Doing Well

Just a quick update to let you know that I'm doing well.

I've been on the same treatment plan since my last post and expect to be on it a while longer. I feel good most of the time and am living my "normal" life.

I'll have a CT scan in December to check on things. My white blood count has been decreasing with each treatment (an expected side effect), and if it goes below a certain level I'll need to take a break from chemotherapy to allow it to go up.

Since I tested negative in 2012 for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations, four additional genetic tests have been discovered that can show a higher risk of getting breast cancer. I just got my blood drawn to be tested for those and will learn in about three weeks whether I have any of those gene mutations.

If I'm negative, then my daughters will be negative for them too. That will be six genes they don't have to be concerned about.

If I'm positive for any of them, I'll learn what the implications are, and M and C could opt starting at age 18 to be tested for them. If they are positive, it will affect the decisions they make with their doctors in the future regarding what cancer screenings they receive at what ages.

I'm amazed by the advances in the cancer and genetics fields. There's such a long way to go, but there's also so much progress every year.

Good News

What a nice surprise - the CT scan I had Tuesday showed that the chemo is still working (contrary to what the tumor markers were telling us). The liver mets are still shrinking, and the other areas are stable.

So I get to stay on Navelbine + Herceptin for a while longer. I go in on Monday to start another round. A round is three weeks long - I have an infusion two Mondays in a row and am off the third Monday.

I'll still meet with the other oncologist next Thursday to talk about clinical trials and her take on standard treatments that are still available to me.

I've got several fun days ahead, and knowing I can stay with the status quo will make them even more relaxing!

The Only Thing Constant is Change

Well, it's almost time to switch to a new chemo plan.

I thought I'd write a quick update while in a waiting room because I'm so over Ladies Home Journal.

The labs I had done September 2 showed the tumor marker levels are not headed in the right direction. So Dr. N has concluded that the Navelbine + Herceptin has stopped being effective.

Here's what's coming up:

September 16 CT scan to see what's happening.

September 19 visit with Dr. N to talk about treatment options.

September 25 consultation with the oncologist at my area's major cancer research center (whom I met in March) to hear her ideas on standard treatments and clinical trials.

I'll probably start the new plan the last week of September.

I still feel good physically and am living my normal life. I did hit the pause button a couple of weeks ago on accepting new clients and am giving myself more breathing room in my schedule for taking care of myself (exercise, family, friends).

A lot of the time I'm in good spirits, and I'm leaning on family and friends on the harder days. 

I've got some fun social things going on in the near future, including a weekend with my college BFFs. 

The weather has been glorious for months, and I've loved every minute of it! 

Mixed Results

I do love a dahlia

I've been so busy living my regular life that I haven't written in a while. 

There hasn't been much to report lately. The navelbine chemo treatment I started a couple of months ago has been pretty easy and life's been smooth. I've been busy with work, and there's plenty to do at home and with friends this summer.

CT Scan

I had a CT scan to check on things yesterday, and the results are mixed.

The good news: Several of the liver mets are smaller. Yay! I haven't had this kind of good news since November.

The not-so-good news: The cancerous spots in my bones are larger and there are more of them. I don't even have a specific number. Let's call it several to many. They are in different places in my pelvis, spine and one in a femur.

The mystery: There's a spot in my lung that could be cancer but it's too small to tell. It's larger than it was in the last scan.

I don't have any pain. I'm very grateful for that. So all in all, it could be worse.

And it could be better.

The Plan

I will stay on this navelbine treatment for another two rounds (about six weeks) and then have another CT scan. Hopefully the liver mets will still be shrinking.

My oncologist says that especially as cancer spreads to other areas it may not all be responsive to the same treatment. She decided since it's very important to keep the liver mets under control, and that the navelbine has been doing that, we'll continue with it even though it is not shrinking the bone mets.

At the dahlia garden at my favorite park. You know, the one with the Conservatory!

How I'm Doing

Scan and results days are never fun ones. So my week so far has not been the greatest. But overall, I'm doing very well. The past nine months are some of the best in my life, and they've also been some of the hardest. Funny how it works that way.

I haven't been asking for much help lately for several reasons. One is that I've been feeling good most of the time, so asking for help feels strange. Another is that as long as I don't ask for help I can tell myself how well I'm doing and then that's not so depressing. And yet another is that even with the Helping Hands website up to make it easy, I still don't find it easy. I'll work on that.

