Today started off not so great. I kept waking up every hour either waiting for my alarm to go off or to go pee. Finally at 3a, I got up out of bed. I felt like crap. But I had to get into work because I knew the other person who is supposed to open the building with me would not be there. So I got in and opened the building. Three minutes after my counterpart was supposed to be there, she showed up. If I hadn't been there, the building would have been open with no supervisor and no one to disarm the building. I can't tell you how pissed off I was. So I waited around until a few more supervisors came in so I could leave. I finally got out of the building at 6a.
When I got home Brad was getting the girls ready for Becky. Amelia said she was not feeling well. Brad was not feeling well either. Nevertheless, we got the girls ready. I went back to bed and fell asleep for about an hour or so. It felt good to sleep. Brad came home around 9:30a because he wasn't feeling well either.
At about 10.30a I left because I wanted to drop off some diapers at Becky's. Elaina was having some issues. Poor girl! :(
I got to the hospital at 11:45 and at 12 they called me back to put the line in my arm. The nurse couldn't find it so I got poked three times. Then they called the IV team. They never showed, so another nurse tried another place on my arm. She go in and I was good to go. Unfortunately, that took an hour. So I was running late already. I made them call the breast center to make sure they knew I was running late because of the MRI. I downstairs and they were ready for me. I made myself comfy on the table... face down... with my boobs dangling in the wind. I made sure to ask the techs to put the contrast in me at a slower rate that way I wouldn't get nauseous. I even took a half of ativan before getting on the table. The scan went well and it was only 15 minutes long. Glad it went well. While I was leaving, I saw a scan of my boobs on the screen. Pretty cool.
I hurried up and got dressed to move on to my next appointment which was my mammogram. I got there and checked in. Debbie, the receptionist, said I was so brave. She was the one that I talked to yesterday and said that I wanted to do the MRI. In any case, the mammogram was fine. There wasn't any issue.
Then I went back to wait for my ultrasound. It was then I saw Brooke. I love that nurse. She's awesome. She said that I always make her feel happy and good. :) Neato. Next it was the ultrasound time. I got a tech who was from France. She was nice. I was watching what she had on the screen. It was really difficult to see what she was looking at. She finished and then left the room to get someone to look at the pictures. I was just dozing when the door opened and Dr. Chan walked in. He said that he got to take a look at my MRI and it looked clear. I said, "Excuse me?" He said that he can't find the tumor on it. He also said the French woman was having issues find the tumor on the ultrasound, so he wanted to tak a look at it himself. I said fine. He even had issues. What happened is that the tumor has shrunk so much that it may be in "littler" pieces. He checked the lymph nodes and he said those have all shrunk. I started tearing up on the table. I was not expecting that sort of news. I expected to hear that it was still there, but smaller. Not that the MRI didn't show anything. I am sure there's still tumor. Now I am going to ask if I would be a candidate for a lumpectomy. I will not get a lumpectomy, but I just want to know if I would be a good candidate for it. I asked what he saw on the mammogram. He said that my breast tissue is so dense it's really hard to see anything. Cool. Before Dr. Chan left, I made him repeat the MRI results. I am so happy and elated with the news. Too cool. Now I can't wait until the appointments on Thursday. I'm beating this breast cancer. It picked the wrong girl.
On my way home, I stopped by to see Dr. Desiree Bley to tell her about my good news. I also wanted to ask about what to ask the gynoc. We want minimally invasive surgery. Good to know. It was nice to see everyone else there too. :)
I am pretty wiped... so I will be going to bed. More later. Still so excited
Showing posts with label ultrasound. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ultrasound. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Monday, May 14, 2012
Day 121 - Back to the ER
Today's ER trip is brought to you by my daughter, Elaina. What a special Mother's Day gift.
