I saw Dr. Hart today. She's my radiation oncologist. After talking with Dr. Casimir, they agreed that I can go ahead with the planning stage. Dr. Hart is going to see if we can do radiation and avoid hitting my heart. That's the big concern right now. With my heart compromised, both doctors don't want to further stress it with radiation. They won't know until after I go through planning. I may have to be there longer each day, but I'd still be done in 7 weeks. If they can avoid hitting my heart, then I can do radiation at the same time as Herceptin. This would be great because then reconstruction moves up and I'll be done sooner.
Had I not been Her2+, I may have been able to avoid this altogether, but that just isn't going to happen.
Showing posts with label radiation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label radiation. Show all posts
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
I don't like cancer
This is not a surprise, I just want to reiterate that I hate having cancer. I feel great and want this whole entire ordeal put behind me so my family and I can move on.
I posted earlier that I had a MUGA scan on Monday. I got the results at my oncologist visit today. The results and the visit were not good. The MUGA confirmed that my ejection fraction (EF) was 45%. The echos showed the same thing. What this means is that my heart is being affected by the Herceptin. It isn't pumping enough blood out of my left ventricle. As a result, I am now on a break from treatment for at least the next 6 weeks. I see a cardiologist on Friday. The damage caused is reversible so I'm hoping that with some time and treatment from the cardiologist, I'll be able to resume the Herceptin and finish this thing. Once I do resume, it won't be the same as before. I was going every 3 weeks for 90 minutes. I'll now go every week for 30 minutes. The idea is my heart won't have the huge rollercoaster effect each time I go in.
This wasn't the only bad news. Now, I will have to confirm some of this with my radiation oncologist, but my regular oncologist said that I can't do radiation at the same time as the Herceptin. Since my tumor was on the left side, this is where the radiation will be. It can clip the heart which is already weakened. So, if I do still need radiation, I'll have to wait until I'm done with the Herceptin, which may not be until September or October. I'll have radiation some time after that, then I will have to wait 6 months after that to do reconstruction.
My timeline has changed completely now. I was hoping to be done with all of this by the end of the year. Now it looks like it won't be until year from this summer. Ten months changed to eighteen in a very short visit. And all of this could still change more. I just want to be done.
I posted earlier that I had a MUGA scan on Monday. I got the results at my oncologist visit today. The results and the visit were not good. The MUGA confirmed that my ejection fraction (EF) was 45%. The echos showed the same thing. What this means is that my heart is being affected by the Herceptin. It isn't pumping enough blood out of my left ventricle. As a result, I am now on a break from treatment for at least the next 6 weeks. I see a cardiologist on Friday. The damage caused is reversible so I'm hoping that with some time and treatment from the cardiologist, I'll be able to resume the Herceptin and finish this thing. Once I do resume, it won't be the same as before. I was going every 3 weeks for 90 minutes. I'll now go every week for 30 minutes. The idea is my heart won't have the huge rollercoaster effect each time I go in.
This wasn't the only bad news. Now, I will have to confirm some of this with my radiation oncologist, but my regular oncologist said that I can't do radiation at the same time as the Herceptin. Since my tumor was on the left side, this is where the radiation will be. It can clip the heart which is already weakened. So, if I do still need radiation, I'll have to wait until I'm done with the Herceptin, which may not be until September or October. I'll have radiation some time after that, then I will have to wait 6 months after that to do reconstruction.
My timeline has changed completely now. I was hoping to be done with all of this by the end of the year. Now it looks like it won't be until year from this summer. Ten months changed to eighteen in a very short visit. And all of this could still change more. I just want to be done.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Cobra, Radiation and Babies
Today was a busy day. I was at school doing light manual labor this morning. Don't worry, I didn't overdo it. It was nice to be back there and feel a little like me again. Then I was on the phone all day trying to take care of Cobra issues. There were so many issues to deal with. I really hate Cobra but if everything works out it will be worth it. The coverage is so much better than what we will have with Jason's new company. I think I talked to 5 or 6 different people today to get things resolved. While most of them have, I had to move my next Herceptin treatment from tomorrow to later next week. Because of the type of drug it is, it has to be pre-approved to be covered. It is not an inexpensive drug, so I wait.
