Amid the snow flurries in NoFuCo this morning, I am reminded of how unpleasant it was to spend Winter in Chemoland last year. That sensitivity to cold from Oxaliplatin was much harder to deal with when the temps were in the 20's and 30's as they are today. But it also reminded me what a nice break it was to have been off of chemo for all these months.
That break is coming to an end. Dr. Z told me that the CT portion of my scan (PET scans are actually PET/CT combo's, or at least mine are) revealed some tiny little spots in my lung that aren't lighting up as metastatic activity, but which do appear to have grown since the last scan. Are they cancer? We can't say for sure, but we're assuming it could be, so it's time to crank up the chemo again. For now, we're going with the oral drug Xeloda, one week on, one week off. We might add Oxaliplatin back later if this doesn't do the trick. Xeloda isn't that shitty a drug, but speaking of shitty, it can have some GI-related side effects. (Sorry about that one, just trying to find my cancer-fighting writer's voice again...)
I'm not thrilled with the news, or possible news, but as I told Dr. Z, I feel physically and emotionally like I'm 100% recovered from the last round, and I'm ready to do whatever we have to in order to Kick Cancer's Butt Again.
One positive thing, I'll probably have an easier time coming up with content for this blog now!
Yesterday I had a chance to address the 6th graders at Cliff Valley School. I was talking about how living a healthy lifestyle, being a runner, eating well, etc. prepared me for two fights with cancer, both of which I "won." I may have to adjust my expectations of winning a bit, now that I'm learning that 6 months without chemo is, in fact, a win.
That break is coming to an end. Dr. Z told me that the CT portion of my scan (PET scans are actually PET/CT combo's, or at least mine are) revealed some tiny little spots in my lung that aren't lighting up as metastatic activity, but which do appear to have grown since the last scan. Are they cancer? We can't say for sure, but we're assuming it could be, so it's time to crank up the chemo again. For now, we're going with the oral drug Xeloda, one week on, one week off. We might add Oxaliplatin back later if this doesn't do the trick. Xeloda isn't that shitty a drug, but speaking of shitty, it can have some GI-related side effects. (Sorry about that one, just trying to find my cancer-fighting writer's voice again...)
I'm not thrilled with the news, or possible news, but as I told Dr. Z, I feel physically and emotionally like I'm 100% recovered from the last round, and I'm ready to do whatever we have to in order to Kick Cancer's Butt Again.
One positive thing, I'll probably have an easier time coming up with content for this blog now!
Yesterday I had a chance to address the 6th graders at Cliff Valley School. I was talking about how living a healthy lifestyle, being a runner, eating well, etc. prepared me for two fights with cancer, both of which I "won." I may have to adjust my expectations of winning a bit, now that I'm learning that 6 months without chemo is, in fact, a win.
so sorry to hear this...thinking about you and love you! - erin and the rest of the crazy tasmans
ReplyDeleteSo behind on your blog, among other things-- but thanks for keeping it going. Also, Patrick loved having you speak to the class!
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