So after Friday's trip to Mt. Hood Knight Cancer for hydration and Neulasta, I was good to go. Saturday (Day 119) was a great day. I just had my normal bone and joint pain, but nothing to cause alarm. I did notice that on Friday, Elaina started getting a runny nose, so I made Elaina stay far away (well as far away as she possibly could) and made Brad take care of her. But that made no difference. I started to get a drippy nose Saturday evening. I thought that maybe it was due to allergies. It's hot here and everyone was out mowing their yards. Saturday I went to bed... only to wake up Sunday morning with a really scratchy throat. It felt almost dry. The sore throat didn't go away. The stuffy head came and went. Then came the shiverring while under my down comforter. I took my temperature and it was anywhere between 100.4-101. Time to call the on call oncologist. He told me that I should go to the ER and make sure there wasn't anything else associated with the fever.
So thank you Nancy for taking me to the ER and thank you Becky for picking up and watching the girls. I so appreciate it. I was at the ER from about 530-915. Ugh. What did they do in that time? Took my temp, gave me a liter of saline, swab for strep throat, 2 chest x-rays, a urine sample and blood draws through my port. The strep test came back negative. The x-rays looked good. And my white blood count came back at 57,000. So I was good to go. I was just concerned about the fever and since my temp was coming down and I wasn't shiverring, I figured I was getting better. I even got a little turkey sandwich while I was there. I was so hungry.
So the doctor wants to treat me as if I had strep throat, even though I don't. I have to take antibiotics for the next 10 days. Dr. Luoh's nurse called me this morning and asked how I was doing. I told her I was fine. She said that she was going to check and see if I needed to take the antibiotics for the strep. I haven't heard back from her. No biggie. I am just taking it until I hear otherwise. I believe there's no adverse effects between the chemo sucky and antibiotics.
Also today I got a call from scheduling. Apparently Brooke, one of the Nurse Navigators, remembered that I didn't like MRIs. So she got it okayed from Dr. Naik to cancel my MRI for tomorrow. They would just try to work off of the ultrasound and the mammogram. I told the scheduler to keep the MRI appointment because if they don't get what they need, then they will have to ask for one anyway. I figure I will just take an ativan while I am there. No worries. I just don't want to throw up while in the tube. I do, however, appreciate Brooke's kindness to try and not schedule me for that nasty test.
Here's what's up for tomorrow... MRI at 12, Mammogram at 1:20 and ultrasound at 2p.
Special shout out to my mom and Vern. Thanks for the wonderful basket filled with fruit, chocolate, cheese, crackers, nuts and more! Love you!
So after Friday's trip to Mt. Hood Knight Cancer for hydration and Neulasta, I was good to go. Saturday (Day 119) was a great day. I just had my normal bone and joint pain, but nothing to cause alarm. I did notice that on Friday, Elaina started getting a runny nose, so I made Elaina stay far away (well as far away as she possibly could) and made Brad take care of her. But that made no difference. I started to get a drippy nose Saturday evening. I thought that maybe it was due to allergies. It's hot here and everyone was out mowing their yards. Saturday I went to bed... only to wake up Sunday morning with a really scratchy throat. It felt almost dry. The sore throat didn't go away. The stuffy head came and went. Then came the shiverring while under my down comforter. I took my temperature and it was anywhere between 100.4-101. Time to call the on call oncologist. He told me that I should go to the ER and make sure there wasn't anything else associated with the fever.
So thank you Nancy for taking me to the ER and thank you Becky for picking up and watching the girls. I so appreciate it. I was at the ER from about 530-915. Ugh. What did they do in that time? Took my temp, gave me a liter of saline, swab for strep throat, 2 chest x-rays, a urine sample and blood draws through my port. The strep test came back negative. The x-rays looked good. And my white blood count came back at 57,000. So I was good to go. I was just concerned about the fever and since my temp was coming down and I wasn't shiverring, I figured I was getting better. I even got a little turkey sandwich while I was there. I was so hungry.
So the doctor wants to treat me as if I had strep throat, even though I don't. I have to take antibiotics for the next 10 days. Dr. Luoh's nurse called me this morning and asked how I was doing. I told her I was fine. She said that she was going to check and see if I needed to take the antibiotics for the strep. I haven't heard back from her. No biggie. I am just taking it until I hear otherwise. I believe there's no adverse effects between the chemo sucky and antibiotics.
