Chemo Day.
August 3rd. Oncology follow-up.
Dr. Kovitz is an amazing oncologist. I inherited him when my first doctor left to go teach at Baylor and he was hired to replace her. He left MD Anderson for a season, but he told me he came back “home” and plans to retire from here. I hope he is my doctor for the rest of my life, as I will most likely be in treatment that long.
Some people call it remission, but they don’t really use that term much anymore. Basically I still have cancer cells in my body, so everything we are doing is keeping them from growing and “progressing.” Stable is a good thing. I will always be considered “terminal,” until the day I die, most likely from some other cause. I’m planning on old age. 🤩🤩🤩
We talked about how well my body is doing. He recalled the large mass (7 cm) on my ribcage completely disappearing, the lesions in my liver, lungs, bones, skull, and even in the brain that have vanished or nearly so. It’s amazing how much we have overcome. He said I am “off the charts” (in terms of lifespan) and he is still amazed at how well my body is responding. I attributed it to God, and he affirmed it. He said we are all just tools in His hands, but He is the one doing this.
Aside, I have to remind myself that not everyone is as fortunate as I am. Because I’m “off the charts,” it means I am one of the few. I realize there are many women out there with metastatic breast cancer who do not live as long as I have. Not everyone has the energy and strength to do what I am able to do. I don’t know why God has allowed me to live a longer life, but I don’t think he is finished with me yet!
I will go back for follow-up scans in November, but between now and then we will be out of town. I told my oncologist I might miss a treatment or two while we are traveling with our Airstream in September and October. “Living life to the fullest,” I smiled. He said, and I’ll never forget this, “That’s why we’re doing all of this, right? If you can’t live life, then what the he** are we doing here?” He is a colorful guy. 😂🤪😄
Yes, Dr. K. That’s why we are doing this. Thank you for that reminder! I will continue to do this as long as we deem necessary. Maybe one day the protocols will change and I can go off of the drugs, but for now, we keep on keeping on.
My body is still stable, meaning I haven’t seen any progression of the cancer in nearly four years, and everything has been shrinking or disappeared in over six years. I have very tiny punctate lesions in my brain that are so small they don’t even pick up on the MRI every time. Hot spots always show up in my bones, but that could be places that have healed or left holes where the cancer has eaten my bones. Either way, these spots have not grown and they are considered stable. I expect no changes at my follow-up scans in November.
If you’re a bit nerdy like me, and you want to know more about the drugs they are giving me, I’ve included some links where you can read more about it. I know, it’s Wikipedia, but this information is not being used for a published research paper LOL 😂🤪😂.
July 31st. Chemo Day. I continue to get infusions of Pertuzumab (Perjeta) and Trastuzumab (Herceptin) every three weeks for the HER2+ part of the cancer. Sometimes I can extend it a little longer, but if it goes more than four weeks I have to reload and the infusion time is longer. It’s a little harder on my body to do that, but it’s worth it when we are traveling or have other things going on.
I didn’t get it this time, but they do give me an infusion of Zoledronic acid (Zometa) every three or six months, or sometimes longer. My doctor said it’s not as simple as it was in the first five years. Zometa helps strengthen the bones, but if you take it for too long or too often it can actually make your bones too solid which removes their natural flexibility. We talk about this one every time I go in to see him. He’s going to do some additional bloodwork at my next visit to determine where my bones are at this point, but he said to plan a longer visit as he’s adding Zometa.
I also continue to take Anastrozole (Arimidex), which is a pill, daily. This is for the estrogen-positive part of the cancer. One time the PA explained to me that it is hard to lose weight when you are in treatment for estrogen-positive (ER+) cancer, because they have to suppress your estrogen. Estrogen is helpful in losing weight. I struggle with this now, but it helps to know it’s not all because I’m doing everything wrong. (although I could lay off the sugar 🤪🥴🤪😂😂).
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
