Great news, and just in time for Thanksgiving! Tonight we got the results of the ct scan that was done on Saturday, and after three rounds of Xeloda, the major mass in my liver has gotten smaller, as have some of the smaller tumors around it.... now that's something to be thankful for.
These last few weeks, as the Xeloda built up in my system, I had been feeling pretty lousy; because of this Dr. H decided to hold off on starting the fourth round of Xeloda until next week. Hooray for a chemo free Thanksgiving!
I hope you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
Upcoming Appts:
January 17th: check-in & port flush
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Xeloda the beginning
I hope this is only the beginning of my friendship with 5-FU (aka: xeloda). I just finished my second round of xeloda last night and am feeling great, from a chemotherapy stand point. I've been very tired and had some foot pain and peeling, gross, I know; but overall this drug has been very kind to me.
On October 11th, John and I went down to BI for a check-up and port flush. There wasn't really anything that came of it except that I'm doing well on this drug, and to keep it up. Well, and of course the hours of traffic and the copayments.
UPCOMING APPTS:
Sat. Nov. 19th: CT Scan
Tues. Nov. 22nd: Results, port flush
On October 11th, John and I went down to BI for a check-up and port flush. There wasn't really anything that came of it except that I'm doing well on this drug, and to keep it up. Well, and of course the hours of traffic and the copayments.
UPCOMING APPTS:
Sat. Nov. 19th: CT Scan
Tues. Nov. 22nd: Results, port flush
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Doxil the Disappointment Continued
Doxil is out and Xeloda is in - also known as 5-FU, that's right FU cancer! In my opinion, all chemotherapy drug names should have some sort of profanity incorporated in it.
Even though we were standing in the specialty Boston pharmacy last week and Xeloda was only a few feet away from us, insurance would only approve it through a mail order pharmacy; which is completely ridiculous, if you want my opinion. After a week of calling back and forth between a pharmacy in Florida and my doctor's office in Boston, the oral form of Xeloda was finally approved and should be arriving on Tuesday. Three pills of FU-Cancer are taken twice a day, twelve hours apart, 30 minutes after eating and taking compazine (an anti-nausea med.). Side effects that are associated with this chemo are the usual: nausea, diarrhea, hand/foot syndrome, skin irritation, sun sensitivity, low immunity... blah, blah, blah. The unusual thing about Xeloda is that these side effects tend to increase when taking folic acid - which I will avoid, needless to say.
I will officially start Xeloda on Wednesday 9/21 assuming it arrives on Tuesday. The entire reason for attempting the oral medication is to limit my time out of work, so as long as everything goes smoothly, I can check-in by phone with my doctor and nurse, and blood work can be taken locally. Hopefully I will not have to make another trip back into BI until my CT Scan in about six weeks or so.
Happy Fall everyone & here's to 5-FU Cancer!
Even though we were standing in the specialty Boston pharmacy last week and Xeloda was only a few feet away from us, insurance would only approve it through a mail order pharmacy; which is completely ridiculous, if you want my opinion. After a week of calling back and forth between a pharmacy in Florida and my doctor's office in Boston, the oral form of Xeloda was finally approved and should be arriving on Tuesday. Three pills of FU-Cancer are taken twice a day, twelve hours apart, 30 minutes after eating and taking compazine (an anti-nausea med.). Side effects that are associated with this chemo are the usual: nausea, diarrhea, hand/foot syndrome, skin irritation, sun sensitivity, low immunity... blah, blah, blah. The unusual thing about Xeloda is that these side effects tend to increase when taking folic acid - which I will avoid, needless to say.
I will officially start Xeloda on Wednesday 9/21 assuming it arrives on Tuesday. The entire reason for attempting the oral medication is to limit my time out of work, so as long as everything goes smoothly, I can check-in by phone with my doctor and nurse, and blood work can be taken locally. Hopefully I will not have to make another trip back into BI until my CT Scan in about six weeks or so.
