Pat McManus Patricia McManus

I've been diagnosed with pleomorphic invasive lobular carcinoma 😱 and pleomorphic lobular carcinoma in situ 😟 . The malignant part has been removed and determined to be at an early stage, so the prognosis is very good, but genomic features suggest an aggressive tumor that still warrants chemotherapy to kill off any progeny that escaped prior to surgery. My therapy will consist of IV docetaxel  and cyclophosphamide given 4x at 3 week intervals. Chief side effects will be fatigue and hair loss 😮. I am fortunate because I will have my husband, two sons, and daughter-in-law with me throughout (and two toddler grandchildren added in for their ability to distract😊). Following chemotherapy, I will have radiation therapy. After that I'll be on an oral meds for 5 or more years to suppress additional tumors, recurrences, and metastatic disease. All of these therapies have their own twists and issues. 😕 Even with a good prognosis, breast cancer is consider a chronic disease. 😷 
My chemotherapy starts June 8. I'm starting this journal to post updates on how I fare - my ups, my downs. It may contain TMI for some so if you want a more abbreviated update just drop a line and connect in more traditional electronic methods or a phone call. 😎