Outcome of the meeting with the Oncologist yesterday...

The meeting on Friday was to inform about the chemo that I'll go through. Since I opt for removing just the lump and save as much breast as I can, the Oncologist (specialist in Cancer) offered me to participate in a study of two different drug treatments for Women with breast cancer before surgery : Doxorubicin and Cyclophospamide followed by either Ixabepilone or Paclitaxel. The names of the drugs don't make any sense to me but they would to some of my friends here, hence I mention it. I'm only concern about the side effects that I may get like :

• low white blood cell count : increases the risk of infection and if not controlled could become life-threatening
• Anaemia : (low red blood cell count) may make me feel tired and short of breadth
• Decrease platelet count : increase the risk of bleeding or bruising
• Numbness and tingling in limbs : may affect my quality of life
• Nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping, diarrhoea and constipation
• Fatigue (tiredness) or weekness
• Allergic Reactions
• Hair loss

What choice do I have? Like it or not, I'd still have to go through this. To my surprise, when the Oncologist measured the diameter of the lump, it was 4.5 cm. The size has increased from 3.1 cm during the diagnosis. I'm now rigorously reciting the prayers (some verses in the Qura'an) to shrink/kill the cancel cells...