Also today I got a call from scheduling. Apparently Brooke, one of the Nurse Navigators, remembered that I didn't like MRIs. So she got it okayed from Dr. Naik to cancel my MRI for tomorrow. They would just try to work off of the ultrasound and the mammogram. I told the scheduler to keep the MRI appointment because if they don't get what they need, then they will have to ask for one anyway. I figure I will just take an ativan while I am there. No worries. I just don't want to throw up while in the tube. I do, however, appreciate Brooke's kindness to try and not schedule me for that nasty test.
Here's what's up for tomorrow... MRI at 12, Mammogram at 1:20 and ultrasound at 2p.
Special shout out to my mom and Vern. Thanks for the wonderful basket filled with fruit, chocolate, cheese, crackers, nuts and more! Love you!
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Day 103 - Round 7!
I know I am late posting this... but I've been busy. :)
Round 7... means I only have one more treatment to go! I'm almost there!
On Thursday we met with Dr. Luoh and went over the test results of the ultrasound. He's very happy that everything is going down and that I am still responding to treatments. We are going to keep on the same regimine. He was also pleased that I didn't get as sick as I had been getting. So he ordered another hydration of a liter of saline for Friday and then 4mg of Neulasta to follow. I do think that is making a difference. We also discussed my BRCA2 positive result. He said that will most likely change some of the post treatment. I was going to go on tamoxifen for five years, but since I tested positive, he says that I will most likely get an oophorectomy and then be on tamoxifen for about 1-2 years and then I will be put on a different hormone suppressor. We want to get rid of the estrogen in my body. He said if I don't want to do the oophorectomy, they have drugs to put my ovaries to sleep. In any case, either way, estrogen will drop about 92% in my body. There are other organs that would provide the other 8% of estrogen, so I would never quite be free of estrogen. But a 92% decrease is good. I like Dr. Luoh. He is so thorough. I also asked him after my chemo-sucky treatments will there be more cancer in my body. He said yes, and that's what the hormone therapy and stuff is for. We are going to starve the cancer by getting rid of the estrogen receptors. Makes sense. He said that there may still be some "floating" around in my body... most likely from where my tumor is. But he's confident I will be fine. I trust him. Oh yes, and then he told me that he wanted me to have an ultrasound done on my left leg. He was worried about me having deep vein thrombosis (DVT)... or blood clot in my leg after last week and my spleen issue. So after my chemo-sucky treatment, I was to go downstairs to the third floor to get an u/s. Fun times.
Next on the list of things to do was to talk to the genetic counselors. That was fast and easy. I had many of my questions answered when Kelly called me to give me the results. So there was nothing new there. They just suggest that I get out the parts before I am 40. Most likely I will get them out sometime this year, either during the double mastectomy or reconstruction. Everything seems to be going as scheduled.
Following my chemo-sucky, I went downstairs for my ultrasound. They found nothing. But it was cool looking at my veins and arteries in my leg. I am learning so much stuff about my anatomy.
Round 7... means I only have one more treatment to go! I'm almost there!
On Thursday we met with Dr. Luoh and went over the test results of the ultrasound. He's very happy that everything is going down and that I am still responding to treatments. We are going to keep on the same regimine. He was also pleased that I didn't get as sick as I had been getting. So he ordered another hydration of a liter of saline for Friday and then 4mg of Neulasta to follow. I do think that is making a difference. We also discussed my BRCA2 positive result. He said that will most likely change some of the post treatment. I was going to go on tamoxifen for five years, but since I tested positive, he says that I will most likely get an oophorectomy and then be on tamoxifen for about 1-2 years and then I will be put on a different hormone suppressor. We want to get rid of the estrogen in my body. He said if I don't want to do the oophorectomy, they have drugs to put my ovaries to sleep. In any case, either way, estrogen will drop about 92% in my body. There are other organs that would provide the other 8% of estrogen, so I would never quite be free of estrogen. But a 92% decrease is good. I like Dr. Luoh. He is so thorough. I also asked him after my chemo-sucky treatments will there be more cancer in my body. He said yes, and that's what the hormone therapy and stuff is for. We are going to starve the cancer by getting rid of the estrogen receptors. Makes sense. He said that there may still be some "floating" around in my body... most likely from where my tumor is. But he's confident I will be fine. I trust him. Oh yes, and then he told me that he wanted me to have an ultrasound done on my left leg. He was worried about me having deep vein thrombosis (DVT)... or blood clot in my leg after last week and my spleen issue. So after my chemo-sucky treatment, I was to go downstairs to the third floor to get an u/s. Fun times.
