Managing The Most Important Project of My Life

Saving my life …. or at the very least, extending it for as long as I can. How do you take control of a project where you have very little control? Especially with a cancer type that is sneaky, sneaky, sneaky and quite unpredictable.

One way is to learn as much as I can:

1. Understand the specific characteristics of my type of cancer, ILC and Metastatic Breast Cancer
2. How to read the PET/CT/MRI
3. Understanding the blood work and what it means when levels go up or down
4. Understanding which blood tests should I pay the most attention to
5. Will changes in diet or activity levels impact test results
6. Treatment options and their risks

It's a bit overwhelming sometimes. Put on your PM hat and get to work!!

I created a spreadsheet to help me track the many insurance claims (53 to date); what is being paid, what is my financial responsibilty, where have I overpaid, etc. To date, vendors have submitted over 93K in claims. Cancer is a BIG business. 

I created a second spreadsheet to help track blood work and compare results week to week. I want to know chemo's impact on my body from a blood level perspective.

Hubby and I created a communication plan. This blog is part of that plan; therapeutic for me plus keeps friends and family in the loop. We also have scheduled conference calls with the kids once a week to discuss the latest so they hear it from us before I post to the blog. I try to get one-on-one time with the grandbabies at least once a month, not to talk cancer, but to stay connected and keep all lines of communication open.

I will create a risk management plan once we know treatment options, the pros and cons of each, and recommendations from my doctor on how to mitigate risk associated with each option.

I am working on the project schedule to include education, communication, documentation, diet and exercise and treatment tasks. I am managing this project in Phases, with each phase lasting three years. It may be unrealistic, but I am planning on at least six phases, more if I can make it happen.

I think I will even create a charter. How can you manage a project without the charter? How can I manage scope creep without a charter? Actually, this needs to be done before everything else. Guess I'll be writing a charter this weekend :)