Another count-down...

... until we leave for Houston. A week from now I will hopefully be in Houston getting ready to arrive at MD Anderson.

Right now the plan is to drive my father-in-law's Ford Fusion to TX. Neither of our vehicles are long-distance drivers (1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited & a 1988 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe), so we have to borrow a vehicle. We'll be leaving Sunday morning pretty early & driving straight through all 900 miles. My first appointment is a check-up with my breast oncologist, Dr. L. She's the wonderful doctor at MD Anderson that specializes in young women with breast cancer (that's me), BRCA1 cancers (that's me), and cancer treatment while pregnant (that was me) -- so I was a trifecta for her! After that I will be meeting a new plastic surgeon to hopefully address the pain issues I'm having with my reconstruction. Since I've never met him, Dr. C, I'm not really sure what to expect. However, since I'll be at MD Anderson, I'm sure he'll be great! He's also supposed to be setting me up for a referral to a oncological pain doctor. At least one of MDA's pain doctors has published an article about Post-Mastectomy Pain Syndrome (PMPS). I'm expecting that will be the diagnosis I am handed.

From what I've read, PMPS does not have a "cure" merely band-aids that are supposed to make life more livable. At this point, doctors aren't entirely sure what causes PMPS nor how to treat it. There are some theories about how to prevent it, but even those are not guaranteed. They've identified women who are more likely to suffer: young (that's me), experience neuropathy (that's me), high BMI (not me yet ;-), extensive axillary dissection (sort of me since my tumor was in the axillary tail of my left breast), and some others that I've forgotten. So again, I'm kind of a trifecta for this syndrome. :-( Some of the treatments for PMPS are NSAIDS (BTDT with OTC as well as Rx), neuropathy drugs like Lyrica & Neurontin (BTDT with serious side-effects), therapeutic massage (I'm trying, but my insurance won't cover it), and biofeedback. The worst part is that I've already tried most of the remedies, but not yet found relief. That will severely limit what this doctor can do for me. However, I'm hoping that the unmet Dr. C & the unknown pain doctor will be able to give me a plan.