The cancer "battle" goes on. That's language people seem to understand. It isn't my language. I think everyone who knows me knows that. I prefer to use my energy to live my life. I don't want to waste in it what will ultimately be a losing battle.
Things have changed for me so I decided it's time for a more detailed update.
As you know I was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2019. When I met my oncologist in March 2019 she said I was "at least" stage 3. I had chemo, then surgery, then radiation. In September 2019, my oncologist phoned to say they had decided to treat me aggressively, as stage IV. That decision was based on the fact that I had a "met" (metastasis) on my T4. I also had one on my sternum that had responded to chemo and had been obliterated by radiation.
I was put on medications that would keep the cancer at bay. Apparently those meds last an average of 2 years until the cancer progresses. The cancer ultimately outsmarts the drug. I lasted four years on the meds.
My scans were stable up until these last ones in January. The last CT and bone scan showed progression. In other words, the cancer has spread. I knew this day would come. It's still a shock though, when it arrives.
Our local clinic has GP oncologists and my actual oncologist is in the next city. I see the GP Onc more often and have a great relationship with her. As the name would suggest, GP oncologists are GPs with extra training in oncology. Dr L phones me after each scan and this time shared the bad news well. My oncologist moved my existing appointment up from January 25 to January 15. It was nice that she did that, even though I wasn't really feeling an urgency to see her. I've learned that things happen as they will.
Dr B, the oncologist can be really scary. She's a brilliant, linear thinking woman who probably prefers books and research to interacting with people. She is direct and also, kind. Thankfully. When I saw her on the 15th, she was relaxed and friendly. She was not scary. That's a good thing. She also acted like there are still tons of treatment options available. (Treatment options have a limit). She had decided to put me on a drug called Capecitabine. This is an oral chemo. She had called me in early because she wanted to do bloodwork to make sure I have the enzyme(s) to process the drug. Apparently this test takes a bit of time to complete. I understand that there are wicked side effects if you don't have the enzyme. She thankfully did not want to cause me unnecessary suffering. I thanked her for that. She had considered putting me on an IV chemo, Taxol. I had a lung inflammation from it when I went through chemo five years ago so can't go on that specific drug. There are other drugs in that family they can use. She decided to save that for later. I'm very thankful for that. I'm not in a hurry to go back on IV chemo just yet. Dr B also wanted to do a liver biopsy to make sure my bio "profile" (can't think of the proper name) hasn't changed.
I received a call from the ultrasound booking person, Carrie a couple days later. Apparently the radiologist checked my CT and wanted to do an ultrasound to make sure the lesion is big enough to biopsy. That was good to hear. She said her colleague Cherry had set aside a biopsy time for me if it's needed. We had a great chat and she was awesome.
My ultrasound was on January 30 and it went well. Cherry called me and said I would have the ultrasound guided biopsy. It was scheduled for February 7. I had to be at the hospital at 0715 after fasting since midnight. I had bloodwork then went into the ultrasound room around 9. They do bloodwork to check a few things, including clotting factor. The ultrasound tech was excellent and scanned my liver thoroughly. Then a nurse came in to ask some standard pre-op questions and do my vitals. The doctor came in and looked at the images. He made a comment about where the lesion was and got my attention. He checked more with the ultrasound and talked to the tech. He ultimately said he couldn't do the biopsy because of it's location. He'd likely cause more problems if he tried and we agreed that I didn't need that. I really appreciated his boundaries. I was sent home around 10:00.
I saw Dr L, the GP oncologist that afternoon. It was great timing as it turned out. This appointment had been booked for a couple weeks. She said that the biopsy information wasn't necessary and that the treatment wasn't dependent on the information it could have given. It was nice to hear this and to get information on how to proceed. Dr B called me on Saturday morning to comment about the non-biopsy. She said sometimes that happens. She confirmed what Dr L said about it not being a critical part of treatment planning.
So I've started this new medication. I will take it for two weeks then have a week off. I'll see Dr L and get bloodwork every three weeks. I'll continue to get scans every four months or so and will see the oncologist after the scans. A friend who is a medical profession was surprised about the frequency of the scans. That seems to be the standard of care for people with this or similar forms of cancer. They must weigh the risks of radiation vs catching spread quickly.
