Bertha was sooo immature

I’m going to be okay.

I’ll know more about my treatment when I have my big appointment with my oncologist next week, but for now here are the details:

   The tumor that I had removed on October 6^th was an immature cystic teratoma. This is pretty rare, about 99% of teratomas are mature and therefore benign. That’s why my surgeon and doctors were almost completely assured that I was cancer-free until the pathology report came back; it was totally surprising for everyone. Fun fact: because this is a germ cell tumor, it grows in reproductive organs such as ovaries OR testicles. I actually have the exact same cancer and will undergo the exact same treatment as Lance Armstrong. Maybe I should write to him and tell him someone stole my bike when I was in the ER?

Kick cancer's ass!

   The good news is that this tumor is highly curable and will have no effect on my life expectancy. My cancer is classified as stage 1a, grade 2. The stage 1a means Bertha was entirely contained and hasn’t spread, and grade 2 means the cancer cells themselves are intermediately aggressive. Chemo will be done just to make sure that any possible remaining bad cells will be completely destroyed.

I should have made her look more evil....

   So, chemotherapy. Oof. Definitely not looking forward to it. I’ll have 3 cycles of of BEP chemotherapy, which stands for bleomycin, etoposide, and platinum. The chemo treatment will be given for five consecutive days (mon-fri) then I get a two week rest period. This is repeated three times for a total of nine weeks on chemo. Basically, I’ll start on November 7^th and feel crappy until mid-January. No ski trips for me :-(

   Right now I think what worries me most are the short-term side effects. Stuff like losing my hair, vomiting all the time, losing too much weight, generally feeling like crap for a few months… it’s all going to happen pretty soon and pretty suddenly. There will be long-term risks to watch out for as well, but I’ll wrap my head around that later.  

   What comforts me the most is that after I get through these rough few months, I’ll most likely be rid of cancer for good. Obviously there are no guarantees (haven’t I learned that already!), but when I’m feeling particularly vulnerable and scared I keep reminding myself that I just need to get through the next three months. Thank God for all you guys supporting me right now. There’s a finish line in sight here, and a hell of a party to throw when we cross it!!!!