Four Weeks on Afinitor

I am having varying side effects, such as nausea, headaches, abdominal pain, excessive thirst, dizziness, fatigue, decreased appetite, and weight loss. Of all of the side effects I am experiencing, it is my weight loss that concerns me the most. I have needed to lose the “last 20 lbs” for a while now, but I don’t like losing it this way. I have lost 5 lbs since November 2nd, which is a lot for me, especially since I am not working out.

My goal weight was 155, and my lowest weight before cancer was 160. I have never lost weight while having active cancer until now. Am I eating less? Sometimes, I am because I am either not hungry or nauseous. But I have to eat since I am diabetic, so I am eating.

Last Friday, I saw my regular doctor, who told me not to worry so much about the weight loss. He knows that I want to lose a little more weight, so as long as I am eating healthy and watching my sugar, my body should get used to the medication, and my weight should level off.

On Monday the 4th, I had an appointment with my oncologist, and he is not concerned about my weight loss either. He updated me about the tumor sample that was sent in for molecular testing, and they said that the sample was not sufficient. Next Monday, the 11th, I have an appointment to see my surgeon for a consult concerning the tumor in my neck and scheduling an ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy to get a fresh sample to send in for molecular testing. As long as it is still large enough to get a few samples, he should schedule me sometime between next Tuesday and Friday to do the biopsy. My oncologist wants the biopsy done as soon as possible because we need to be aware of all of the possibilities concerning medications that will work to kill my particular type of cancer.

The sense of urgency is because he said that if my current medications are found to be ineffective at some point, there is only one other oral medication to try. He prefers to keep me on oral medications because infusions are my last option after oral medicines, and he has already told me that I will be very sick if we have to go that route. My oncologist also knows that I may not be willing to put myself or my husband through chemo infusions that will be devastating to my body, once again, and to my husband as well. My husband has always said that watching me go through 16 chemotherapy treatments in the summer of 2019 was the most difficult part of that year, even compared to my having three surgeries between April and November.

At this point, I would like my side effects to start to lessen as I am on my medications for longer and longer. When the side effects start up, they can make me miserable, and that makes everything more challenging to deal with. I have to stay on my current medications for the next two months until the end of January, when I have my next PET scan. Hopefully, by the time of my scan, I will have adjusted to the medications, and my PET scan will show that my tumors are smaller and have slowed down their activity.

I will update after my appointment with my surgeon on Monday the 11th.

As always, thank you for being here; it means so much to me!