This is a different kind of recipe for survival based on my experiences in 2012.
How
I survived Cancer
This postrepresents my journey with cancer from
diagnosis through treatment to help others who are in the same boat with many
unanswered questions. Talking to other cancer survivors helped me understand what
to expect so this is my opportunity to share the treatment details.
This happened during my visit to California in 2012 to spend
time with my 11 month old granddaughter. At the insistence of my son,
I went for a general checkup. I had an inherent fear of visiting doctors and fortunately
I never had to visit a doctor except for child birth of my sons. Grandma’s
recipes and herbal medicines had worked well for me so far. You can imagine my
shock when the doctor told me she suspected a lump on my breast and suggested a
mammogram. The doctor was amazed that I had never had a mammogram in all my
years and hardly ever visited a doctor. She promptly arranged for a visit to a
radiologist and recommended further blood tests.
My son who was waiting at the reception figured something
was wrong. But neither my husband nor I shared details since we were still in
shock. With lack of detailed knowledge about cancer treatment, we assumed the
worse.Back home we eventually told our kids about the doctor’s
suspicion. Everyone became gloomy and Googled for details. My niece, a breast surgeon at New York
hospital comforted me and said that cancer can be eliminated based on the stage
of the growth. She even suggested that she could treat me in New York which
gave me some mental relief while waiting on the mammogram results. The waiting period was the worst.
After a couple of days, we went to radiology
department for the breast scan appointment which confirmed the suspicious lump.
The radiologists shared the images with my family and referred me to a surgeon
for needle Biopsy. Since my husband underwent bypass surgery a year ago, I was
worried about how he would endure this. To my surprise, he was very calm and
provided strong encouragement throughout the treatment.
Next I was referred to the chief surgeon and was waiting
for an appointment. We were initially planning to return to India to celebrate our
grand-daughter’s first birthday. So still hoping for a false diagnosis we were
following up every day to get an earlier appointment with the chief surgeon.
Finally we met the chief Surgeon a very pleasant and confident woman. She
slowly unfolded what may be in store and explained the treatment protocol very
patiently for about an hour. I was speechless and as she was explaining the procedures.
My mind was burdened with so many doubts.
On March 1 2012, the doctor performed the ultrasound
guided needle Biopsy and found my growth was stage 2. She gave us two options, mastectomy
or lumpectomy. She clarified that in case of the former I need not have chemotherapy
and in the second option both chemotherapy and radiation therapy would be
required.
For
mastectomy I had to lose one breast and go for plastic surgery. For me, as a
woman, removing a breast was a difficult choice but the advantage of mastectomy
was the minimal possibility of recurrence. The choice haunted me at night and I
chose lumpectomy with courage to encounter chemotherapy. The decision was
conveyed to the doctor and we postponed our trip to India. My family back home
was in shock and it was tough to console them over phone.
On 23rd April after due preparation, I
was ushered into the operation theater around 10 A.M. The doctor greeted me
with her smile and put me at ease. The surgery was completed by her along with another
doctor from pathology.
The whole surgery took 3-4 hours and I was back in
the post-operative room by 2 P.M. When I woke up, my folks were waiting to take
me home. The doctor prescribed pain killers and told me not to carry any heavy
weights on the operated left side. My granddaughter realized that she could not
come near me and I could not carry her. More than the procedural pain, the
emotional aspects were difficult. I was positive and proceeded through my
routine.
On my follow up appointment, the doctor explained that
she had to perform an additional surgery called excision lumpectomy around
the already removed lump to remove remaining cancerous cells and two sentinel
nodes. For this I went to a radiologist who inserted a wire around the lump and
put two ends of wire outside the skin. This would enable the surgeon to remove
the lump affected without leaving any residual cancerous cells in the body. After
the procedure samples were sent to pathologist for analysis. Meanwhile relatives
in India got the news and we received anxious phone calls. Next the surgeon referred me to the chemo therapist /
radiation surgeon. By mid May, the radiation surgeon reviewed my
medical history and set June 18th for radiation and chemo therapy. The
chemo treatment would be done in four sittings with intervals of 3 weeks for
each. She explained that dosage will be done using a mathematical computer model.