Happy Fall everyone & here's to 5-FU Cancer!
Friday, September 9, 2011
Doxil the Disappointment
After two treatments of doxil, agonizing mouth sores, red, blistering, sore hands, and having to admit that my husband was right, Doxil turned out to make none of these things worth while. Tuesday's scan showed the tumor in my liver to be slightly larger than it had been two months prior, before starting the doxil.
So now what... The drug that we are trying next comes in both an IV form and an oral form. The IV form is administered over three hours once a week for three weeks with one week off. The oral form is taken at home, three pills twice a day for 14 days with one week off. Out of convenience and trying to keep a normal work schedule we are trying to get approved for the oral form of the drug, getting approved is a 50/50 chance. The prescription and request was put in today, we are expecting to find out if the oral chemo is approved on Tuesday; if not the IV form of the drug will have to be administered.
Therefore this blog entry is to be continued.....
So now what... The drug that we are trying next comes in both an IV form and an oral form. The IV form is administered over three hours once a week for three weeks with one week off. The oral form is taken at home, three pills twice a day for 14 days with one week off. Out of convenience and trying to keep a normal work schedule we are trying to get approved for the oral form of the drug, getting approved is a 50/50 chance. The prescription and request was put in today, we are expecting to find out if the oral chemo is approved on Tuesday; if not the IV form of the drug will have to be administered.
Therefore this blog entry is to be continued.....
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
I love you and you were right.
This posting is for my husband... John Michael Pelletier, I love you, and you were right.
John and I spent last week at the beach, where he annoyingly, out of love, reminded me every half hour or so that I wasn't supposed to be in the sun, to which I annoyingly just rolled my eyes.
Aware that the doctors and nurses had warned me that being on chemotherapy makes you more sensitive to the sun, burning, and that overall it should be avoided, I lathered up and reapplied my SPF 110 everyday, and came out of it with a really nice tan I must say! The sun and I were best of friends until about midweek, when I began getting little bumps all over my arms, which I naturally thought were sand flea bites, or something just as gross; however, these bumps kept getting worse and spreading down my arms and hands as the days went on; even after we returned home from the beach. When I couldn't take the itching any longer I gave in and decided that it was time to call the professionals. My nurse asked all of the normal questions and declared that it was most likely a rash from too much sun exposure (insert John's smirk and raised eyebrows here). I am to keep her posted, use hydrocortisone, benadryl and that she would see me on Tuesday, assuming it didn't continue to worsen.
So yes, my wonderful husband, you were right; but I have the best tan that I've ever had, I soaked in all that vitamin D and the sun and I have made up and will hang out again soon, just perhaps in smaller doses.
Doxil is also giving me a run for my money with non-sun provoked side effects. I have blisters and skin rashes between my fingers and on my hands which I am using lotion for, and my mouth is swollen and full of mouth sores, for which I have been prescribed "Magic Mouthwash". Magic Mouthwash is a combination of benadryl, lidocaine and mylanta, it doesn't get rid of the cankers any faster, it just numbs your mouth (like when going to the dentist) and gives temporary relief. These are both side effects that I also had during the third week after the first treatment as well, it just wasn't as bad as this time. The increased side effects might cause a decrease in the next dose of doxil; but that will only be determined after my blood work and ct scan next week.
Enjoy the sun and be safe!
Happy Labor Day!! ☺
Upcoming Appts:
9/6: Ct Scan & Blood work
9/9: Chemo
John and I spent last week at the beach, where he annoyingly, out of love, reminded me every half hour or so that I wasn't supposed to be in the sun, to which I annoyingly just rolled my eyes.
