Wednesday, April 16, 2014

All is good

All is good!  We are managing life pretty well despite some challenges.  Tumor markers appear stable, no pain from cancer, however I have this annoying and unpredictable pain in my feet from neuropathy, that would be nerve damage from prior chemotherapies.  I am trying various narcotics, lyrica, over-the-counter treatments, and so far I haven't found the cure.  The lyrica is supposed to specifically treat nerve pain and neuropathy, so I'm slowly increasing the dose and giving it time to work. 

We had a great trip to Orlando, we took advantage of a company called "Memories of Love" and we got tickets for Patrick, Parker and myself to both Universal Studios and Seaworld for free.  We even got the golden ticket at Universal Studios and Islands of adventure and got to go to the head of the line for ever single ride.  We decided to get our own sleeping accommodations as we brought Patrick's parents along, so we shared a lovely 2 bedroom condo off the Disney grounds.  We also went to Disney World and Epcot, it was a vacation of a lifetime.  Just prior to leaving I was diagnosed with strep throat and bronchitis, and went on a nebulizer and antibiotics for 10 days, I thought I was well and good, but upon returning, unpacking and cleaning up the house I started noticing the same symptoms again.  Yep, with a 103 degree fever it was back to urgent care with strep throat again.  Finally after a few days, my fever broke and the body aches became manageable again.

I did get my two antibodies yesterday, Herceptin and Perjeta, no problems and even the "poor man's tumor marker", my LDH, fell 200 points, so hopefully we'll hear some good news in a few days about the tumor marker itself.  I'm considering acupuncture as a back-up if the Lyrica doesn't start working soon.  While on vacation I survived by using a scooter and taking slow release morphine and rapid release percocet, which both made me very sleepy.  It was fine for vacation, but its not something I want to become dependent upon.  Thanks for all your support!