Next on the list of things to do was to talk to the genetic counselors. That was fast and easy. I had many of my questions answered when Kelly called me to give me the results. So there was nothing new there. They just suggest that I get out the parts before I am 40. Most likely I will get them out sometime this year, either during the double mastectomy or reconstruction. Everything seems to be going as scheduled.
Following my chemo-sucky, I went downstairs for my ultrasound. They found nothing. But it was cool looking at my veins and arteries in my leg. I am learning so much stuff about my anatomy.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Day 101 - I'm shrinking! I'm shrinking!
I went in today for my ultrasound. I had a different sonographer who took the pictures and measurements. When she was done she said she was going to talk to the doctor. I asked her if Dr. Chan was in. She said yes. I said good because he is the one who has been following me. So Dr. Chan came in a few minutes later with a Dr. Yow (I think??) who was an OB/GYN resident. I told him that I was BRCA2+. He said that's the reason why I got breast cancer so early. Yup. Then I said that I will most likely now have to get an oopherectomy. The other doctor nodded yes. Anyway, Dr. Chan wanted to look at my breast again. I like him. He said that the tumor was shrinking. It measured 2.2 x 1.8 x 1.6 cm compared with a previous measurement of 3.6 x 3.3 x 2.0 cm. Then he moved to the axillary nodes (under my arm). He found two nodes and said that they are kidney shaped and they don't appear as thick. The largest measured 1.0 x 0.9 x 0.3 cm compared with a previous measurement of 1.4 x 1.0 x 0.7 cm. Then he measured the node in my neck. It measured 1.2 x 1.1 x 0.5 cm compared with 1.5 x 1.4 x 0.6 cm prior. So he was happy with everything and said the treatment is doing what it's supposed to do. The last time I had any measurements was just before my third AC treatment. So I've gone through 4 more treatments. I wish it had gone down even more... but we are moving in the right direction. You'll have to remember that the axillary nodes when I first got to OHSU were "clumpy" and they could find no clear node. So now that they can find the nodes again is awesome. In fact, he was having trouble finding one of the lymph nodes under my arm. So this is good.
Now I get to look forward to two more treatments. And I seriously mean that I get to look forward to two - not 8 a few months back. Let's hope that I don't get sick again. I want to feel good this weekend. That will mean that maybe I will feel good on Mother's Day!
Oh, when I was doing some research online about BRCA, I read that being BRCA1 positive (I'm BRCA2) can actually hinder the chances of conceiving. Interesting. Something about the gene and how it affects the eggs. Just in an interesting thing I found. I wonder if that will be part of a test for those undergoing fertility issues...
Now I get to look forward to two more treatments. And I seriously mean that I get to look forward to two - not 8 a few months back. Let's hope that I don't get sick again. I want to feel good this weekend. That will mean that maybe I will feel good on Mother's Day!
Oh, when I was doing some research online about BRCA, I read that being BRCA1 positive (I'm BRCA2) can actually hinder the chances of conceiving. Interesting. Something about the gene and how it affects the eggs. Just in an interesting thing I found. I wonder if that will be part of a test for those undergoing fertility issues...
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Day 95 - I'm Normal!
Wow... I am normal. Seems like an oxymoran at this point in time. But that is what the ultrasound technician said.