In the meantime, we're going on a vacation in about 10 days to San Francisco, and I'm really looking forward to that. We're going to spend Labor Day weekend on a nearby island with old friends,  I've got a weekend lined up in September with my two BFFs from college, and time with sisters-in-law here right after that. It's always good to have fun stuff on the calendar!

I hope you are having a wonderful summer, and I'll keep you posted.

New Chemo Again Today

Time for navelbine today, the lastest (and greatest? I'm ready for something like that) chemo drug I can cross off my bucket list. Were I to have a bucket list of chemo drugs, that is, instead of European countries or types of chocoate dessert...

Navelbine is given through my chest port at the medical center, and it's a "push", meaning the nurse spends about 6 minutes holding the medicine in a syringe and slowly pushing it into my line. Easy peasy. I also had a 30 minute Herceptin infusion today, so it was a much shorter and less eventful trip to the medical center than 3 weeks ago.

Some people have asked me about the allergic reaction to Doxil I had. Immediately I had trouble breathing, my face swelled up and I had back pain. The nurses came right away, and the benadryl and pain medication kicked in and I was back to normal in a few minutes (though loopy as hell for the rest of the day).

I forgot to write with the results of my bone scan. Thankfully that didn't turn up any new surprises. So I still "just" have the two spots of cancer in my spine and left hip that the abdominal CT scan turned up last month.

I have no pain or side effects from the cancer - all the side effects I've experienced so far are just from the treatments. And right now I don't have any side effects from the treatments besides maybe a little fatigue (who knows?) So I'm in a good place.

Assuming I tolerate this plan OK, my oncologist thinks we'll do another scan after three rounds of it (that's in about 8-9 weeks).

In the meantime I've got plenty else to do and think about. Work has picked up more lately, the girls have dance performance dress rehearsals and shows this week, Father's Day is coming up and C's 13th birthday is the 20th, the day after the last day of school.

Yet Another New Plan

Well, since Doxil is something I'm severely allergic to, we're leaving it behind. Although I'm bummed to take off the table a drug that could be effective against the cancer, I do highly value breathing. So we're switching plans.

It will be Navelbine + Herceptin, beginning June 9. Those are also infusions at the medical center, as opposed to pills at home.

I developed a fever in the middle of the night last night (not bad but at the level where I need to go in to see if I have an infection). At 5:30 this morning B took me in to Urgent Care and long story short, I don't have an infection. That took 2 1/2 hours and a bunch of tests to conclude. The fever is probably from one or both of the drugs I received yesterday. 

So it's been kind of an exhausting 24 hours, and I'm taking it totally easy today. 

There are various appointments ahead - a bone scan May 27 to get the whole bone story, a heart scan (aka MUGA) on June 6, which I've had about 8 times before and is standard when one is on Herceptin, and another fun "Menopause Now" injection at the end of this month. (That really wasn't too bad but I will spare you some of the weird details about it).

I wanted to get this update out, and now I will go on to something completely unrelated to medical treatments, like a walk, my book, Wordament (a Boggle-like game on my phone), and maybe some bad TV later tonight!

New Chemo Today

Quick update using my phone app to write this.

I was scheduled for a new chemo regimen today - herceptin (have had this before) plus Doxil (aka liposomal doxorubicin). Earlier I posted that I was going to do Navelbine, but my doctor and I decided Friday to go with Doxil first.

I had a severe allergic reaction to the Doxil so that was abruptly discontinued. Thanks to Benadryl and a pain med the reaction was quickly managed, and I'm totally fine.

That was really freaky and not fun. But the nurses were completely on top of it and an oncologist came over right away, so I was in good hands.

Tomorrow I'll have an appointment with my oncologist to see what the next step is.

I had my first Zometa infusion today, and that will be every 4 weeks. This is a medication that prevents calcium loss and keeps bones stronger. Ironically it can cause bone, joint and muscle pain. 

On Saturday I began taking Femara, a medication that suppresses estrogen. That goes along with my monthly "hey you're now post-menopausal" injections. So far I've done very well with those - no big deal.

So that's the latest from Great Aunt Edna, who has trapped you again at the buffet table to go on about her health problems!

I had a wonderful weekend with my best friends from college and a great family dinner last night at B's brother and sister-in-law's house. The weather is good, I've got a good book going, and am free to go take a nap now.