Sorry I’ve been so lax with my reports, but between all that’s going on plus the holidays I just didn’t take the time.
Think I left off with Doxil. I had three rounds and then another PET scan. More bad news. The cancer has metastasized slightly into the liver and right breast. I’d say Doxil was a complete failure.
This time frame brings us to the second week of December. Tracy surprised me with a trip to St. Lucia for a combo birthday and Christmas present! The doctor said great...go! But...I want you to take a maintenance drug. So I started the same day with one called Letrozole. After 6 days, I knew something was wrong with me..I was irritable, impatient, unhappy and on top of all the personality changes, lost all my energy. I called the office, told them I was stopping the drug as I wasn’t about to go on a trip with the screaming memmies. They called back with another one to try two days before we left. We looked it up and it was far worse than Letrozole. So I said no. They were not happy.
At any rate, we left, had a wonderful trip, but some strange things began to happen. Swollen feet. And all my summer clothes I had tried on the week before no longer fit. By the time we got back on the second, I was so filled with fluid I looked pregnant. I had shortness of breath, back aches and couldn’t eat but tiny amount without feeling ill.
I called the doctor and he made an appointment today for me to have an abdominal tap. They removed 10 1/2 pounds of fluid! All because I didn’t take the maintenance drug. But what would have been the point of being sick the entire two weeks I was away? At any rate, it was a delightful trip, the fluid is out and a new chemo procedure begins a Friday.
This time they are giving me a combination of Avastin and Gemzar. One is chemo, the other boosts your immune system. It’s timing is complicated and I’ll let you know what side effects I have.
One other thing, which disturbed both my daughter and I is that last Friday I had my mammogram appointment. They said the results were the same as other years. I said, that can’t be, the PET scan showed some invasion of cancer. So they asked to see the scan and I dropped it off the same afternoon. We should have the comparison results tomorrow. It’s upsetting to both of us that this did NOT show up in the mammogram and I even asked for a diagnostic mammogram plus ultrasound.
I’m sorry this is such a downer report starting out the new year, but am hoping and praying that one of these combos works. We are debating another opinion, but I hate to tell you many doctors feel it’s a waste of time to deal with someone my age. I’m sure we won’t be sent to anyone who feels that way, but we are discussing this with my internist tomorrow morning.
Poor Tracy, having to put up with all this when she should be back in NYC. I’m hoping the chemo goes well so she can leave Sunday. She’s my brick, my caretaker and my listener. I love her dearly.
