Hi everyone! I just looked at my blog, and I can’t believe it has been a year since my last post. Then again, maybe I’m not surprised because the last year has been so difficult in so many ways that I couldn’t bear to sit down and write a blog post. Every time I considered putting a post together, I was filled with anxiety, so it was easy to put it off. I have a lot to catch you up on, so it will take me a bit to write a few posts, but I feel that I am finally ready to do so.
I noticed that my last post talked about my PET scan and that the news was not good. I had exhausted all oral chemo meds and had to go in for my 6th surgery to have a port put in so I could start infusion chemo for the second time in six years.
Two weeks ago, I had my 12th chemo treatment, so it was time for me to have another PET scan. On Wednesday, the 19th, I had a PET scan, and this past Monday, I saw my oncologist to get the results as well as have my next chemo treatment. Unfortunately, just as things were a year ago, my treatment stopped working. My scan showed that my previous five tumors had sped up their activity and had increased in size. I also have four new tumors, so I have more than ever before, with a total of nine. All of the tumors are in various bones, and just as things have happened in the past, I have had pain in the areas where I have new tumors. Currently, I have four in my spine: one in a rib, one in my tailbone, one in my right hip, one in my upper right arm, and one in my right shoulder bone.
So, needless to say, I am changing meds again for my chemo infusions. I will start this Monday, the 31st, and this time around, my treatments will be for about four hours, twice as long as my previous treatments, and I will have a two-week on, one-week off schedule. So I will have treatment on March 31st and then April 7th, then I will have the 14th off, but I will still have to go in for bloodwork.
I wish I had better news to share. I am taking an emotional and mental hit from this news. I sat in my car and cried a while, just overwhelmed with everything. I know my cancer is aggressive, but I am tired of going a year, sometimes a little longer, and taking a huge step backward to where my treatment plan changes and puts my body through more trauma as I try to adjust to a new schedule and meds.
I will update you soon with how I am doing after my first treatment, and I will share the information I have on the new chemo medication I am on.
Take care!