Better News Today

I received informal MRI results from my oncologist over the phone this morning.  The very good news is that there is no sign of ANY cancer in the meningeal lining of the brain - this is where I had the swelling that sent me to the hospital in July.  Dr. Bonomi is very happy about this development.  It is clear the Tarceva is working.  Yay! 

There is a little gray cloud in this otherwise blue sky report.  There is a new tiny lesion (we're talking millimeters) in the right occipital lobe that we need to keep an eye on (pun intended - the occipital lobe governs eyesight).

The doctor is not at all worried about it and says if it grows we can just zap it with focused radiation. I'm not feeling quite as cavalier about it, but I can't do much about it so will do my best not to let it worry me.  I suggest we all take that path.

I should have the radiologist's formal report on the MRI by tomorrow but will only post something if there are any more details that are worth sharing.

A Frustrating and Sad Day

I don't have any news on my progress from the MRI today because my first appointment of the day was over an hour late and caused me to miss my scheduled MRI appointment that followed it. The radiology dept. could not fit me in until 5 pm so I didn't leave the hospital until after 6:00 p.m. after being there since 9:45 a.m. and not eating or drinking anything because of the MRI. Today was even more waiting around than usual with a lot of uncertainty of when and if all the procedures originally scheduled for today would get done. They ultimately were, but I won't get the results of the MRI until tomorrow or Wed.

While waiting, I received the tragically sad news that Doug's 24 year old cousin who had just recently completed her treatment for lymphoma died from related complications today.

When I worked on sending out messages this evening, I began to have computer issues as well.

It has been a very hard day.

Things Appear to be Stable

I had a visit with Dr. Bonomi, CAT scan and maintenance chemotherapy on Monday, August 18.  Everything seems to be going along just fine.  The CAT scan was not significantly different from the prior one.  Some lesions may have shrunk a little, some lymph nodes may have grown a little, but nothing the doctors are giving much attention or concern to.  The blood work looked good and even my red and white blood cell counts were in normal range.

Dr. Bonomi is very comfortable with my progress and glad to see I am back to my old self in activity, awareness and cognition.  I'm not having any pain or discomfort.  We will continue following the current treatment of high dose Tarceva once a week for the brain and maintenance chemo once every 3 weeks for the lung.
I continue to reduce the steroid dosage and if all goes well, will be off them entirely after this Friday. 


The next appointment is September 8.  I will have an MRI with contrast to see how the brain is doing - hopefully the Tarceva is doing its job once again!  All outward appearances seem to indicate that it is.   I'll take it!  :)

Last Week was a Roller Coaster

On Sunday afternoon, Doug whisked me off to Rush Medical Center Emergency Room where I spent the next 4 days with swelling in the lining of the brain.  I had a ocular migraine earlier that morning that went away without event.  I went to visit my parents and all was fine, but when I got home I was very tired and took a nap.  When I woke up, I was out of it.  Blank stare.  Trouble forming words.  Slow movement.  Doug thought I was having a stroke.  He called our oncology nurse, Irene, who said to take me to the ER at Rush.

I have never had such intense pain.  It hurt to blink my eyes, move my neck or any other part of my body.  I hurt from my forehead to my ears to the base of my spine.  I had no sensation in my left arm.  I just tried to lay perfectly still and bring my mind somewhere else.  My emotions were unstable and I wasn't myself.

I resisted an MRI with contrast because I felt panicked when I had one without contrast.  I also refused a epideral puncture to determine if the cause of the brain swelling was infection.  I ultimately had the contrast MRI and based on that and the fact that the steroids they gave me worked so quickly, they determined the cause of the swelling was cancer.

I am now on a high dose of Tarceva (700 mcg) once a week to keep the brain swelling down.  I also am continuing with maintenance chemo once every 3 weeks for the lungs.  I am slowly weaning off the steroids.

I feel back to normal, but it was a scary episode.  I hope to avoid any recurrences and just get on with living a normal life.

My Post on The Plum blog

My second submission to The Plum, an online magazine for the Women Survivors Alliance has been published on their site.  You can view the posting, The One Thing We Can Control,  by clicking on this link.  The gist of it is that no matter what life throws your way, you can choose how to deal with it to make the situation better or worse.

I hope you find it helpful.

Stability

Today I had a CT scan and my first maintenance chemo.  The CT showed no significant change from the prior one, which is considered to be a good result.

Maintenance chemo was basically the same as the treatment chemo, but a half an hour shorter since one of the chemo drugs is now eliminated. I also have fewer oral drugs to take post chemotherapy.

Next chemo session, along with an MRI of the brain, will be Monday, July 21.

Today was the last Treatment

Today I had the fourth chemotherapy treatment which starts the last of the four three-week treatment cycles. 

In three weeks, I will begin the maintenance phase, which still involves chemotherapy, but only one drug instead of two.  Otherwise the maintenance phase is pretty much the same as the treatment phase. I'll still receive an anti-nausea and a steroid drug through the IV prior to the chemo drug being administered.  I'll still have some fatigue, although somewhat less, a few days after the chemo.  I will still be on the once every three week cycle for at least the next nine weeks.  Eventually, it may extend to once every four weeks and then continue in that format as long as the chemo keeps working. 

I will have a CT along with the first maintenance chemo on July 2.  Hopefully, the CT will show even fewer and smaller lesions than the last scan done on May 19th.

The doctor shared some promising research that was all the buzz at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) convention held in Chicago recently.  The third generation of receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (the drug line that uses the same approach to fight the cancer as Tarceva had been doing for me) is showing some really good success in current clinical trials and the trials are now being fast-tracked. The new oral drug may be available to the public as early as six months from now but should be available no later than sometime in 2015.  It has been showing a 50-60% success rate and appears to have gentler side effects than Tarceva.  So maybe that will be something for me once it becomes available.


That's all the news for now.