Aware that the doctors and nurses had warned me that being on chemotherapy makes you more sensitive to the sun, burning, and that overall it should be avoided, I lathered up and reapplied my SPF 110 everyday, and came out of it with a really nice tan I must say! The sun and I were best of friends until about midweek, when I began getting little bumps all over my arms, which I naturally thought were sand flea bites, or something just as gross; however, these bumps kept getting worse and spreading down my arms and hands as the days went on; even after we returned home from the beach. When I couldn't take the itching any longer I gave in and decided that it was time to call the professionals. My nurse asked all of the normal questions and declared that it was most likely a rash from too much sun exposure (insert John's smirk and raised eyebrows here). I am to keep her posted, use hydrocortisone, benadryl and that she would see me on Tuesday, assuming it didn't continue to worsen.
So yes, my wonderful husband, you were right; but I have the best tan that I've ever had, I soaked in all that vitamin D and the sun and I have made up and will hang out again soon, just perhaps in smaller doses.
Doxil is also giving me a run for my money with non-sun provoked side effects. I have blisters and skin rashes between my fingers and on my hands which I am using lotion for, and my mouth is swollen and full of mouth sores, for which I have been prescribed "Magic Mouthwash". Magic Mouthwash is a combination of benadryl, lidocaine and mylanta, it doesn't get rid of the cankers any faster, it just numbs your mouth (like when going to the dentist) and gives temporary relief. These are both side effects that I also had during the third week after the first treatment as well, it just wasn't as bad as this time. The increased side effects might cause a decrease in the next dose of doxil; but that will only be determined after my blood work and ct scan next week.
Enjoy the sun and be safe!
Happy Labor Day!! ☺
Upcoming Appts:
9/6: Ct Scan & Blood work
9/9: Chemo
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Faux Kool-Aid Shot #2
Yesterday's chemo treatment went fairly smoothly. Other than the major traffic heading in and the ridiculous(!!!) traffic on the way home.
We were at BI for a total of four hours, which isn't too bad for blood work, a check up and chemo. All in all yesterday was a simple treatment day. So far my biggest complaint is the slamming headache that I can't seem to get rid of, and then of course, as always, the slight nausea and extra exhaustion.
I am scheduled to have a CT Scan in a few weeks; but as mentioned before treatment began, much change cannot be expected - we just don't want any tumor growth whatsoever. (fingers crossed)
It's been nice having the extra week between treatments - especially in the summer! I hope you are all taking advantage of the great weather, even the few rainy days where we can have an excuse to be lazy! ☺
Upcoming Appts:
CT Scan: 9-6-11
Chemo: 9-9-11
We were at BI for a total of four hours, which isn't too bad for blood work, a check up and chemo. All in all yesterday was a simple treatment day. So far my biggest complaint is the slamming headache that I can't seem to get rid of, and then of course, as always, the slight nausea and extra exhaustion.
I am scheduled to have a CT Scan in a few weeks; but as mentioned before treatment began, much change cannot be expected - we just don't want any tumor growth whatsoever. (fingers crossed)
It's been nice having the extra week between treatments - especially in the summer! I hope you are all taking advantage of the great weather, even the few rainy days where we can have an excuse to be lazy! ☺
Upcoming Appts:
CT Scan: 9-6-11
Chemo: 9-9-11
Saturday, July 16, 2011
This is not Kool-Aid!
Well, other than the normal crappiness of chemotherapies, doxil has all kinds of trickiness! First of all, no matter how much it looks like kool-aid, it is not. Second of all, they start by giving me steroids, then each chemo molecule is coated in a fat layer, and then they can't even flush with saline, they have to flush with dextrose (sugar)! Really, I've already gained what feels like a million pounds from the other rounds of chemo, and now this one is a triple whammy! And it gets better, they tell you to limit the amount of sun (really, it's summer!!!), walking, and exercise because of the skin rash/blister side effects - which tend to be worse on fair skinned people. Okay, I'm done ranting about the menial things, for now... for your sake I hope you skipped to paragraph two.
Yesterday's treatment took about 4 hours start to finish. My nurse was out, so we had someone new, which was fine. I received benadryl as a precaution to possible allergic reactions that sometimes occur, and Emend and decadron for anti-nausea. My stomach has been feeling slightly nauseous since yesterday and I've had a major headache that I haven't been able to kick, along with some body pain. As always, as long as doxil works; I'm willing to deal with all of the other stuff.