I went in for my blood work and my u/s this morning. It was nice going to a smaller hospital. Everyone was on time. I got there shortly after 8a. Since I was early for the u/s appointment, I went and had my bloodwork done. I only had to walk a short distance from the check in desk to the outpatient lab. The technicians were a bit scary... english wasn't their first language. But the lab worker got my vein on the first try and it was done within minutes. After that, it took a few minutes to wait to check in for the u/s. I barely had time to get one text off to Brad to tell him that I was done with the bloodwork before I got called back. Since I was just at Mt. Hood about two weeks ago, they had me in the system. That was awesome. After checking in, it was a quick wait in a hallway. I think I waited about 7 minutes... just enough time to fire off two text messages! LOL. Thanks Annie! Then it was back in the u/s room. The sonographer was awesome. We just talked through the whole thing. She went to school in Oklahoma but moved out to the NW because she went through an F5 tornado and said she wasn't having anymore of that (scary, Brooke!). She's been in Oregon for many years now. We also talked about why we though breast cancer stats were so much higher. She didn't know. I just wanted her opinion. And whether she wanted it or not, I gave her mine. I said I like to think that we are more in tune with our bodies and we tend to catch the symptoms/signs earlier. She said she liked that response and was going to use it. Um, lemme see, I found out that the hospital complex is going to open up a new office facility that will specialize in women's breast health... mammography, biopsies and the like. She used to work at Mt. Hood MC, then went to another hospital, only to return a few months ago because she was launching this new office. She specializes in the breast. In fact, she was shocked that I was a breast cancer patient. She thought that I just had a lumpectomy because she thought my wig was my real hair. She said that I looked great for someone going through chemo and she was thrown off because I still have my eyebrows and eye lashes! Ha! I kept some hair! hahahaha!
So the u/s was only about 25 minutes in length. She took lots of pictures of my liver. She took pictures of my kidneys, pancreas, gallbladder and then last she looked at my spleen. She said that she's not supposed to tell me about what she's seeing... meaning making any sort of diagnosis, but she said that my liver looked fine and then when she got to my spleen, she said that it was a normal size. So I'm normal. :) That's a relief. So my aches and pains are just a side effect of chemo-sucky and neulasta I am assuming. She said, of course, I didn't hear it from her. But I am glad she at least told me that my spleen looked normal. Then it was off to work.
I got home just in time today to get a call from Angie, Dr. Luoh's nurse. She said that my spleen looked normal (which I already knew, but said nothing) and that my labs came back normal. She said my white blood count was in the normal range and that I am a little anemic which is also normal for a chemo-sucky patient. I asked her if there's anything I can do for that. She said that I could change my diet... eat more iron rich foods, but she doubts that it will really help. If it gets too low it would mean a blood transfusion. But it's not near that point. It just means that I am more tired. So I like my afternoon naps.
Dr. L did say I could go in for more testing... doing a doppler test to check for blood clots. But after discussing with Angie, we decided no. I don't have the symptoms of a blood clot. I don't have swollen extremities, the pain isn't increasing, no fever, etc. But we did agree if I have any of these symptoms I would call right away or get to an ER ASAP as if the blood clot were to move it could cause a stroke. But she said that blood clots are not typical. So the diagnosis is to continue to drink lots of fluids and if the pain is bad (and no fever) I can take tylenol or ibuprofen. Fun times.
After her call, I took a much needed nap. Yea!
Other than that, everything is good. Feeling good. The numbness/tingling is still there. I am hoping it will go away. I don't like the feeling. It's an awkward feeling. Think if it continues Dr. L will get me out of my last two chemo-sucky treatments??? Hahaha!