The treatment and after-effects were explained to us.
Usually I have to visit the clinical lab 2 days
prior to therapy to ensure that all parameters were in range to withstand therapy.
On the day of treatment a nurse would inject an intravenous fluid to contain
nausea which may occur during treatment. The whole process usually took around
4-5 hours. We usually took juice and food for the four hours which seemed much
longer.
I was informed that on completion of each therapy
the following symptoms could occur. These symptoms varied from patient to
patient.
- Terrific
pain
- Loss of taste
- Nausea
- Loss
of hair ultimately leading to Baldness but on completion of therapy hair growth
resumes
- If
there is a fever, we had to rush to the nearest medical center for required treatment.
This should be done within one hour after the temperature reaches 101*F
To avoid contacting any infection, it
is better to avoid crowded places and people (including kids) with cold, cough,
fever etc. My God! This meant I had to stay away from my grandchild who was my
source of entertainment.
Prior to chemo treatment, the
doctor explained that I should drink plenty of fluids, eat protein rich food,
though symptoms include lack of appetite and taste. I was asked to meet a
social worker. The worker was very courteous and empathized with my distressed
state of mind. She told me about the “Cancer Society” and the help they extended. Back home my husband contacted the
cancer society and registered my name as a new Cancer patient. From that day
onwards, I received booklets on breast cancer, treatment, diagnosis, details on
chemo and radiation therapy. The cancer society was a great support as we
received phone calls from patients who underwent this agony and survived.
Each survivor
narrated their experience and comforted me by sharing stories of their will
power. With a bit of courage and co-operation from family one can easily face
the after effects of chemo. Meanwhile I was reading all materials available on
the web as well as booklets sent by Cancer society to understand what to
expect.I had to eat healthy and bought a
variety of foods including protein rich milk, juices, soups, fruits etc. I spoke
to friends here and in India who also went through a similar experience. They
often called me to share their insights and encouragement. All the support I
received served as pillars of strength
During my treatment I realized that
every person had been through tough times and were willing to offer help. After
waiting, on 18th June I went for my chemotherapy. A day earlier I started
a tablet for 5 days starting on 17th June. I lost my taste buds and
hence eating was impossible. However, I forced myself to take different types
of food and tried whatever anyone suggested as beneficial for recovery.
On the first day since I was told
that the whole process will take 4 to 5 hours, I took necessary snacks, juice
and water and was comfortably seated on a recliner seat. Initially I was administered
intravenous anti-nausea fluid and anti-allergic capsules. This was followed by Cytoxan
for about 2 hours and then Taxotere for another hour. The chief nurse there was
monitoring me for reactions. The nurse provided lot of encouragement from the
day I visited the oncology department. She monitored blood pressure,
temperature and oxygen level every 15 minutes.
My son and husband stayed with me during the treatment. Fortunately I
had no reaction and left for home relieved. I was instructed to visit again
next day to administer an injection to improve the white cells in the blood.
I was at home, doing my chores and
playing cards with family members. On the fourth day when we were playing
cards, I felt pain in my spine. I felt as if someone was cutting me with a
handsaw. The pain alternated from part to part. I went to bed and the unbearable
pain persisted even with a pain killer. Everyone at home was looking at me with
sad feelings and enquiring whether the pain subsided. I waited for a day and
contacted the oncology department. The duty nurse prescribed vicodine for pain.
But the pain occurred with irregularity. I decided to face all sufferings and
around 15th day my taste buds came back to life. And the pain also subsided. I could not
express my happiness in words when the pain subsided. Two days before the second chemo I
visited the laboratory for blood sample analysis. A day prior to the second chemo I met
with the Doctor who reviewed my blood report. After enquiring my experiences
and examining me she said everything seems to be normal for continuing chemo.
