I had my 3rd infusion of the new protocol today, and as with the other two, it went just fine. I was done with the premeds and chemo in three hours, but then had another three hours for more magnesium.  My magnesium was better, but still low.

Before the infusion, though, I had an appointment with Dr. Priya.  It was so good to see her again.  She told me that everyone loves me, or at least my attitude.  She said that where the clinic is located…well, patients tend to complain about everything, even when they don’t have anything to complain about.  Me, on the other hand, had every right to complain about everything and never did.  She asked me how I did it!  That was nice to hear.

I asked Dr. Priya about the length of the second part of the protocol (Taxol, Herceptin and Perjeta).  The reason I’m concerned about when I finish chemo is that affects when I can have my surgery.  And the reason I want to have my surgery as close to the week of August 10 as possible is that I’ve scheduled some recovery time in Maui.  Someone was kind enough to give me time at a condo, and someone else upgraded me to first class.  (Yes, I’m extremely blessed)  Moving the time in Maui would be possible, but not without a lot of hassle and additional costs. Dr. Priya said I would be fine to go to Maui in my third work of post-surgery recovery, but then we also discussed the length of the Taxol protocol.  I wondered if the 2nd part of the new protocol could be shorted:  I’d received 2 doses of Herceptin, and 1 of Perjeta.  So was it the Taxol of which I needed 12 weeks?  And my questioning was confirmed when I spoke with Jennifer Glover, the nurse educator who works with Dr. Ching, my breast surgeon.  I asked her whether I really needed to wait 4 weeks after chemo to have surgery (Dr. Ching insists) because I had this vacation planned. Jennifer was surprised that I was going to have 12 weeks of Taxol, and that confirmed my suspicion.  Dr. Priya said that 1 dose of Taxotere is equivalent to 3 weeks of Taxol, so it’s possible that we could reduce the Taxol by 6 weeks!  She also said that I could have Taxol after surgery if needed, and that this is where it’s the art of treatment comes in. I can appreciate that.  She said that she’d discuss it with the tumor board and let me know. We also talked about Perjeta – we’re not sure if the Perjeta or the Taxotere was what gave me such bad diarrhea.  I said that since I was approved for it, I’m game to have it again.  After all, I’m also much better about what I eat to avoid, or at least minimize, any diarrhea. So we’ll do that.

Speaking of diarrhea, I haven’t had any problems with it for a couple of weeks.  I was able to enjoy thoroughly New Orleans cuisine, and that was the blessing behind the tooth infection and extraction.  I love New Orleans:  the only bummer was that it rained pretty much the entire time I was there.  I was able to carve out some time to go the Quarter Stitch, a fantastic yarn store in the Quarter, and go to Cafe du Monde along with Emeril’s, Cochon and Clancy’s.  Oh, and fantastic breakfast at the Ruby Slipper.  And yes, I did attend sessions at the conference, which was why I was in New Orleans in the first place.

So all in all, things are going pretty well!