I can't thank you all enough for your comments and postings!! They really mean a lot to me, and remind me that the people reading this really do care. Lots of love to you and your family.
Upcoming Appts:
7/26: Bloodwork
8/12: Chemo
Yesterday's treatment took about 4 hours start to finish. My nurse was out, so we had someone new, which was fine. I received benadryl as a precaution to possible allergic reactions that sometimes occur, and Emend and decadron for anti-nausea. My stomach has been feeling slightly nauseous since yesterday and I've had a major headache that I haven't been able to kick, along with some body pain. As always, as long as doxil works; I'm willing to deal with all of the other stuff.
I can't thank you all enough for your comments and postings!! They really mean a lot to me, and remind me that the people reading this really do care. Lots of love to you and your family.
Upcoming Appts:
7/26: Bloodwork
8/12: Chemo
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho....
We've all got to go back to work sometime, and it's come time for me to go back to fighting these tumors.
Considering my last chemo treatment was in mid-November, I can't really complain. There has been additional growth to the largest tumor in my liver with some new "satellite spots" around it, as well as two new tumors in a different area of the liver. The tumor in my lung is relatively the same size as it was in the last scan, and my other organs seem clean.
Friday, July 15th, I will begin treatment using Doxil, once every four weeks. Compared to the other chemotherapy drugs I have been on Doxil is said to have less nausea and less hair loss (that doesn't mean none, it just means that comparatively it's not as severe for most people). An even better upside to doxil is that it will only take a couple hours to administer, instead of the 6-8 (+) hours the other treatments took. The most common side effects linked with doxil are hand/foot swelling and pain, as well as skin rashes; the least common is heart problems. The annoying side to doxil is said to be that it has a delayed reaction, meaning, that after two treatments my scan could show very little or no decrease at all; but, the scan after my fourth treatment could, will, show a significant decrease in tumor size.
So back to work we go. I'll go back to chemo, and you all please keep the prayers and well wishes going. I'll try to post a picture of the hair that I've worked so hard to grow - just in case I do loose it again. If you're having a drink next Friday, be sure to have one for me; happy summer!
Considering my last chemo treatment was in mid-November, I can't really complain. There has been additional growth to the largest tumor in my liver with some new "satellite spots" around it, as well as two new tumors in a different area of the liver. The tumor in my lung is relatively the same size as it was in the last scan, and my other organs seem clean.
Friday, July 15th, I will begin treatment using Doxil, once every four weeks. Compared to the other chemotherapy drugs I have been on Doxil is said to have less nausea and less hair loss (that doesn't mean none, it just means that comparatively it's not as severe for most people). An even better upside to doxil is that it will only take a couple hours to administer, instead of the 6-8 (+) hours the other treatments took. The most common side effects linked with doxil are hand/foot swelling and pain, as well as skin rashes; the least common is heart problems. The annoying side to doxil is said to be that it has a delayed reaction, meaning, that after two treatments my scan could show very little or no decrease at all; but, the scan after my fourth treatment could, will, show a significant decrease in tumor size.
So back to work we go. I'll go back to chemo, and you all please keep the prayers and well wishes going. I'll try to post a picture of the hair that I've worked so hard to grow - just in case I do loose it again. If you're having a drink next Friday, be sure to have one for me; happy summer!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Heads or Tails?
If only every decision could be made with the flip of a coin. If life and our everyday decisions didn't have such significant repercussions on our well being, the coin would be my "go to" resource - well that and the magic eight ball.
The scan... The results of the ct scan were okay, there was minimal growth. One already existing tumor in the liver grew two millimeters and one diameter, but there were no other changes. Prior to yesterdays appointment, I had planned on beginning chemo, again, on Friday; however, because of the "minimal" growth, another option was presented to us. Dr. H feels that although the tumors are in fact growing, the rate of growth doesn't give us an urgency to return to chemo. I can tell you that this is not a decision that we're taking lightly.
