Yesterday I had my petscan and ultrasound. The petscan shows the progression or regression of the cancer. I had asked the doc to put in an order for an ultrasound for my legs to see if the blood clots are still present. I moved my infusion with Erbitux to the same day so I wouldn’t have to drive back today, but unfortunately they were too busy in the clinic so I had to go back anyway today for the acupuncture and to meet with the Oncologist.
The valium that I took yesterday really knocked me out. During infusion I took Benadryl like usual and that knocked me out even more. I felt like I was in a dream state the whole day. I think at one point I felt like I was having some sort of strange hallucination or something. It was more of a feeling than anything else. The whole thing was a little strange. Eventually it passed. I was so tired last night I actually fell asleep at a normal hour.
Today I headed back to CTCA to find out the results of the tests. I was a little anxious, but felt that the petscan at least would show either positive results or show the cancer as stable. I haven’t had any complications in a very long time and the pain I feel is minimal. I have been able to go out and about and run errands, do things around the house and take care of business and still have some energy by the end of the day.
The Ultrasound showed that I still have the blood clot in my right leg. Interestingly, the blood clot in my left leg is gone. I have had the blood clot in my right leg since February of last year and the one in the left leg has only been there for about 6 months or so. I am just hoping that if I keep taking Arixtra then it will finally go away and I can be rid of this horrible medication.
It is a syringe that I have to use daily by sticking myself in the stomach. It is anything but fun and it hurts. When I first started taking it, I got bruises all over my stomach. This is not unusual. Thankfully, it doesn’t happen anymore…at least for now.
The petscan came back showing positive results! The tumor in my lung shrunk from 3.2cm from the last scan down to 2.7cm! YEAH!!! The mets in my bones correlate directly with this shrinkage. So even though there is no way to actually measure the cancer in my bones, we know that it is shrinking still. The pleural effusion is also shrinking. A pleural effusion is an accumulation of fluid between the layers of tissue that line the lungs and chest cavity.
So now what? Well I am off Taxotere for an undetermined amount of time. If the cancer starts growing again then I will most likely have to go back on it for 2 more rounds and then switch to another type of chemo because of the danger of toxicity levels. I will still be taking Erbitux (chemo) on a weekly basis. The Oncologist said it’s possible to double up on the Erbitux and take it every 2 weeks instead so that I can travel and do things that I really want to be spending time doing.
I really would just love to celebrate and head out of town this weekend. I would just love to hop in the car and head to the beach to feel the sun on my face and the sand under my feet. Hmmmm….This is looking like the beginning of a new great healthy year.