I went in for my blood work and my u/s this morning. It was nice going to a smaller hospital. Everyone was on time. I got there shortly after 8a. Since I was early for the u/s appointment, I went and had my bloodwork done. I only had to walk a short distance from the check in desk to the outpatient lab. The technicians were a bit scary... english wasn't their first language. But the lab worker got my vein on the first try and it was done within minutes. After that, it took a few minutes to wait to check in for the u/s. I barely had time to get one text off to Brad to tell him that I was done with the bloodwork before I got called back. Since I was just at Mt. Hood about two weeks ago, they had me in the system. That was awesome. After checking in, it was a quick wait in a hallway. I think I waited about 7 minutes... just enough time to fire off two text messages! LOL. Thanks Annie! Then it was back in the u/s room. The sonographer was awesome. We just talked through the whole thing. She went to school in Oklahoma but moved out to the NW because she went through an F5 tornado and said she wasn't having anymore of that (scary, Brooke!). She's been in Oregon for many years now. We also talked about why we though breast cancer stats were so much higher. She didn't know. I just wanted her opinion. And whether she wanted it or not, I gave her mine. I said I like to think that we are more in tune with our bodies and we tend to catch the symptoms/signs earlier. She said she liked that response and was going to use it. Um, lemme see, I found out that the hospital complex is going to open up a new office facility that will specialize in women's breast health... mammography, biopsies and the like. She used to work at Mt. Hood MC, then went to another hospital, only to return a few months ago because she was launching this new office. She specializes in the breast. In fact, she was shocked that I was a breast cancer patient. She thought that I just had a lumpectomy because she thought my wig was my real hair. She said that I looked great for someone going through chemo and she was thrown off because I still have my eyebrows and eye lashes! Ha! I kept some hair! hahahaha!
So the u/s was only about 25 minutes in length. She took lots of pictures of my liver. She took pictures of my kidneys, pancreas, gallbladder and then last she looked at my spleen. She said that she's not supposed to tell me about what she's seeing... meaning making any sort of diagnosis, but she said that my liver looked fine and then when she got to my spleen, she said that it was a normal size. So I'm normal. :) That's a relief. So my aches and pains are just a side effect of chemo-sucky and neulasta I am assuming. She said, of course, I didn't hear it from her. But I am glad she at least told me that my spleen looked normal. Then it was off to work.
I got home just in time today to get a call from Angie, Dr. Luoh's nurse. She said that my spleen looked normal (which I already knew, but said nothing) and that my labs came back normal. She said my white blood count was in the normal range and that I am a little anemic which is also normal for a chemo-sucky patient. I asked her if there's anything I can do for that. She said that I could change my diet... eat more iron rich foods, but she doubts that it will really help. If it gets too low it would mean a blood transfusion. But it's not near that point. It just means that I am more tired. So I like my afternoon naps.
Dr. L did say I could go in for more testing... doing a doppler test to check for blood clots. But after discussing with Angie, we decided no. I don't have the symptoms of a blood clot. I don't have swollen extremities, the pain isn't increasing, no fever, etc. But we did agree if I have any of these symptoms I would call right away or get to an ER ASAP as if the blood clot were to move it could cause a stroke. But she said that blood clots are not typical. So the diagnosis is to continue to drink lots of fluids and if the pain is bad (and no fever) I can take tylenol or ibuprofen. Fun times.
After her call, I took a much needed nap. Yea!
Other than that, everything is good. Feeling good. The numbness/tingling is still there. I am hoping it will go away. I don't like the feeling. It's an awkward feeling. Think if it continues Dr. L will get me out of my last two chemo-sucky treatments??? Hahaha!
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Day 94 - How much fun can a girl have?
So last week my fun consisted of the fact that I may have to give myself injections for a week. Well, that has come and gone. Now I have to go in for an ultrasound for my spleen!
Last night my back was starting to hurt and ache. This is on my left side around my rib cage. This is where my spleen sits. Apparently the spleen is something that deals with white blood cells and the making of platelets and such. You can google search it. In anycase, part of the side effects of either the chemo-sucky or the Neulasta, an enlarged spleen could be a side effect. So it starts with an achiness or something to that fact. The ache didn't go away this morning so at 7:55a I called Dr. Luoh. I went home at lunch to await his call. I didn't get a call until 11a! Good thing it wasn't an emergency. Ha! So I gave the symptoms to his nurse, Angie and she said she'd talk to Dr. L and call me back. I finally got a call back around 2p. She said that Dr. L wants me to get an ultrasound of the spleen and then a blood test. She said that since the last time I went in and got blood work done, my white blood counts were really high. So who knows what this will mean.
