Chemo Update

[Trilby]

Well, I've finished four rounds with the chemo Rx taxotere (after each round I got a shot of neulasta to boost WBC) and let me just say that it was a real bitch. I went from bed to couch to bed the entire time. On Jan. 2 I will start the first of four more treatments with a drug called Adriamycin Cytoxin--see? "Toxin" is right in the name! YAY!

I was at the oncs yesterday and the tumor has NOT shrunk ONE bit since we started all this in Oct. Doc says, "well, as long as it's not getting bigger..." I say, "I wish I'd just had the surgery right up front and skipped all this hair-losing, hot-flashing, shortness-of-breath and fatigue-making complete BITCH of a treatment!" I'm right where I started so what is the point? BTW, I called my insurance company--each time they did chemo on me it cost 9,600. Yes, that's right: nearly 10,000 dollars per treatment. Eight treatments--80,000 dollars. And that's just the chemo drug

I am supposed to take a new "miracle" anti-nausea drug called Emend after each A/C cycle--a pill a day for three days. Each pill costs 200.00. Do the math: 600.00 dollars for three pills to keep me from puking. They gave me a voucher for the first three pills (the pharmacy had to order the meds b/c, as you can imagine, there isn't a big demand for 200.00 pills) and only one voucher per patient is allowed by the drug company. I think for the remaining three rounds I'll just be puking. Does anyone, anyone, see a problem here? I just watched Michael Moore's SICKO and I'm still pissed off.

anyway---wish me luck. I think I'll need it.