I really debated announcing my cancer. I felt like that might come across as an attention grab. I’m introverted, so it was hard to post, but I did it anyway.

I honestly expected crickets.

People who think follower count is important might feel that I didn’t get much of a response, but I was overwhelmed by the support I got. I can’t even tell you how much all the well wishes, advice, links, and stories of others who have gone through this have meant to me. I have to say, you all are the best. Thank you so very much.

I’ve decided to do a weekly post, on Sundays, just to update everyone about what’s going on with my treatment. I find it all very interesting, and I think others might find it interesting, too.

I had three medical appointments this week. I think that’s a first for me.

Tuesday, I met with my oncologist, Dr Von Wu, at Compass Oncology. He explained exactly where my cancer is located and what stage I’m in. There’s a 4.4cm tumor in my pancreas. Two glands have tumors, one is 1.2cm, and the other is 1.5cm. They told me about the tumors in the glands while I was in the hospital, but somehow I forgot about them. They checked all over, and there are no other signs of cancer. All of this equates to stage II cancer.

Next, Dr Von Wu showed me the scans that were taken while I was in the hospital. I got to see the locations of the tumors and where they are in relation to my organs.

Then, he gave me a quick explanation about my chemo treatments. I got a more thorough explanation later in the week, so I’ll skip that.

I felt Dr Von Wu was very well spoken and really knew his subject matter.

On Wednesday, I saw my primary care physician, Dr Roberts, with the Rose Clinic. No one suggested this; I just wanted to see her and talk about my diagnosis and make sure she was being kept in the loop.

On Thursday, I had what they call a “Chemo Class”. I went to Compass Oncology and they had a class that lasted about one and a half hours that explained how the chemo would happen, what the expected side effects were, what the unexpected side effects could be, and what to do about them. I took about five pages of notes. They did give me a lot to read, but I like to take notes. There was another new patient in the class. A lot of what was said was for both of us, but some things were individual, so I got to hear a little bit about her treatment.

The chemicals in both our chemo treatments will be completely different. Therefore, side effects will be different. For instance, she was told that she would lose all her hair. I was told I might lose up to a third of my hair.

I will be given one chemical that affects how I feel the cold. The instructor said that drinking cold water would feel like shards of glass going down my throat. So, I guess I’m going to have to learn to drink tea. At least that’s short-term, only lasting for a few days right after each chemo treatment.

My treatment will consist of 5-6 hours of infusion at the facility. Along with the chemo, they will give me anti-nausea meds and steroids. After that, they will hook me up to a little machine that will continue giving chemo for 46 hours at home. At that time, I return and they will remove the machine, and I’m done with that treatment.

That’s when the nausea really starts. At first, it’ll last about three days. Gradually, it will last longer and longer, until I’m sick most of the time. Not looking forward to that.

Well, this post is long enough. There’s so much more information that I have.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. I’m very open to talking about this. I’m finding that a lot of what I thought I knew about chemo is outdated. I’m betting that’s true for others, also.