More good news!

Every month I get a cancer marker blood test, which measures the amount of a certain protein that is only produced by tumors.  A normal test result is anything under 39.  Before treatment I was at 1580 and in recent months it's been fluctuating between 60 and 70.  I was thrilled with this improvement and never expected it to be normal. However, my most recent test was 36!  

This test is used as a scale to see how things are going, but doesn't give exact information.   Because of this, Dr. Kaplan said the number might fluctuate a little, but I shouldn't worry if it does.

I'm still dealing with old and new treatment side effects, but I'm thankful that I don't have the more extreme side effects of Abraxane anymore.  I'm getting used to the Tamoxifen side effects, which include daily hot flashes (mostly mild, sometimes annoying) and anxiety. Patients on Tamoxifen are often given anti-anxiety medication but I decided to look into more natural ways to combat how I was feeling. I'm not against these medications (I was on some a few years ago for "post partum blues"), but my system has been through a lot this year, so I saw a naturopath and started taking some supplements, including mega doses of Omega 3's. It took about a month but I believe they're taking the edge off. I'm slowly implementing some of her other suggestions for chemo recovery and general health. 

Although I've been on Avastin from the beginning, my blood pressure suddenly went up a couple of months ago. In fact, it was high enough that I had to skip treatment that week. I'm now on a low dose of blood pressure medication which I will continue taking as long as I'm on Avastin.   Dr. Kaplan gave me 12 refills, so I'm thinking Avastin will be part of my life for a while!

Speaking of Avastin, you may have heard that the FDA removed the approval of its use for breast cancer. We've contacted our insurance company several times but they're still deciding what they're going to do. We do know that Medicare will continue covering Avastin for breast cancer and most insurance companies will follow their lead. We're going to stay on top of it because we don't want to be presented with that bill! We had a scare recently when we received a letter from Dr. Kaplan's office, stating that a bill hadn't been fully paid by our insurance company and we needed to look into it or pay the $55,000 balance. No thank you! We don't know why there was a delay in processing, but it ended up being covered at the rate we're used to. 

Although I feel much better and have more energy, I still get tired more easily than I like to admit and I have to pace myself or I "crash", usually at an inconvenient time.

The arthritis I mentioned in the previous post seems to be getting worse. I'm hoping it stabilizes or I find a way to manage it. Each of these side effects finds me saying the phrase, "adding insult to injury". As if things haven't been tough enough, the arthritis makes me feel much older (Olivia tells me I sometimes walk like Grandma, who has knee problems) and the Tamoxifen makes me crabby. But, it's better than chemo!

My eyebrows and eyelashes have started to come back, which has been fun to see. Although they aren't where I'd like them to be, I feel a little better about how I look without make-up.  And my hair is slowly growing back. Some of it is grey and some of it is my natural color (I've been asked about that). We'll see if it's as thick as it was before -- right now it's hard to believe it will be, but you never know. I"m hoping to stop wearing my wig by early next year. Maybe sooner. 

We're trying to enjoy these last days of a very good summer.  It's hard to believe Olivia will be in 2nd grade and the boys will be in Kindergarten. We're looking forward to the year ahead, which hopefully will include more good news!