One of my doctors suggested that I ask that my case be reviewed by the radiation review board. My general surgeon is on the board and my radiation oncologist heads it. My surgeon originally told me he couldn't get my case on the docket for this week, but I'd be on it next week. Well, he called this afternoon and told me it was the last case they discussed today. Yippee! Then he told me that due to the nature of my cancer and the fact that I have responded so well to treatment, there isn't really a clear cut answer to whether I can avoid radiation. So, I'll have another one on one discussion with my radiation oncologist to discuss what to do next. Having already talked to her, I know that I'll probably need to do it. As she put it to me, I should use every tool I have to fight this disease. My cancer has a higher recurrence rate than some other breast cancers, so I need to do everything I can to make sure it doesn't come back. No need to twist my arm.
Lastly, I want to congratulate our dear friends, Lance, Heather and Rowan, on their new addition. Baby AJ arrived yesterday morning and is so cute! Finally, Rowan has her baby brother. And now, Hayden won't be the only boy when we get together. We hope to meet him this spring. Congratulations, guys!
One of my doctors suggested that I ask that my case be reviewed by the radiation review board. My general surgeon is on the board and my radiation oncologist heads it. My surgeon originally told me he couldn't get my case on the docket for this week, but I'd be on it next week. Well, he called this afternoon and told me it was the last case they discussed today. Yippee! Then he told me that due to the nature of my cancer and the fact that I have responded so well to treatment, there isn't really a clear cut answer to whether I can avoid radiation. So, I'll have another one on one discussion with my radiation oncologist to discuss what to do next. Having already talked to her, I know that I'll probably need to do it. As she put it to me, I should use every tool I have to fight this disease. My cancer has a higher recurrence rate than some other breast cancers, so I need to do everything I can to make sure it doesn't come back. No need to twist my arm.
Lastly, I want to congratulate our dear friends, Lance, Heather and Rowan, on their new addition. Baby AJ arrived yesterday morning and is so cute! Finally, Rowan has her baby brother. And now, Hayden won't be the only boy when we get together. We hope to meet him this spring. Congratulations, guys!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Long day
Today, I went in for my Herceptin. Remember, I couldn't get it 3 weeks ago because of an abnormal echo. I reminded the nurse of that and then the 1 1/2 hour journey began. My echo was again showing my EF (can't remember what that stands for) was at 45-50%. Normal is 50-60%. My doctor said I could get it, but at a 20% lower dose. As I was getting my vitals taken, my heart started skipping again. The nurse had to talk to my doctor again. She then was in discussion with the cardiologist. Finally, I was approved for the full dose. The Herceptin can cause heart damage which is why they are very cautious about what the echo is saying.
After all that, Dad and I went to lunch. It was my first time going to a restaurant post-surgery. I felt good, tired, but good. It was nice to be able to talk with him all day. We then went home to relax a little before my next appointment.
I saw my plastic surgeon in the afternoon. After waiting an hour, I finally got in. He took out the 3rd drain and added more fluid to the tissue expanders. I have to wait until Wednesday to get the last drain out and I'll go every 2 weeks to add to the expanders. Adding fluid can be painful, since it is pushing the muscle out. I'm going to try to not take pain meds as long as I can. I don't want to spend the weekend sick again.
Dr. Basu did give me some hopeful news. Since my pathology came back negative for cancer (yippee!!) he thinks I may not need to have radiation. He thinks it needs to go before the review board to make the decision. I'll discuss it more with my oncologist and radiation oncologist in January and February. If I don't have to have radiation, it changes all of 2009 for me. I can do reconstruction sooner, my options are better for reconstruction and I'll also be done with everything sooner. Oh, I hope so, but if I have to do radiation, then that's what I'll do.
After all that, Dad and I went to lunch. It was my first time going to a restaurant post-surgery. I felt good, tired, but good. It was nice to be able to talk with him all day. We then went home to relax a little before my next appointment.
I saw my plastic surgeon in the afternoon. After waiting an hour, I finally got in. He took out the 3rd drain and added more fluid to the tissue expanders. I have to wait until Wednesday to get the last drain out and I'll go every 2 weeks to add to the expanders. Adding fluid can be painful, since it is pushing the muscle out. I'm going to try to not take pain meds as long as I can. I don't want to spend the weekend sick again.
Dr. Basu did give me some hopeful news. Since my pathology came back negative for cancer (yippee!!) he thinks I may not need to have radiation. He thinks it needs to go before the review board to make the decision. I'll discuss it more with my oncologist and radiation oncologist in January and February. If I don't have to have radiation, it changes all of 2009 for me. I can do reconstruction sooner, my options are better for reconstruction and I'll also be done with everything sooner. Oh, I hope so, but if I have to do radiation, then that's what I'll do.
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