On Thursday I went to two doctor appointments. My first appointment was with a surgeon. He's going to place my port for me. On Thursday, May 19th he'll sedate me and make a small incision in my chest and put the port-a-cath in. The catheter will be guided into my jugular vein with the use of several tools, one being an ultrasound. This will make it so they don't have to put IVs in my arm all the time, when they give me my meds/chemo. I'll be able to go home the same day, after they do an X-ray, to make sure everything is properly placed. He said I'll be able to work the next day. There are risks with this surgery, but hopefully everything will run smoothly.

My second appointment was at my Oncologist's office. A nurse practitioner and another nurse worked on my lower back to get a bone marrow biopsy. They gave me a shot to numb the area and then they used tools to extract the bone marrow. It wasn't fun! I could feel them touching my bone and it was slightly painful. I was a good girl and I didn't freak out, but I wanted to. They said I did a really good job! :) Afterwards they let me see my bone marrow and the other stuff they collected. The bone marrow looked like thick blood and the other looked like a piece of bone.

I asked the nurse practitioner if the results were back from my PET scan and Echo cardiogram and she said they weren't in my file yet. She said that I'll find out the results of my bone marrow biopsy in a couple of weeks and then coupled with the other information gained from the other tests, we'll be able to accurately stage my cancer.

On Wednesday, May 18th I'll go in for a Pre-Op visit. I think this is dumb since they've already taken my blood, etc. I have to do this, so I will. It just seems like an unnecessary meeting and I hate to take another day off and pay the cost of a visit that seems so unnecessary.

Since my port is being placed on Thursday, May 19th, we will start chemo on Thursday, May 26th, a week later. School ends June 2nd, so I will have a few days of chemo and work combined. I think it will be hard, but I know early treatment is more important so I'm just hoping I will feel good so I can finish my duties.

I finally told my boss that I have cancer on Wednesday, May 11th. I felt like I should tell him so he would understand why I've been absent so much. I told him he could tell the secretary. I thought it would be easier to tell people, but it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I felt sad and still do. I guess the reality of what's happening is starting to sink in. The biopsy caused me to think about how this process is going to hurt. I hope I can do this.