We spent a lot of time asking questions, going through the pros and cons of both restarting and waiting, and I'm still not sure I have a definite answer. There are many, many factors that go into this decision, but the balance between treatment and quality of life is always the most important. The goal of my treatments is to keep the cancer under control, which does sometimes mean to allow some growth prior to treating. There is no treatment (yet discovered) that can completely get rid my thymic carcinoma; therefore, controlling it for the longest possible time while I can enjoy the life I have left is what we strive to do. I do not have ailing symptoms of cancer to prevent me from living, which is one reason Dr. H suggests to hold off on chemo a bit longer. I will continue to receive ct scans every six to eight weeks and again, based on the rate of growth, decide when to start chemo. Waiting a bit longer also allows more time to pass before using our next "tool of defense", the more frequent I have treatments, the faster I use up the chemos that might give me the best shot of keeping it under control.
So, what's the big decision you ask? That would be the other half to this puzzle called life, my conscience and emotions. It feels almost irresponsible to know that something is trying to overtake my body and that I'm choosing to do nothing about it. My brain understands the benefits of putting off chemo, but my (philosophical) heart can't grasp the concept of sitting back and not taking control. As of this moment, my guess is that we will put off treatment, rescan in July and then reconsider our options at that time. The only reason that I would start sooner was if I couldn't relax and enjoy my "time off" because I was too worried that I should be on treatment; and if that is the case, I can pick up the phone at any time and start treatment the next day. My doctor and nurse assure me that they are on board with whichever treatment plan that we are comfortable with.
After meeting with Dr. H we headed to the treatment center to have the port flushed and to draw blood. Maybe it was positioning, maybe it's that I didn't drink enough water yesterday, or maybe my body was telling me that it wasn't ready to be abused again yet; but whatever the reason, the port was being terribly finicky. Unlike anytime before my nurse was having an awful time getting the port to flush smoothly and drawing (3 viles) blood from it. After a great deal of time, and some soreness, the blood was drawn, port was flushed and we were out of there, with a mind full of pros, cons, and decisions to make.
There are no scheduled appointments at this time, but assuming we postpone chemo, our next trip into BI shouldn't be until July.
The scan... The results of the ct scan were okay, there was minimal growth. One already existing tumor in the liver grew two millimeters and one diameter, but there were no other changes. Prior to yesterdays appointment, I had planned on beginning chemo, again, on Friday; however, because of the "minimal" growth, another option was presented to us. Dr. H feels that although the tumors are in fact growing, the rate of growth doesn't give us an urgency to return to chemo. I can tell you that this is not a decision that we're taking lightly.
We spent a lot of time asking questions, going through the pros and cons of both restarting and waiting, and I'm still not sure I have a definite answer. There are many, many factors that go into this decision, but the balance between treatment and quality of life is always the most important. The goal of my treatments is to keep the cancer under control, which does sometimes mean to allow some growth prior to treating. There is no treatment (yet discovered) that can completely get rid my thymic carcinoma; therefore, controlling it for the longest possible time while I can enjoy the life I have left is what we strive to do. I do not have ailing symptoms of cancer to prevent me from living, which is one reason Dr. H suggests to hold off on chemo a bit longer. I will continue to receive ct scans every six to eight weeks and again, based on the rate of growth, decide when to start chemo. Waiting a bit longer also allows more time to pass before using our next "tool of defense", the more frequent I have treatments, the faster I use up the chemos that might give me the best shot of keeping it under control.
