Gone to Alaska

Hello from Alaska!!
I hitched a ride here with Bry since he was heading here for work.
The mountains are amazing and the fall colors are gorgeous!!
We hiked the mountain behind me last night.

I've decided to start chemo treatment #2 (see below) when I get back and we'll see how it goes. For now--I'm trying to forget about that.

PET Scan Results

I talked with my oncologist on Saturday, and she said there's a little more cancer in my liver, so she suggested trying a new treatment. She gave me some different options and said it's not an emergency, so I have time to think it over. I'll call her back with my decision--or to talk more about it on Friday (Sept. 26th).

OPTION 1
Switch from taking Femara every day to taking Faslodax (hormone therapy drugs). She said she'd give this a 20% chance of working.

OPTION 2
Chemotherapy in the form of a pill called Xeloda that I'd take twice a day (3 pills at a time). She gives this about a 40% chance of working.

OPTION 3
Chemo in the form of an IV of Adriamycin (probably every three weeks--I'm guessing)--possibly along with a pill called Sutent.

OPTION 4
Chemo in the form of an IV of Taxol--along with a pill called Avastin.

Each of these has their own set of lovely side effects. My oncologist seems to lean toward option 2.

I will also be meeting with my Homeopathic Dr. by videoconference on Tuesday to discuss whether I need to change any of my homeopathic remedies. I feel they've been working since my blood has improved (red, white blood cell counts). Now if we could just get the liver cleaned up.

And who knows--maybe death is inevitable (well--of course it is-- we're all going to die someday)--but I still cling to the hope for a miracle. So either I'll be miraculously cured, or I'll miraculously die.

Bry says he feels like we have a steam roller slowly coming towards us. We can see it coming, but aren't sure exactly when it's going to hit. Well, isn't that lovely. Happy thoughts!!

Pray for good PET scan results!!

My latest Huntsman appointment was Sept. 2nd--and my blood counts were looking better. My oncologist was quite pleased and said she'd call me the next day to let me know what my tumor marker number was. Well, I got the call, --and it wasn't too good. My marker went up by around 1,400. I'm at about 3,500. My oncologist said not to be discouraged, but that we should do another PET scan soon just to see what's going on inside my body. My scan will be on Friday. So I have three days to get rid of the cancer inside my body so I can have a great scan (is that possible?). Maybe it was just a bad day when they took my blood. I'm feeling pretty good--and I felt great the day I had my blood drawn. I'm sure the tumor marker is going down now--because it does seem to do a roller-coaster thing.

Anyway--we should get results by early next week at the latest. Who knows--maybe even later on Friday.

Wondering what a tumor marker is? You can check it out here:
http://www.labtestsonline.org.uk/understanding/analytes/ca15_3/test.html

Huntsman Appointment

For the most part I remain positive and feel pretty good.
My appointment days are harder because it reminds me that I have cancer--something I try not to think about too much.


8:45-9:30 am
Endure three different people attempting to start my IV and get a blood draw. After much poking and digging around, they settled on using a smaller needle to just get a blood draw and skip the IV (which was fine with me, since I didn't want to get my bone-strengthener this time). It seriously felt like torture, and I wanted to cry not only because it hurt and made me feel sick, but because of the whole reason I was there. I was feeling very sorry for myself and nearly in tears as I walked back out to the waiting room and saw a very thin woman there with short hair and patches of bald crying loudly to the nurse sitting next to her.

9:45-10:30 am
I had an exam with a resident doctor (it's a teaching hospital) who was very kind and thorough. She seemed a bit frustrated and angry with me at the end of the appointment when I told her I didn't want my bone strengthener this time. She said my cancer metastases were severe and that I could never get back the time I would lose by skipping a month. I felt like I would be fine and waited to see my real doctor (Sandra Buys).

10:45-11:15 am
Dr. Buys came in, sat down next to me, and put her arm around me. She smiled and asked how things were going and asked what I wanted to do. I repeated that I wanted to try skipping the Aredia (bone-strengthener) for a month since I'd been having some side effects (aches and pains)--and simply because I thought I was getting too much and wanted to try cutting back on it. She said that would be just fine. I love my doctor.

I then waited for the nurse to come give me my Lupron shot, and we (Bry and I) visited the Cancer Learnng Center and checked out some CDs on relaxation/meditation. I need to learn to relax. My stomach is constantly in a knot and my teeth are gritted together--even when I sleep!!

Then Bry and I went out to lunch at Kyoto.

Dr. Buys later called to let me know that my tumor marker had gone up, but only slightly (by about 90) which she wasn't concerned about. She said we'll probably do some scans again in a month or so. My blood counts remain about the same (they're slightly low).

Next appointment coming soon!

Tuesday August 5th is my next appointment at Huntsman--and I'll have my latest blood counts (with results by Wednesday).
Feeling Good! Just a few achy nights--a few due to exercise and one was pretty bad--probably due to my medications which cause bone, joint and muscle pain.

My new motto is NO FEAR!! Whenever I have an ache or pain that worries me, I have to remind myself to push the fear out of my head. There's just not a lot of good fear does for you.

My next Homeopathic Dr. visit is Tuesday, August 12th.

I'm good for the next four weeks!

I had my appointment at Huntsman on Tuesday the 8th, and my blood counts are a little better than before (white/red blood cells, platelets and hematocrit). My tumor marker went down again by about 300. This means I'm good for another four weeks until my next blood test.

Here's a photo of me with my IV line in my arm. I had about 40 minutes to wait for infusion, so I decided to go check out the trails behind Huntsman rather than sit and wait.



I went to my homeopathic doctor in California last Thursday (July 3rd) and got a new set of remedies to take. It was a very quick trip--we (Bry and I) flew in, had lunch, went to the Dr. and flew out.

I'm feeling pretty well--just a little achy in the legs and joints--which is probably due to my medications from Huntsman.

Next update coming soon!

I'm going to visit my doctor in Irvine, CA on Thursday July 3rd.
My next appointment with my oncologist at Huntsman is Tuesday, July 8th.

I'll post my test results after the visits.

So far, so good--I'm feeling pretty well. My only pain is from lifting weights and exercise.