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New year, new doctor, new chemo!

Greetings, friends, long time no type. Hope you all have entered what is objectively the worst period of the year in good spirits! Greg and I had a slow start to the year with our respective colds. After a period of recoup, we eventually left for Miami, which as you can tell from the below collage, involved good weather, good food and drink, catching-up with old friends Shaina and Bjorn (respectively), sitting by a pool for an afternoon, and lots of selfies. It was so fun, but way too short. I hope we can go back/get away again soon!










Shortly after getting back from Miami, it was back to reality, at least for me*. And there is no harsher reality than the reality of more cancer treatment! Today, I finally met with my new oncologist, Dr. M. I really liked her- she was friendly, straightforward, and did not make me wait long. What I did not love, but what was somewhat anticipated, was that she recommended that I start an IV chemo regimen, called carboplatin, with my next four immunotherapy infusions. This is largely because I did not have a very strong response to chemo the first time around, and Dr. M wants to do everything in her power to reduce my risk of a metastasis. Also, this specific type of chemo is apparently more effective in BRCA2 carriers, which I am. 

So I will start the first chemo at my next immunotherapy infusion at the end of January. I will continue with four treatments in total alongside the infusions, once every three weeks, until the end of March. It's kind of what I was expecting, but I'm bummed.  Chemo sucks, and when I finished my last one back in September, I was truly hoping that would be it. The carboplatin is apparently slightly easier than the AC, and I won't lose my hair, but I still will have a weakened immune system, nausea, tiredness, and neuropathy**. I'm just over it, but I know I don't have much of a choice. So on to the next round of this toxic shit. Cancer, for what it's worth, has made me infinitely adaptable. New year, new doctor, new chemo. 

*Greg left Wednesday night for South Korea, where he'll be spending a total of 3 days at a dance event! The joys/insanities of having my mom's flight benefits. 
**For those who don't know, that's tingling in your hands and feet that could last in perpetuity. One of those casual side effects the doctors just drop in, ya know? 

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