So, what's the big decision you ask? That would be the other half to this puzzle called life, my conscience and emotions. It feels almost irresponsible to know that something is trying to overtake my body and that I'm choosing to do nothing about it. My brain understands the benefits of putting off chemo, but my (philosophical) heart can't grasp the concept of sitting back and not taking control. As of this moment, my guess is that we will put off treatment, rescan in July and then reconsider our options at that time. The only reason that I would start sooner was if I couldn't relax and enjoy my "time off" because I was too worried that I should be on treatment; and if that is the case, I can pick up the phone at any time and start treatment the next day. My doctor and nurse assure me that they are on board with whichever treatment plan that we are comfortable with.
After meeting with Dr. H we headed to the treatment center to have the port flushed and to draw blood. Maybe it was positioning, maybe it's that I didn't drink enough water yesterday, or maybe my body was telling me that it wasn't ready to be abused again yet; but whatever the reason, the port was being terribly finicky. Unlike anytime before my nurse was having an awful time getting the port to flush smoothly and drawing (3 viles) blood from it. After a great deal of time, and some soreness, the blood was drawn, port was flushed and we were out of there, with a mind full of pros, cons, and decisions to make.
There are no scheduled appointments at this time, but assuming we postpone chemo, our next trip into BI shouldn't be until July.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Poison Free April
This past Saturday morning I had a ct scan, and then spent the rest of the day sick from all of the highlighters I had to drink and have shot through me; but as I always say, if it allows them to get the clear picture they need, then it's worth it.
Well that clear picture of mine showed a slightly larger tumor in my liver and a couple of new tiny spots on my lung, all of the other tumors remained the same size. The new lung spots have not been identified as tumors, mainly because the medical profession never make a definitive statement. This growth was expected, but still disappointing.
We then discussed with Dr. H the plan of attack. I tend to ask a lot of questions and will spare you all of the details, you're just going to have to trust my medical decisions upon the plethora of information that I receive behind the scenes. :0) We were given the choice between three different types of chemo and when to begin the chosen therapy. The upcoming month of April is a busy one for us and I am determined to enjoy it poison-free! 4/2 John and I are getting a yellow lab puppy, who we named Bruski! 4/16 is John's 35th birthday, 4/18 is my 30th birthday, and 4/26 is our 3rd wedding anniversary! Therefore I will not allow this month to be contaminated with medical interruptions. Then will come May, reality, 5/7 we will go back for a ct scan, 5/10 we will meet with Dr. H and then shortly after that I will begin treatment again.
I will supply more details about which chemotherapy we've chosen after the May appointment; besides, if I tell you now then I'll have nothing to share with you in May!
Have a wonderful Easter!
Well that clear picture of mine showed a slightly larger tumor in my liver and a couple of new tiny spots on my lung, all of the other tumors remained the same size. The new lung spots have not been identified as tumors, mainly because the medical profession never make a definitive statement. This growth was expected, but still disappointing.
We then discussed with Dr. H the plan of attack. I tend to ask a lot of questions and will spare you all of the details, you're just going to have to trust my medical decisions upon the plethora of information that I receive behind the scenes. :0) We were given the choice between three different types of chemo and when to begin the chosen therapy. The upcoming month of April is a busy one for us and I am determined to enjoy it poison-free! 4/2 John and I are getting a yellow lab puppy, who we named Bruski! 4/16 is John's 35th birthday, 4/18 is my 30th birthday, and 4/26 is our 3rd wedding anniversary! Therefore I will not allow this month to be contaminated with medical interruptions. Then will come May, reality, 5/7 we will go back for a ct scan, 5/10 we will meet with Dr. H and then shortly after that I will begin treatment again.
I will supply more details about which chemotherapy we've chosen after the May appointment; besides, if I tell you now then I'll have nothing to share with you in May!
Have a wonderful Easter!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Someone call Copperfield!
If this were the movies, today's weather would have been gloomy and raining. Our afternoon at BI started in the PFT lab, pulmonary function testing. The doctors wanted to see how my lungs and breathing today compared to March of 2009, just prior to my diagnosis. The hour of testing brought about instant results of "severely decreased lung function, which is probably caused by the chemo, radiation, and surgery". I'll spare you all of the various stats, but the average of the results is that I only have 50% of my lung function.