At this time we came across another
cancer patient undergoing treatment. She informed us about cancer society and
their voluntary transportation services. Armed with this information we
contacted the cancer society. They promptly organized the volunteers. For each
chemo we needed their service on three days – the day prior to, on and after
the chemotherapy. This was a boon to us. The volunteers were surviving cancer
patients. Two of them made as strong impression on us. One was an 80 year old lady
who walked with difficulty but insisted on seating me first with the seat belt
secured and then heading to her seat. Another person came from nearly 50 miles
away and allocated two days in a week exclusively for the volunteer service.
The volunteer commitment brought tears to my eyes at time. When we asked why
they chose to do this, they answered that they want to give back to the
community what they received. Wow! What an inspiration.
On 9th July 2012, I went
through the 2nd dosage of chemo. I had developed a schedule for the
pain and taste loss by the 5th day of the treatment. This time I also
noticed that my hair started falling in lumps.
I felt pain in the root of the hair like someone pulling out a bunch of hair.
The loss of hair was not confined to one area and the doctor confirmed that I
could get rid of all the hair. The loss of hair and the change in physical
appearance was an emotional journey for my near and dear ones more than me.
However I took it as part of the journey and covered my hair with colored Bandanas
(scarves). On the positive side, the pain in my scalp vanished. I shopped for pants
and tops to match my bandanas to instill confidence – it is a physical
transformation which requires solid iron mindset.
I went through the four sittings
with similar cycles of pain, loss of taste etc. But after each stage I was
feeling tired and hence I increased my food intake to counter that tiredness. This
made me realize the importance of nutrition and healthy food. This has changed my food habits till date. On
completion of all sittings doctor examined me and prescribed Letrozole medicine
for five years.
After a 3 week interval I was
called by the radiation Oncologist. She was a welcoming person who explained details
about the radiation, side effects and recommendations to overcome it. She said
that the whole process would take just 15 minutes and I needed to do this for
21 week days at the same time. We were
not sure how to manage transportation as cancer society was unable to get volunteers
sometimes. While we were pondering this to avoid troubling our children for transportation,
we met a regular patient who mentioned the possibility of using Anthem Blue
cross’ transportation
Once the treatment started, the
doctor and attending nurse would mark the affected location for radiation. The
whole process took about maximum fifteen minutes. During radiation period, the
affected part became red. I was scared to view that in the mirror and applied
lots of moisturizer (Lubriderm).
At last on October 19th
my treatment was complete and I left for India shortly after that.
In the initial stages we were not
aware that the treatment would take so long. We used to tell doctors that we
were scheduled to return to India by March 2012. When the doctor said that we could
leave, we were so happy. Immediately after returning home we confirmed our
tickets and finalized the journey. My mind was flying in the skies, day
dreaming to see our other son’s family, relatives, friends and our sweet home. I
could not believe that I have crossed the critical period of the treatment
successfully. On returning home, I continue
to go for walks, focus on balanced nutrition, and attend religious meetings. I keep
my mind occupied with productive work without much physical strain. My hair
started growing immediately after stopping the chemotherapy and is growing
faster after I applied Aloe Vera gel on my head.
Every day I feel grateful for all those who were
administering treatment like nurses, doctors, other paramedics and
administrative staff. I recollect some of the patients who were taking
treatment at the same time with me. Some of them were in advanced stages of
cancer but were very brave. The cancer society, volunteers, cab drivers who waited
patiently in medical center relatives, friends and survivors who gave me
immense support were crucial for my recovery and will never be forgotten.
My doctor initial words are still ringing in my ears
- “Do not worry. Like the captain of the ship, I will coordinate the treatment.
You leave all your worries on my shoulder. I will take care of you.” These were the words which gave me courage at
a time when my confidence was shattered in a foreign country.
Hope this posting helps those who are living with
dreaded cancer. With determination and will power people can get over cancer or
any other difficulty as our mind if such a powerful healer.