So tomorrow I go to Legacy Mt. Hood Medical Center for my ultrasound. The appointment is scheduled for 815a. Either I can go get my blood drawn before or after the u/s. They wanted me to do it at OHSU, but the earliest they could get me in is Friday and Dr. L didn't want to wait that long. Uh, duh! Tonight my last meal will be at midnight, as I cannot eat anything eight hours before my ultrasound. I can drink which is a life saver. I'm supposed to be drinking lots and lots. I can take tylenol or ibuprofen for the pain. I did take some but that was more for the leg aches that shoot through me every so often.
I did talk to Angie about my neuropathy. She told me to keep track of it and to tell the doctor if it gets worse. The toes are tingly. The finger tips are also tingly. She told me to use hot mitts for hot things and to wear slippers around the house. Check and check. Grrr... this is so annoying. I hate chemo-sucky. I hate cancer even more. Stupid.
On a funny note, I had just come home from picking up the girls at daycare. The phone rang as I brought Amelia inside the house. She's very fond right now of answering the phone. She wanted to answer the phone, but I got to it first because I had a feeling it was the doctor's office wanting to schedule the u/s. It was Angie on the phone. Well, I couldn't have a conversation with her without Amelia saying she wanted to say hello. I asked Angie if she could say hello. She said absolutely. Angie understands because she has a two and five year old. So Amelia said hi and she was good.
We had a lovely day - the girls and I. We watched Angelina Ballerina (it was an ice skating episode) on TV and then ice skated around the kitchen. We did leaps and twirls. Amelia baked for me. Elaina ate ice cream. So it was a good day except for the dumb achy pain on my left side.
Last night my back was starting to hurt and ache. This is on my left side around my rib cage. This is where my spleen sits. Apparently the spleen is something that deals with white blood cells and the making of platelets and such. You can google search it. In anycase, part of the side effects of either the chemo-sucky or the Neulasta, an enlarged spleen could be a side effect. So it starts with an achiness or something to that fact. The ache didn't go away this morning so at 7:55a I called Dr. Luoh. I went home at lunch to await his call. I didn't get a call until 11a! Good thing it wasn't an emergency. Ha! So I gave the symptoms to his nurse, Angie and she said she'd talk to Dr. L and call me back. I finally got a call back around 2p. She said that Dr. L wants me to get an ultrasound of the spleen and then a blood test. She said that since the last time I went in and got blood work done, my white blood counts were really high. So who knows what this will mean.
So tomorrow I go to Legacy Mt. Hood Medical Center for my ultrasound. The appointment is scheduled for 815a. Either I can go get my blood drawn before or after the u/s. They wanted me to do it at OHSU, but the earliest they could get me in is Friday and Dr. L didn't want to wait that long. Uh, duh! Tonight my last meal will be at midnight, as I cannot eat anything eight hours before my ultrasound. I can drink which is a life saver. I'm supposed to be drinking lots and lots. I can take tylenol or ibuprofen for the pain. I did take some but that was more for the leg aches that shoot through me every so often.
I did talk to Angie about my neuropathy. She told me to keep track of it and to tell the doctor if it gets worse. The toes are tingly. The finger tips are also tingly. She told me to use hot mitts for hot things and to wear slippers around the house. Check and check. Grrr... this is so annoying. I hate chemo-sucky. I hate cancer even more. Stupid.
On a funny note, I had just come home from picking up the girls at daycare. The phone rang as I brought Amelia inside the house. She's very fond right now of answering the phone. She wanted to answer the phone, but I got to it first because I had a feeling it was the doctor's office wanting to schedule the u/s. It was Angie on the phone. Well, I couldn't have a conversation with her without Amelia saying she wanted to say hello. I asked Angie if she could say hello. She said absolutely. Angie understands because she has a two and five year old. So Amelia said hi and she was good.
We had a lovely day - the girls and I. We watched Angelina Ballerina (it was an ice skating episode) on TV and then ice skated around the kitchen. We did leaps and twirls. Amelia baked for me. Elaina ate ice cream. So it was a good day except for the dumb achy pain on my left side.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Day 62 - Round 4
Got my last infusion of the crappy AC. Yea. Trying something new for the vomiting and nausea. Had my ultrasound today. Good news, confirmed shrinkage of my tumor. Tumor before: 7.6 cm. Tumor now: 3.3 cm. Lymph node in neck before: 2.0 cm. Now: 1.4 cm. Axillary lymph nodes before: couldn't find them, meaning they were clumped together and indistinguishable. Now: can see the lymph nodes and they're looking like nodes again.
