Questions Answered

I just got home from my 5th round of chemotherapy.  I know this is going to sound totally strange, but I actually enjoy going to the cancer center for treatment.  I get the reassurance from my doctor that everything is going according to plan.  I get to sit in a recliner for a couple hours and hang out with my sister while drinking hot tea.  And the best part by far is that every time I go, it gets me that much closer to the end.  Treatment isn't painful but I do get exhausted almost immediately after I sit down... but honestly, I think that the fatigue is mostly psychosomatic.  Today I got some of the answers from the oncologist that I've been looking for.

1.  Q: Is it normal for my hair to continue to grow while going through treatment?
     A:  Yes.

2.  Q: Am I receiving the same dosage of drugs I would be receiving if I wasn't pregnant?
     A:  Yes

3.  Q:  What were the hormone receptor and HER2 results from the pathology of the tumor?
     A:  It is ER (estrogen receptor) positive and both PR and HER2 negative.

4.  Q:  What is the tentative plan for treatment after the baby is born?

• PET scan 
• Surgery immediately after the baby is born to remove or replace the botched expander and possible surgery to have additional lymph nodes removed because the cancer had metastasized to two of the three lymph nodes taken.
• Chemotherapy will begin again approximately 4 weeks after I deliver, consisting of 12 treatments once a week for 12 weeks
• Radiation every day for 6 weeks after the completion of chemotherapy
• 5 years of Estrogen Therapy (daily pill to prevent recurrence)

Apparently I was wrong in thinking that I had 2 out of the 3 positive markers for the more treatable cancer.  I'll take it though.  One is better than none.  The plan for treatment is somewhat daunting.  It will take such a long time and is so much to put my body through.  It makes me wonder if I'll ever have a life that resembles the one before cancer.  I guess it probably doesn't do any good to wonder.  I'll just choose to believe that my life won't resemble the pre-cancer life I once had because it's just going to be so much better.  I absolutely believe the promise in Jeremiah 29:11.  "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."