First Treatment

Friday was my first treatment with Herceptin, a spiffy designer oncogene, custom tailored to match the HER2-neu proteins that stick out of my cancer cells. Herceptin latches onto the proteins & calls in the bouncers -- the immune system.

The hospital was running unusually late, so I didn't start my treatment until nearly 4 hours after it was scheduled. But they treat you very well: sandwiches, fruit, juices and A CUSTARD CUP. It took about 2 hours for the liquid bag of meds to drip into my system. As predicted, I felt quite flu-y after. It was weird to feel cold in the midst of Seattle's heat wave. Luckily I'd cleared my day, so went home and curled up in a shawl with a guilty-pleasure: a Hugh Grant dvd my sister sent in a box of other entertainments. The next day I needed to take a 3 hour nap, but otherwise felt fine. Future treatments are supposed to be easier. Boy, am I getting off the hook.

My little bag of clear fluid apparently costs $2000. Discovering this during my cost-estimation research had me wondering: Is this really worthwhile for the 3-5% reduced rate of recurrence I'm getting from it? More research, prayer, and reality checking: this is just what treatments cost. Accept it: my health is worth the cost of a new hybrid car or 6 months in Italy. I tell all this to Kevin, the droll nurse who sticks me. He reports that $2000 is cheap. There is a med for pregnant women with a particular blood disorder that costs $45,000/bag.

I'm getting off easy. I am surrounded by blessings. I am grateful to my toes that God & some clever people invented insurance.