weeks following completion of Taxol. In the meantime, I was hospitalized with pneumonia. I had ever increasing reddening of my breast. I developed blisters on the chest side of my breast. I itched and was sore at the same time. The radiation oncol. subscribed lotions that helped a little. Luckily, the redness and sores healed fairly quickly after I completed treatment.

I had so many of the listed side effects! Nausea, fatigue, low blood counts, chemo brain, hair loss, hot flashes, depression/anxiety, mouth sores, neuropathy, loss of taste, weight loss... The worst for me were hair loss, chemo brain & depression. The chemo brain and neuropathy continue.

I finished treatment on March 16th of 2012! Yay!! My hair has been slowly coming back and a new color too! I now have white hair with a little gray in the back. I had blonde hair prior to treatment. I also have a slight curl where my hair was straight. I'm taking exercise and nutrition classes. My husband and I flew to Las Vegas and met my sister and her husband> We stayed for a few days celebrating my cancer treatment completion. We saw "Jersey Boys" and Rod Stewart. Both were fabulous!!