With my pft results in hand we make our way to oncology, it started off so smoothly; we went right in, my port was flushed, my vitals were taken and I was all checked in waiting to be seen by Dr. H, then we waited. As always with afternoon appointments the doctors are running late, so they leave us sitting nervously in the waiting room - honestly, just walk by and give me a high five or give me a sad face, but the waiting is torcher!
Finally we are taken back, waited a little longer, and then finally Dr. H walks in. I can tell instantly by his disposition and the way he greets us on the type of news he has; I was not looking forward to the upcoming conversation. After only 12 weeks after my last chemo treatment the lesions in my liver have reappeared - someone call Copperfield!! Dr. H told us originally that the liver lesions were not gone, but only so small that they could not be picked up on the scan. I was always hoping though that they would just keep shrinking and forever disappear. I know that is not what my diagnosis held or that it's realistic to expect; but who likes living in a realistic world, I'd rather a world of hope and miracles. The "good" news of the scan, looking on the positive side, is that the liver lesions that are apparent are the same tumors that were there previously, just bigger, there doesn't seem to be any "new" tumors. Also on the positive side of things, the other tumors haven't changed in size.
The plan is to rescan in six weeks. My white blood cell level is on the lower side, which is only one of the many reasons Dr. H doesn't think it would be beneficial to start treatment immediately.
PS: Happy Valentine's Day!
Upcoming Appts:
3/11: Port Flush
3/26: CtScan
3/29: Results/port flush
With my pft results in hand we make our way to oncology, it started off so smoothly; we went right in, my port was flushed, my vitals were taken and I was all checked in waiting to be seen by Dr. H, then we waited. As always with afternoon appointments the doctors are running late, so they leave us sitting nervously in the waiting room - honestly, just walk by and give me a high five or give me a sad face, but the waiting is torcher!
Finally we are taken back, waited a little longer, and then finally Dr. H walks in. I can tell instantly by his disposition and the way he greets us on the type of news he has; I was not looking forward to the upcoming conversation. After only 12 weeks after my last chemo treatment the lesions in my liver have reappeared - someone call Copperfield!! Dr. H told us originally that the liver lesions were not gone, but only so small that they could not be picked up on the scan. I was always hoping though that they would just keep shrinking and forever disappear. I know that is not what my diagnosis held or that it's realistic to expect; but who likes living in a realistic world, I'd rather a world of hope and miracles. The "good" news of the scan, looking on the positive side, is that the liver lesions that are apparent are the same tumors that were there previously, just bigger, there doesn't seem to be any "new" tumors. Also on the positive side of things, the other tumors haven't changed in size.
The plan is to rescan in six weeks. My white blood cell level is on the lower side, which is only one of the many reasons Dr. H doesn't think it would be beneficial to start treatment immediately.
PS: Happy Valentine's Day!
Upcoming Appts:
3/11: Port Flush
3/26: CtScan
3/29: Results/port flush
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Flushed goes my afternoon
Our appointment with Dr. Huberman was postponed until after my next CT Scan, but we still needed to make the trip into BI so that my nurse could flush the port. The visit took Much longer than I expected, hence the title of this entry, but such is life.
UPCOMING APPTS:
Saturday, Feb. 5: ct scan
Thursday, Feb. 10: pulmonary function testing, results of CtScan, port flush
UPCOMING APPTS:
Saturday, Feb. 5: ct scan
Thursday, Feb. 10: pulmonary function testing, results of CtScan, port flush
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Peach Fuzz
Here's a fun mini-update for those of you who don't see my Face Book.
The result of five weeks without a chemo treatment has given me the softest, blond peach fuzz on my head! I am officially a Cha-Cha Chia Chiquita!
I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday.
Happy New Year!!
The result of five weeks without a chemo treatment has given me the softest, blond peach fuzz on my head! I am officially a Cha-Cha Chia Chiquita!
I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday.
Happy New Year!!
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