Day 111 - 1/28/19
Chemo Treatment # 5!!! Only 1 more to go after this one!
Another pre-chemo night without any sleep. I have been up since yesterday afternoon. :( There were a couple of times, last night, I thought sleep was coming on, and I braced for it and embraced it. After about 20 minutes, I realized I had been tricked by my own body. *_* .... Twice.
Oh well…. I turned the television back on and continued to watch it for the duration of the night.
At 6 am, it’s time to get up and start getting ready for the day ahead. Starting with breakfast, steroids and packing my bag, etc. Before leaving the house, I have to take pre-nausea medicine and put lidocaine on my mediport area so it’s not so tender when they put the clip in.
When I make it to my appointments, I’m disappointed that I won’t get to see my favorite lab tech. She is the ONLY person that has EVER taken blood from me, and I don’t feel the “prick” from the needle. I have never experienced anything like this before, and I have had a lot of blood drawn over the years of my life. It truly is the simple in things in life that mean so much. :)
Today is my appointment with my oncologist. I jotted down a few questions that I had since we’re nearing the end of the chemo portion of my treatment.
Here are my questions and the answers:
Q: Is the purpose of radiation therapy to primarily target the cancer on my sternum? A: After the last chemo treatment, another PET scan will be ordered to evaluate any remaining cancer sites that are active. From there the radiation oncologist will determine how to proceed. The radiation oncologist will be added to the team at that time.
Q: What is the medication that will continue after chemo, and is there a specific timeline that this will continue? A: The name of the medication is Herceptin. The purpose of this medication is a preventive measure to prevent re-occurrence of the cancer. Prior to discovery of the cancer on the sternum, it was to be given for 1 year. After discovery of the cancer on the sternum, the timeline has increased, but it has become “indefinite.”
Q: What time period would be considered “safe” for this drug, and how will it be administered? A: My oncologist stated that he currently has a patient that has been on this medication for 12+ successful years. The medication will be administered every 3 weeks via my mediport device, and the infusion will last 30 minutes to an hour.
Last question….. Q: What was the initial size of the tumor on my sternum? A: 9 cm—not sure why, but this was shocking to me. That seems kind of large compared to the one on my breast.
My doctor asked me about the side-effects that I’m feeling. I told him that there has been an increase in my fatigue. He stated that that is actually normal because my red blood count has been steadily decreasing. This means that I am becoming anemic, but the counts aren’t too low to be concerned about them. And also, this will correct itself once the chemo is done. This is good to know.
I don’t have anty other questions, so off to the infusion room I go! After this session, ONLY ONE MORE TO GO!!!! :)
“The best thing about Wisdom is Wisdom herself; good sense is more important than anything else. If you value Wisdom and hold tightly to her, great honors will be yours. It will be like wearing a glorious crown of beautiful flowers.” Proverbs 4: 7-9 CEV
Day 112:
https://www.healingthroughfaith.com/blog/day-112-1-29-19
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