I think the storm of emotion is weakening and I am moving towards a better place with my anxiety. I have come to expect the roller coaster and I know that after bad news comes acceptance, a new normal and (at least for now) a new and exciting therapy.
That being said, I didn't panic at my oncologist's office today- I was immersed in a book to distract myself (Mockingjay, the final of the Hunger Games series). I sort of expected an increase in my tumor markers, but I was comforted by the fact that last time he said that even if your numbers increase some - we won't do anything drastic and we'd probably continue the same or a similar treatment. So I was comforted that I wouldn't be loosing my hair anytime soon. He said my tumor markers went up some and he wanted to switch me to another aromatase inhibitor (to block circulating estrogen from adrenal and fat cells), and he suggested aromasin instead of femara. So this is a switch from a tiny pink pill once a day to a tiny white pill once a day- and expect the same joint pain from time to time. I was like okay.... that's not much of a change- I can swallow that and then we made some small talk about other treatments down the road, studies to look forward to and other patients like myself. Towards the end of the visit, I saw what my tumor marker was on my lab print-out, whoa... 166! Last month it was 123. Very pleased with the elusive way he presented my labs as he knows how fixated I become with them.
I'd previously viewed my immediate lab results earlier that morning at home online and saw that most of my liver markers were good but my lactic acid dehydrogenase was increased, together indicating a healthy liver but some sort of inflammation. This lead me to believe that there was mild bone progression, so I wasn't totally shocked. My alkaline phos. was still good so my bones must not be that upset.
After receiving (once again) my doctor's assurances that this small change won't affect my survival- I was relieved and tearful and gave my nurse a big hug. I then went to chemo and got my herceptin and per my request, doc sent over one of his older patients with bone only disease- and she was such a great inspiration to me! She's been bone only stage IV for 3 years and is only on herceptin! Being that she is older, and post-menopause, I guess the doc doesn't feel the need for any anti-hormone therapy. Wow, she and I have the same exact subtype- Her-2+, ER+ and on very different therapies and very different successes. The doc never felt the need to perform surgery or radiation, as she was diagnosed stage IV from the start. I look forward to hearing much more from my new friend.
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| Daddy loves his little buddy boy |
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| Parker getting ready for an 1880's train ride in Hill City, South Dakota |
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| Brave little Parker sticking his head out of a moving train! |
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| What trip to South Dakota wouldn't be complete without some target practice. |
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| Fishing with Mom is a weekly activity. |
Thanks everyone for all your thoughts and prayers, I will check in again in 6 weeks after my next oncologist appointment.
