A rather dry and uninspired update - just the facts Ma'am!
We were away on a little vacation, no time to post : ) I'd like to post about that vacation if I get the chance, it was so crazy. But in the mean time I'll just do a little update of the facts lately.
After I got set up for my radiation treatments, my next appointment a week later was with my main oncologist whom I see every 3 months for the next year, as they monitor my heart and other things. That was the plan anyway, but plans change I guess. With the new medication I'm on I need a MUGA (multi gated acquisition) scan every 3 months which measures the pumping capability of the left heart ventricle, because Herceptin can be hard on the heart. So I had my MUGA scan the day before I saw the radiologist and never thought a thing of it as I had been more or less assured that due to my age and condition, it should be fine. That being the case I was shocked to hear that my heart function was down below the acceptable treatment level. Meaning we have to postpone treatment with Herceptin (the drug I think I most need) until my heart is pumping better.
My oncologist is giving me 6 weeks off Herceptin (which is 2 treatments) and then I'll do another MUGA and see where we are at. He was quick to say that there have been some recent independent small studies - not done by the drug companies that profit from long treatment times - that suggest that 3-6 months of Herceptin is equal in benefit to a year; however no one can say for sure yet. I do hope that's the case. Because my cancer is just stage 2 he doesn't want to risk permanent damage to my heart by continuing on at all costs; there is a chance the cancer is completely gone at this point. I'm really tired of the word "chance".
Armed with this news I contacted my naturopathic doctor, who had mentioned if this turned out to be the case, he felt he had a remedy to get the heart working back in an acceptable range. It's a tincture to take a couple times a day and it just feels good to be doing something after the oncologist said there was nothing I could do to help the situation. I guess we'll see in 5 more weeks. So far I've found there are lots of things I can do to help my "situation", after being told there's nothing to do, that have made me feel and heal much better.
In the mean time I'm focusing on making life with daily radiation appointments the best it can be. It certainly is enough to keep me busy!
After I got set up for my radiation treatments, my next appointment a week later was with my main oncologist whom I see every 3 months for the next year, as they monitor my heart and other things. That was the plan anyway, but plans change I guess. With the new medication I'm on I need a MUGA (multi gated acquisition) scan every 3 months which measures the pumping capability of the left heart ventricle, because Herceptin can be hard on the heart. So I had my MUGA scan the day before I saw the radiologist and never thought a thing of it as I had been more or less assured that due to my age and condition, it should be fine. That being the case I was shocked to hear that my heart function was down below the acceptable treatment level. Meaning we have to postpone treatment with Herceptin (the drug I think I most need) until my heart is pumping better.
My oncologist is giving me 6 weeks off Herceptin (which is 2 treatments) and then I'll do another MUGA and see where we are at. He was quick to say that there have been some recent independent small studies - not done by the drug companies that profit from long treatment times - that suggest that 3-6 months of Herceptin is equal in benefit to a year; however no one can say for sure yet. I do hope that's the case. Because my cancer is just stage 2 he doesn't want to risk permanent damage to my heart by continuing on at all costs; there is a chance the cancer is completely gone at this point. I'm really tired of the word "chance".
Armed with this news I contacted my naturopathic doctor, who had mentioned if this turned out to be the case, he felt he had a remedy to get the heart working back in an acceptable range. It's a tincture to take a couple times a day and it just feels good to be doing something after the oncologist said there was nothing I could do to help the situation. I guess we'll see in 5 more weeks. So far I've found there are lots of things I can do to help my "situation", after being told there's nothing to do, that have made me feel and heal much better.
In the mean time I'm focusing on making life with daily radiation appointments the best it can be. It certainly is enough to keep me busy!
Comments
Post a Comment
Thanks for constructive and encouraging comments!