Cancer update

I never quite know how much information to share. Some of it seems so mundane, but since I continue to receive emails and texts asking, I will continue to share here. So, just a few highlights:

1. My CA125 went up 11 points to 55 after 1 month on Doxil. Not necessarily encouraging, but I've had many patients and two oncologists tell me this is typical for Doxil and that it is not necessarily an indication that Doxil isn't working.

2. My rash reappeared yesterday morning and by afternoon had spread so I took a steroid. Have I mentioned how much I hate them? They make me feel so sick, seriously almost worse than this particular chemo drug. Good news is that by this morning the rash is about 99% gone so the steroid is effective, and I just might put off taking anymore and see what happens. Shhhh, don't tell my doctor or Becky or my doctor brother-in-law. :)

3. Our second opinion with Dr. M last week went very well. He gave us a lot of information, but was also personable (the personable part is what's lacking with Dr. C). Brian is firmly in the camp of let's go ahead and make the change. I have to say that Vanderbilt seems to be working overtime to please us in the last couple of weeks, and I have no complaints about Vanderbilt so making the decision to change is tougher than it might seem. We've decided to finish 3 rounds of Doxil and then see what the scan says because a change in regimen might be necessary at that point and it seems logical to change doctors at that point rather than right in the middle of a set chemo schedule.

4. My platelets continue to land in the normal range, which is a blessing for two reasons. First, it means that my immune system is not too compromised. Second, I don't need to worry about having the Neulasta shot (which would complicate matters since actual narcotics are necessary to control the pain caused by that shot) and it means I don't have to postpone treatment. My white blood count has been significantly higher than normal, but fell this week to closer to normal.

5. My port is having issues. This could mean I'll have to have it removed and a new one installed, which means surgery. About a week and a half ago I had two newbies spend about 20 minutes accessing it, and they had trouble flushing it and getting blood return. I chalked it up to the fact that they were new. But last week the chemo nurse also had to spend some time making it work and yesterday when I went in for lab work, they had to call in a second nurse to make it work. It's going to be a wait and see situation. I think my doctors/nurses will be willing to work with a finicky port as long as it is functioning, but working with a finicky port is just a tad uncomfortable. A port need/clamp is quite thick and probing around doesn't feel great. 

Okay, that's about it. See? Kinda boring.

In other news, I actually started Project Life 2015. Trying to keep it simple and stay current (because I pretty much have a solid 4-5 months missing from 2014).

Week 1

Week 2, left side

Week 2, right side