A Positive Update — New Round of Chemotherapy Drugs

Monday-Friday were good to me this week (for the most part). I worked part time (I successfully dropped down to 4 hours a day which is proving to be better for my work-life balance). I went to the gym most days (I even tried a yoga class for the first time in years to switch it up!) I kept the house tidy. I played some piano and did my language training every day. I made it to all my appointments. I had some good online chats with far away friends.

I had my energy back. I felt hopeful. I felt productive. I felt like me.

I have made it through all four rounds of DOXOrubicin (aka The Red Devil) and Cyclophosphamide (the one that makes your nose tingle as though you’ve eaten too much wasabi). I am told the ‘hardest’ part of my chemotherapy is now over.

Just keep swimming. #SheStaysStrong

I had goofed up my appointment time but luckily still got in to see my oncologist this Friday Afternoon. It was my first oncologist appointment in six weeks! I had been anxious to know where I stand in my journey. This limbo of not knowing if I’m progressing enough has been the hardest part of all— working towards and holding onto hope of “the unknown”.

I sat down in the office with my mom after the nurse had taken my weight. I have lost a few pounds but I know it’s because I have been eating well, exercising, and cutting out alcohol. If anything, it should only be fat loss because I certainly still eat and have an appetite even on my harder days. Normally, losing weight is frowned upon in cancer patients.

My oncologist enters the room and asks me how I feel my progress has been the last six weeks. I say, “fine, but I do hope you can give me some clarity on next steps and whether or not you feel as though I’m reacting well enough to the chemotherapy.”

I sit down on the bed and he monitors my breathing, checks for lumps around my body, and then feels for the tumour in my breast.

“Where is it?”

I had to point it out to him! He feels as though I’ve reacted amazingly to chemotherapy so far and that he is pleased with the progress of my tumour shrinking.

I wanted to cry! Finally, some good news.

Now, there is still the possibility that the parts of the tumour that have spread to the lymph nodes may not be reacting as well, but we won’t know until surgery in April/May timeframe.

But the fact that he was pleased with my progress and convinced I will be ready for surgery in the Spring, gave me so much more hope.

My tumour started out massive as you may recall from my initial diagnosis/announcement story. I’m small chested to begin with, but upon diagnosis I was told it was essentially the entirety of my breast.

So to come this far feels like a little victory.

My next set of drugs to go through (starting this coming Tuesday) are: PACLitaxel and Trastuzumab (HERCEPTIN). Herceptin is hard on the heart and so Tuesday I had a heart scan to get a baseline gauge on how strong it is to start, basically.

My oncologist told me it was a perfect scan. Very good numbers– and in fact, some of the best he’s seen in a long time. So I was proud of my little heart. I put a lot of effort into staying fit and eating right (most times) and so this meant a lot to me. I need to start strong because I’ll be on this drug for the next 15 months…!

Fact: “A small study has found that after 3 months of Herceptin treatment, nearly 58% of women had some loss of heart function. ... Herceptin works by attaching to the HER2 protein and blocking it from receiving growth signals.”

The other possible ‘side effect’ of Herceptin could be neuropathy. I am concerned about this happening since I already feel as though my circulation isn’t the best and my arms often fall asleep while I’m in bed. We will have to monitor this closely as it is permanent, painful, and incurable.

Everything to do with fighting cancer is like fighting fire with fire. It both helps but hinders.

The only bit of concerning news was that my white blood cell count wasn’t as high this time around so I’ll have to do more bloodwork Tuesday before chemo to see if I can proceed that day. My arms are bruised from the amount of needles I have gotten this week and I still need a few more rounds of bloodwork this coming week (fun! But I’ll survive, ha). Cross your fingers for me there are no delays and that I bounce back by Tuesday!

I dislike the idea of having to delay my treatment plan at all, but I know it’s common. The oncologist tells me chemo is accumulative so it’s not surprising some people need some extra time to bounce back in between sessions. I do hope to charge forward without delays though. Another year of all of this cancer bullsh*t is enough if you ask me!

Anyway, that’s my little update for you all. Thank you so much for reading.

Feel free to email me any questions or comments at shestaysstrongblog@gmail.com. And you can always follow me on Instagram @shestaysstrongblog for more behind-the-scenes, day-to-day life updates.

Thank you so much for your support! XO