And so it goes. I'm encouraged that I was prescribed this medication. I have a couple friends who have been on it, one for two years and one for three. They have both had good results. I've responded to other treatments well, so here's hoping this is effective.
Things have changed for me so I decided it's time for a more detailed update.
As you know I was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2019. When I met my oncologist in March 2019 she said I was "at least" stage 3. I had chemo, then surgery, then radiation. In September 2019, my oncologist phoned to say they had decided to treat me aggressively, as stage IV. That decision was based on the fact that I had a "met" (metastasis) on my T4. I also had one on my sternum that had responded to chemo and had been obliterated by radiation.
I was put on medications that would keep the cancer at bay. Apparently those meds last an average of 2 years until the cancer progresses. The cancer ultimately outsmarts the drug. I lasted four years on the meds.
My scans were stable up until these last ones in January. The last CT and bone scan showed progression. In other words, the cancer has spread. I knew this day would come. It's still a shock though, when it arrives.
Our local clinic has GP oncologists and my actual oncologist is in the next city. I see the GP Onc more often and have a great relationship with her. As the name would suggest, GP oncologists are GPs with extra training in oncology. Dr L phones me after each scan and this time shared the bad news well. My oncologist moved my existing appointment up from January 25 to January 15. It was nice that she did that, even though I wasn't really feeling an urgency to see her. I've learned that things happen as they will.
Dr B, the oncologist can be really scary. She's a brilliant, linear thinking woman who probably prefers books and research to interacting with people. She is direct and also, kind. Thankfully. When I saw her on the 15th, she was relaxed and friendly. She was not scary. That's a good thing. She also acted like there are still tons of treatment options available. (Treatment options have a limit). She had decided to put me on a drug called Capecitabine. This is an oral chemo. She had called me in early because she wanted to do bloodwork to make sure I have the enzyme(s) to process the drug. Apparently this test takes a bit of time to complete. I understand that there are wicked side effects if you don't have the enzyme. She thankfully did not want to cause me unnecessary suffering. I thanked her for that. She had considered putting me on an IV chemo, Taxol. I had a lung inflammation from it when I went through chemo five years ago so can't go on that specific drug. There are other drugs in that family they can use. She decided to save that for later. I'm very thankful for that. I'm not in a hurry to go back on IV chemo just yet. Dr B also wanted to do a liver biopsy to make sure my bio "profile" (can't think of the proper name) hasn't changed.
I received a call from the ultrasound booking person, Carrie a couple days later. Apparently the radiologist checked my CT and wanted to do an ultrasound to make sure the lesion is big enough to biopsy. That was good to hear. She said her colleague Cherry had set aside a biopsy time for me if it's needed. We had a great chat and she was awesome.
My ultrasound was on January 30 and it went well. Cherry called me and said I would have the ultrasound guided biopsy. It was scheduled for February 7. I had to be at the hospital at 0715 after fasting since midnight. I had bloodwork then went into the ultrasound room around 9. They do bloodwork to check a few things, including clotting factor. The ultrasound tech was excellent and scanned my liver thoroughly. Then a nurse came in to ask some standard pre-op questions and do my vitals. The doctor came in and looked at the images. He made a comment about where the lesion was and got my attention. He checked more with the ultrasound and talked to the tech. He ultimately said he couldn't do the biopsy because of it's location. He'd likely cause more problems if he tried and we agreed that I didn't need that. I really appreciated his boundaries. I was sent home around 10:00.
I saw Dr L, the GP oncologist that afternoon. It was great timing as it turned out. This appointment had been booked for a couple weeks. She said that the biopsy information wasn't necessary and that the treatment wasn't dependent on the information it could have given. It was nice to hear this and to get information on how to proceed. Dr B called me on Saturday morning to comment about the non-biopsy. She said sometimes that happens. She confirmed what Dr L said about it not being a critical part of treatment planning.
So I've started this new medication. I will take it for two weeks then have a week off. I'll see Dr L and get bloodwork every three weeks. I'll continue to get scans every four months or so and will see the oncologist after the scans. A friend who is a medical profession was surprised about the frequency of the scans. That seems to be the standard of care for people with this or similar forms of cancer. They must weigh the risks of radiation vs catching spread quickly.
And so it goes. I'm encouraged that I was prescribed this medication. I have a couple friends who have been on it, one for two years and one for three. They have both had good results. I've responded to other treatments well, so here's hoping this is effective.
