The journey officially begins

This post is out of order due to an edit I made. Sorry for the confusion. It is from October 2013.


Yesterday, Oct 28, 2013, my journey officially began. I met my new oncologist, Dr. H and his nurse Barb. I was pleasantly surprised by how nice everyone was...from reception to pharmacist, to lab techs. Everyone was genuinely caring and attentive.

Dr. H says he is not 100% convinced it is time to start treatment yet. Although I have lytic lesions in my skull, they are very small. I am not anemic (as of blood work taken 3 months ago), and my kidney function is normal. The bone marrow biopsy will tell the tale. I also had blood taken and am scheduled for an MRI. Currently doing the 24 hour urine collection. The results of all these tests will ultimately tell the tale. It is amazing what they can do with this info. Based on chromosomal analysis they can predict the reaction that the cancer will have to the chemo drugs. They will then decide how and when treatment will take place.

The biopsy itself was disturbing. My hubby doesn't really get what I mean by that. I internalize pain and negative emotions...so I sometimes feel shell-shocked after a painful event...both physical and mental. When I had my tennis elbow surgeries earlier this year it was much the same...the pain was tolerable - it was only the freezing and the staples into unfrozen parts that hurt...but the sounds, sensations and visualization of the process were disturbing to me. I have a vivid imagination, so the hammer and chisel pounding on my elbow made me emotionally sick. You know how you turn away in a gory movie? Like that only it is in your mind and you can't turn away. My bone marrow biopsy was like that.

The freezing hurt like a bitch (some people tolerate the alkalinity better than others) but it was the sensation of the needle pushing and boring into your bone that gets to you. The first one - the aspiration needle is smaller and did not hurt so much going in. The syringe that sucks out the marrow sample is a strange sensation. You feel the sucking sensation throughout your pelvis. It didn't hurt so much as freak me out. It hurt a little, and you get electrical shock type feelings down your leg...but the sucking...OMG! He decided to take three samples...but it did not get better or easier each time.  Then they take a bone sample. This is a bigger needle and the doctor is literally heaving on it as he turns it this way and that to get it into your bone. It hurts but it is the sensation and thought of what it is doing that disturbs me. And then it haunts me for hours after...leaving me quiet, sullen and in a shell-shocked state. Poor hubby didn't know what to do!

Today, I am doing well. Tender, but resolved the imagery of the procedure.