Sister Saturdays – Sue Izzo
Absolutely. I had had a biopsy about 5 days prior and was eager to get the results. I called my doctors office to inquire about my results, by this point it was I believe it was Friday and the nurse told me the doctor went away for the weekend and would call me on Monday. I was not about to wait two more days so I drove down to the imaging center where I had the biopsy and asked for my results. They told me to take a seat and they would print up the results. Well 2 minutes turned to 5 minutes then 5 turned to 10 minutes and then the door to the back opened and the radiologist was standing there and called me in back. She looked at me and asked “have you spoken to your doctor?,” and I replied, “It’s cancer, isn’t it?” And she nodded yes. I was 41 years old when I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Triple Positive invasive bc.
Cancer is not in my family.
After meeting with two different oncologists, I made the decision to participate in chemo, then a lumpectomy, followed by 33 rounds of radiation and then a continuation of two more chemo drugs for an additional two months. My cocktail was Taxotere, Carboplatin, Herceptin and Perjeta.
Oddly I am not sure what date I was deemed cancer free or in remission. But I do do a little happy dance every time I get a clean bill of health with my mammograms or MRI’s. I thank my higher every morning and night for my life.
My hair was like my calling card, I was known for my lions mane. I had long curly hair like Shakira and big boobs so the fact that I was about to lose both seemed like I was going to lose my identity as I had known it. When I first learned about Cold Cap therapy from my superhero friend and BC sister Megan Pischke I was ecstatic to learn that I could possibly save my hair, to keep some sort of normalcy in this very unfamiliar time in my life. My oncologist was more curious about it than negative but the nurses in the infusion room were actually jerks. They flat out said that it did not work, and I was wasting my money. I felt so defeated. It was a really bad moment for me. In the beginning I felt the caps were doing their job. I was losing hair but not massive amounts. I was worried because my hair was sooo thick so I knew it would be hard to get my hair follicles as cold as they needed to be. For the majority of my four months of treatment I kept a good amount of hair but towards the end of treatment a lot fell out. The good part was though that enough hair was left that I ended up getting extensions put in. In hindsight I am not sure I would do cold cap again, only because after a month of chemo I really did not even care about my hair I was just so focused on getting better. I think initially you are faced with all of the things you are going to lose and they are so tied to your identity and femininity but throughout process what you originally thought was so important becomes less so. Plus, I think bald is sexy.
CBD saved me!!! I had extreme nausea when I was going through chemo and lost 15 pounds pretty quickly and was struggling to even drink water it made me so sick, so when I was introduced to CBD it was literally a life saver.
Both, but when I was sick it was hard to practice. It took me a while to get my balance back. But I would always do visualization practices when I was getting chemo.
Well, not being able to have kids and mourning that loss has been the toughest part. I felt I was severely uneducated on how my body would change from a sexual perspective. From vaginal atrophy to the pain of sex, I was not ready for that. I miss the way my old body worked and of course being put in medically induced menopause at 41 was not that rad.
What’s the easiest part of all this? What makes you happy
This is your journey, not your friend’s mom’s, or your cousin’s boyfriend’s sister’s – it is your journey.
Take your time and ask as many questions as you need to. Make the decisions about your treatment that feel right to you. It’s ok to have boundaries and tell people your needs, it is not your job to make other people feel better about your cancer. Cry, laugh, be pissed, feel frustrated, feel whatever you need to feel whenever you need to feel it. And fight for what you want when it comes to your treatment plan – one size does not fit all. If you want a combination of Eastern and Western medicine then do your homework and push for it. You’ll find the right doctors and team who will have your back. Surround yourself with people who make you laugh, seek laughter and lightness, and be ever so kind to yourself. And know you have the most incredible group of women who are here for you every step of the way.