There's more to write, but I am beat. Going to bed. Will fill you in on more... just check back later for today's post.
*** Update ***
I promised I'd be back. Sorry it's later than I imagined. I have either been busy or tired.So here goes... Thursday, Brad dropped me off at the Center for Health and Healing. I took the tram up to the top of the hill where my appointment was. I got there and they told me they didn't have and appointment for me. However they did find someone to do my u/s. While I was waiting, there was a girl who helped me from the very beginning getting me my appointments, Amanda. She came out and talked to me. I told her it looked like things were looking up.I got into my u/s. It was the same lady who did my original u/s. I told her that I am doing better now and that the other day when we first met I was a horrible mess. She said that was okay... figuring under the circumstances. She did my u/s and we just talked about nonsense stuff just to pass the time. Then she went and got a doctor to make sure that she got everything. This time Dr. Chan came in. He said that everything was looking good. The longest point of the tumor had shrunk by half, the axillary node under the arm had shrunk. Before, the nodes were all clumped together and they couldn't distinguish a node. Now they could see the traits of the nodes. This is good news. The node in my neck had also gone down from 2cm to 1.4cm. I asked Dr. Chan what the size of node should be. His answer... he doesn't know as everyone's lymph nodes are different sizes. As long as they see the size going down, it's good. He did say that at the next screen they may not see much difference, but with other testing like an MRI and PET, they will see if the area is consuming lots of glucose and metabolizing a lot. That's an indication of cancer in a particular part of a body.Next I met Brad down at the Center for Health and Healing. Took the tram back down. Met him and got my blood drawn. Then after that we went back up the tram to get some lunch. I had a cheeseburger and fries. The burger was HUGE. I could not finish it. Then it was down the tram again for my chemo and meet with Dr. Luoh. With Dr. L, we talked mainly about controlling the nausea and vomiting. We are hoping this round will fair a bit better. :) Then it was time for my treatment.
There's more to write, but I am beat. Going to bed. Will fill you in on more... just check back later for today's post.
*** Update ***
I promised I'd be back. Sorry it's later than I imagined. I have either been busy or tired.So here goes... Thursday, Brad dropped me off at the Center for Health and Healing. I took the tram up to the top of the hill where my appointment was. I got there and they told me they didn't have and appointment for me. However they did find someone to do my u/s. While I was waiting, there was a girl who helped me from the very beginning getting me my appointments, Amanda. She came out and talked to me. I told her it looked like things were looking up.I got into my u/s. It was the same lady who did my original u/s. I told her that I am doing better now and that the other day when we first met I was a horrible mess. She said that was okay... figuring under the circumstances. She did my u/s and we just talked about nonsense stuff just to pass the time. Then she went and got a doctor to make sure that she got everything. This time Dr. Chan came in. He said that everything was looking good. The longest point of the tumor had shrunk by half, the axillary node under the arm had shrunk. Before, the nodes were all clumped together and they couldn't distinguish a node. Now they could see the traits of the nodes. This is good news. The node in my neck had also gone down from 2cm to 1.4cm. I asked Dr. Chan what the size of node should be. His answer... he doesn't know as everyone's lymph nodes are different sizes. As long as they see the size going down, it's good. He did say that at the next screen they may not see much difference, but with other testing like an MRI and PET, they will see if the area is consuming lots of glucose and metabolizing a lot. That's an indication of cancer in a particular part of a body.Next I met Brad down at the Center for Health and Healing. Took the tram back down. Met him and got my blood drawn. Then after that we went back up the tram to get some lunch. I had a cheeseburger and fries. The burger was HUGE. I could not finish it. Then it was down the tram again for my chemo and meet with Dr. Luoh. With Dr. L, we talked mainly about controlling the nausea and vomiting. We are hoping this round will fair a bit better. :) Then it was time for my treatment.
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