I never talked directly with Dr. S, but when Beth told him I was having doubts about the chemo drugs, he told her to reiterate to me that ALL the doctors in the council agreed this was the best course. Avastin works by cutting off the blood supply to the cancers. It's not a traditional chemo, it works on angiogenesis. And Abraxane will work differently combined with the Avastin, but it will still work on killing the existing chemo cells.
After hearing that he feels strongly about these drugs, I feel better about taking them. I just wanted to make sure another drug wouldn't work just as well. He is the cancer doctor, after all, and I do trust him.
So, I will go for my first treatment of this new protocol on Monday, March 28. I will go in monthly cycles - week one will be Abraxane and Avastin, week two will be Abraxane only, week three will be Abraxane and Avastin, and week four will be off. I'll do this for 6 months, I believe.
One thing I want to try this time is a hair-saving technique I've been reading about. It's called cold cap therapy. Basically, I'm going to try wearing a frozen gel-filled cap during my infusion. The cold will slow down blood flow to my scalp, thus reducing the amount of drug that gets to my hair follicles. I'll probably have to change the cap once during the infusion since each cap stays cold enough for only about 30 minutes. I found a place that sells the caps, not cheap, but I should be able to get 2 caps in time for my first treatment. Here is a news clip about this technique http://abcnews.go.com/Health/OnCallPlus/cold-cap-therapy-women-chemotherapy-hair/story?id=11985624 I figure it can't hurt to give it a try!
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