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*Starting Monday 10/29/12, I will begin standard chemo treatments every Monday at OHSU.
Initial chemo phase: 12 weeks of infusions with periodic MRI's and biopsies to track progress.
Secondary chemo phase: (with an upped dose of drugs): 8 weeks of every OTHER week infusions.
Surgery: After chemo, assuming no additional phases are added I will have a two-three week 'recovery' period to get my immune system back up to par and prepare for surgery. There is no telling, exactly, what surgery will look like until after chemo-treatments, as it will somewhat depend on how well the tumor has been killed. However, at this point in time, seeing that I tested positive on all the female hormones being attacked by this time of cancer, the plan is a double mastectomy. Since our news from the genetics tests came back 'normal' (meaning my cancer is not due to a chromosomal abnormality), there is extreme positivity that I will not be needing the hysterectomy that they first determined. :)
Radiation: After surgery and the obvious recovery period from that, I will endure some amount of radiation treatments. How many, again, depends on things at THAT point. Whatever is needed, the prayer is that around a year from now I will be deemed 'cancer-free' and can again get back to just, living. :)
