IT"S WORKING--HALLELUJAH!!

I'll jump right to the exciting conclusion . . . THE CHEMO IS WORKING!! 

I cannot begin to describe how elated and relieved I am--it is a state of being unlike any I have experienced before.  Thank you, universe. Thank you science. Thank you biopharmaceutical companies. Thank you Dr. S and team. Thank you to everyone who prayed and cared, and sent good karma muy way. Thank you to dentists BS& SD for first discovering something that turned out to be nothing but led to many tests and scans that caught my breast cancer recurrence in the earliest possible phase of stage 4, prior to any symptoms or further metastaseses.  ( I still need to write about the roller coaster ride and finding of this cancer.  soon, soon.) 

WHEW! I can breathe again.  (Feel free to stop reading now, or to go on, if you want more detail about the the catscan process, specific findings, next steps medically, and what I ate and drank today. )

The biggest decision of the day was whether to have the long-awaited pancakes before or after the scan.  Ph and I decided to save the pancake trip til after the scan--just in case . .  (I mean, what if the results were that a tumor the size and shape of a pancake is sitting in my stomach? I don't want anyone confusing pancakes with cancer. ) BTW, big brother (Bro) mentioned that he didn't really "get" the pancakes/scancakes thing . .  and was wondering if it was perhaps little sister's (me) cleverly disguised name for a new-fangled diagnostic.  Bro is one of the smartest people I know (I mean, the guy studies tax law and calculus just for fun), so perhaps I should clarify for other readers: the pancakes are just pancakes.  I have been craving them. Scan day seemed like the perfect day for a pancake outing--something to look forward to, while otherwise being quite anxious about (aka terrified by) the possible scan results.  

At 11 am, I drank a barium sulfate suspension, berry smoothie flavor, at home.  This was provided by Sibley hospital, and picked up last week by BFF D, as I was booked solid with doctors, dentists, visits to another hospital, and pedicures.  BFF D--you are the best! (How many friends are talented and generous enough to provide art for one's walls and one's blog, cook delicious salmon dinners, pick up barium drinks, and accompany one to blood-fusion?  Not many!) Sibley Hospital sent the 450 mL drink in a brown paper bag, including instructions and waiver of liability forms, and even a straw--which I thought was a nice touch.) Here's a pic:

Oh no! I just saw on the label that it said to "shake well prior to use", and I dont think I did!  Oh, well, I probably ran around my house enough for it to get shaken. Seriously, what does this delicious smoothie do?  It coats the lining of my esophagus, stomach, and related GI body parts, so they can be seen more clearly in the CT Scan.

At 1 pm, we arrived at Sibley Hospital, and they gave me another berry smoothie to drink.  How generous of them!  Then I went back for the scan.  CT Tech M told me to leave most of my clothes on . .  "just take off your bra", and "in the scan room you can pull your jeans down a bit".  (What? What kind of place is this?) It is a pretty quick procedure--takes only about 5 minutes of actual test time.  A petscan is much more involved--and provides more detailed information--but insurance providers these days much prefer the catscan, and make patients really work hard to justify a petscan.  If the results today had been inconclusive, I might have had a follow-up petscan.  BUT THEY'RE NOT--the results are EXCELLENT! 

Ph and I then headed to the nearest Pancake House, which had plenty of available tables at 2 pm. on a Tuesday. The nice waiter suggested the Strawberry Pancakes, as they come with fresh strawberries, whipped cream, and fresh strawberry syrup.  Yum. I checked the menu--in Montgomery County, MD, restaurants are required to post calorie content--and the Strawberry Pancakes have a whopping 1110 calories!  Could I actually order that? Yes, I could. Even the healthier sounding pancake options had 900+ calories, so why not? Well, here's the reason for that monstrous calorie content:

These pancakes could feed a family of four in the Congo (poorest country in the world, I googled) for a week. They were delicious, but I surrendered, leaving my plate half full. And yes, I got a to-go box, rather than being wasteful. 

From Pancake House, next stop: Dr. S.  We waited a long time to see him, but it was totally worth it.  He said "sorry to keep you waiting so long for your good news". WOW. A slice of heaven.  IT'S WORKING! The friggin chemo is working!! The CT scan showed that all 4 cancer "spots" are about 50% smaller than they were in November!  And, the CA 27-29 tumor marker also shows less cancer activity in my body.  YES! I can handle the fatigue; I can handle the bone pain; I can handle the tummy aches; I can handle it all if it is working.  Bring it on! I may surrender to a huge plate of pancakes, but I will not surrender to cancer or the drudgeries of treatment.

So, chemo cycle #4 begins on Thursday.  More of the same. I will have 3 cycles--hopefully ending in mid-April--and hopefully followed by a petscan. And then we'll see what the universe presents next.

Here's to making all of those nasty cancer spots--in me and too many others--smaller and smaller and smaller, until it all disappears.

CDiva

Maybe possibly hopefully . . halfway through?

I have completed three cycles of chemotherapy.  Each cycle (not to be confused by a "round", of course) consists of:

• day 1: a chemo cocktail mix of 2 drugs, some anti-nausea meds, a bit of steroids, all infused through my port
• days 2-3, energy boost from steroids (as one BFF says, "Sandi on steroids is like . . . Sandi on steroids . . eg, on both phones, sipping a latte, while asking the waiter a detailed question about the menu, sending an email, talking to BFF, and refreshing my lip gloss
• days 2-6, some tummy aches, ward off with various OTC and prescription meds; whine a little bit
• day 8: one of the two chemo drugs infused again, with the same chasers
• day 9: a follow-up shot, subQ, to boost white blood cell count
• days 12-15: jolts of bone pain from activity of boosting white blood cell production in my bone marrow; seek to manage with OTC and prescription meds; whine a lot.
• days 16-20: live normal life, nothing special to report usually
• day 21= day 1, and we start all over again . . .

So, of course, I am very anxious to continue this regimen!  No kidding--I really am.

February 19, just about a week from now, will be a big day.  I am scheduled for a catscan.  No petscan this time, as apparently insurance providers prefer the specific feline scan to the more open-ended possibility of various household animals. 

On this red letter day, I will drink a contrast agent in the morning (that by then I will have picked up from Sibley hospital. I dont know if they offer different flavors or not; have not seen a menu of any sort.)   I am also allowed to eat and drink regular people food that day--I am SO delighted when a test is not a fasting one.   Im craving pancakes already!  After the scan at Sibley Hospital, I will meet with Dr. S to find out the results.  I'm really really glad I will be able to meet with him and discuss the results immediately--otherwise, I have no idea how I would sleep that night. (or frankly, how I sleep at night now . .  oh, I know how--not very well!)

So, essentially in a week-ish, I will know whether/how well the chemo is working.  Signs of less cancer, smaller spots of cancer, cancer being driven kicking and screaming from my body will all be very welcome.  And would mean continuing the lovely regimen listed above, for another three cycles.   Signs of more cancer, no change in the level of cancer, or other such nastiness will likely lead to a Plan B.  And no, I dont mean the morning after pill.  I guess there's also a possibility that the tests will be somewhat inconclusive.  As we know, so much of life is not black and white, and many decisions must be made in shades of grey.

All crossing of fingers, praying for healing, sending of good karma is much appreciated.

Stay tuned.