Day 1 of Treatment

A journey of 1000 miles begins with a single, no, two... okay, three needle sticks.  Amanda's port was surgically implanted last Friday, so, after letting it heal for two days, today it was time to put it to use.  Unfortunately, when a foreign body is placed under the skin, the skin protests by swelling to unheard of sizes.  It also likes to become bruised and tender.  So, after two sticks with the small needle failed, Nurse #2 came out with a blunted knitting needle and got the port to flush.  Had this been any other patient, there may have been much screaming and passing out, but Amanda does not abide such wussery.  She made one quick, tight fist, then was ready for treatment.
For those unfamiliar with cancer treatment, like me, I'll take a minute to walk you through our experience.  We were taken to the Infusion Center and given a short tour.  There were complimentary snacks and drinks followed by a series of suites, more like open cubicles.  Each contains a chair and an infusion kit, basically an over-sized IV stand.  After the port line is started two nurses come over and begin a small act of "Who's on First" involving one asking Amanda what her name is, then repeating it to the second nurse.  Nurse #1 states the meds that Amanda is about to receive and Nurse #2 confirms or denies this.  While it seems a bit of overkill, I certainly appreciated the checks and balances, as did Amanda.
Her current regimen of treatment is the result of her willingness to take part in a study.  Rather than a full course of both antibodies (Herceptin & Perjeta) and chemotherapeutic drugs (Carboplatin & Taxotere) that is standard with her form of disease, HER2+, this study is attempting to see which patients respond only to the antibodies.  They know that, in some cases, the antibodies alone can shrink HER2+ tumors, but they have not yet determined what type of patient and why.  So, Amanda is helping them to figure this out.  What this means is that, if we are very lucky, she will show progress without having to have chemotherapy added to her infusions.
Today, being the first course, meant that she was learning how her body will react to these antibodies.  While she thankfully showed no allergic reaction to either antibody, the Herceptin did cause her to get chills.  The nurse was able to counter-act these with a small dose of a narcotic which got rid of the chills, but made Amanda nauseous.  However, she was able to finish the course of Herceptin and leave on her own two feet.
Overall, it was a tough day, but Amanda is tougher.  She has, throughout all of this, kept her compassion, as well as her sense of humor.  She has many more days ahead of her, but I am confident that she will never lose those two components of her personality.  Cancer is a bitch, but I've seen Amanda when someone cuts her off in traffic.  Cancer doesn't have a chance with her.

What is this all about?

On 10/13/14, we learned that Amanda has breast cancer.  Unfortunately, at that point, that was all we knew.  After a week of not know what exactly she was facing, we finally learned that she has HER2+ breast cancer.
This site is meant to be a place for information on her progress as she kicks this disease in the ass and out the door.
The title, "Embrace the Suck" was suggested by Amanda's mom and is a perfect summation of how we have decided to face this as a family.  Rather than lament a "why me" attitude, we are embracing the suckiness as one.