August 7th - A Time of Transition- Part II

 

The Tipping Point - Health Update

Last September, I had a discussion with one of my surgeons who had just done a surgical biopsy on my breast. Although all of my doctors agreed that I had cancer in my chest wall, the pathology report did not confirm that. (An additional biopsy at Ohio State did confirm "mucin" in one of their samples, but individual cells could not be stained). 

I asked my surgeon what I could expect. I had to laugh when he said "pain", because I had honestly kept the thought of pain off of my radar. So I write this post almost as a "marker" in my cancer journey. 

I started taking Ibrance a week ago Friday after much reluctance. Luckily, I haven't seemed to experience any of the negative side effects I did on Verzenio. Ibrance belongs to a class of drugs designed to inhibit cancer cell reproduction. 

I realized this morning that most of the pain I am currently experiencing is within my breasts/chest wall and not from the bruises from my recent bike fall. This is new and I don't know if the medication is playing any role at all. We'll just have to wait and see.

So this post is short and sweet. 

Kathy

July 11th - The Dreaded Health Update

 

Background

In June I was scheduled for both a bone scan and a CT scan to assess if my treatment plan needed to be adjusted.

The bone scan did not appear to have significant changes. The major difference is that previous reports did not mention "faint uptake in the medial left clavicle."

Next up was the CT scan. This wasn't quite as optimistic.

In previous studies, the radiologists have mentioned how difficult it can be to measure the "soft tissue mass." However, the radiologist noted that the mass had increased in measurement by 3 mm. Of more concern to me was the second sentence which noted that the mass "appears to extend through the chest wall and into the pleural space and is suggestive of invasive neoplastic process." He also noted that there was "worsening of the underlying pleural" and "extensive intrathoracic involvement." Here is a comparison of the March and June images:

My daughter, Liz, accompanied me to the followup appointment. The weekend before, I had my 70-pound bike fall on me as I tried to dismount. I tried to break the fall with my arm and had experienced a fair amount of pain over the following couple of days. This, in combination with the falls I had on our bike trip led my doctor to suggest that I no longer ride. I felt like crying.

She also ordered up an immediate brain MRI to see if the cancer had metastasized to my brain. Thankfully, it had not. However, the report did note "moderate chronic small vessel ischemic white matter disease." My limited reasearch indicated that this can contribute to balance issues in older adults." If I'm honest with myself, I know my balance is not quite what it used to be.

After reviewing these results, my doctor suggested that I consider taking Ibrance at a lower dose. She had a nurse educator call me. Among the side effects she mentioned were impacts on white blood, hemoglobin and platelet counts. You are more susceptible to infection and I'm to call if my temperature exceeds 104. It can lead to increased fatigue and poorer liver function which they will monitor carefully. In rare cases, the medication can lead to interstitial lung disease.

I had previously refused this medication because it is similar to Verzenio which I stopped due to side effects. I am stressed about what to do, although I said I would "try" it and see. Now I'm second-guessing this.

So there you have it. I think I'll let my mind travel back to Canada. Here is one of my favorite pictures from that trip.

Peace to all who are sharing in my journey. I appreciate you.

Kathy