Breast Cancer Journey

If it's one thing I am learning over and over again, it's that in this cancer journey, there are going to be highs and lows continually.  I had my first PET scan since ending chemo three months ago. I will be having PET scans every three months for quite some time, maybe indefinitely. If there is no new activity, then the PET scans will stretch out a bit more to every 6 months. Unfortunately, it wasn't the best news but it's good news. No tumors are actively present in the breast area or armpit nodes, BUT the cancer has grown a little bit in the clavicle area. This is NOT a new area but an existing one that showed up when I was diagnosed. The doctors are not too worried right now, but I am. I am still losing weight and not trying to do that. The final statement on the PET scan report says, "No evidence of metastatic disease" but I want to shout-"HEY! THERE'S A SPOT GROWING!" What are we going to do about that one? At this point, I do not know.......

Today is a big day in my life as a cancer patient. My oncologist wanted me to have a specialty breast oncology surgeon look at my case. Because of my robust response to chemo, and the lymph node improvements, he wanted a specialist surgeon, not just a regular breast surgeon to look at my scans and results. He suggested a surgeon at the University of Chicago, rated in the top 12 of cancer care centers in the US. I asked why I couldn't just go with the breast care surgeon here locally, as I really liked her, she has excellent credentials. He basically said the difference in training and background was critical. All righty then...off to the Crown Point University of Chicago location for a consult with Dr. Betty Fan. The Crown Point location hospital is a small one, with 8 beds in the receiving patients for surgery, and 8 beds in the emergency room portion. It's only been open for one year. It's a beautiful facility and right off the interstate. With my initial lymph node invol...

April 8, 2025....I went into my normal chemo infusion appointment not knowing if I would be having chemo or not...wasn't sure if I should start my steroid 3 day regimentation as the decision for continued chemo had not been finalized yet, so I did start, just to be on the safe side.   It's good that I did, because there was some confusion on the treatment plan on my part. I didn't realize that the PET scan was done early per doctor's request. Normally, it's done after the sixth chemo treatment. Initially, back in December that was the plan. During the first couple of chemo treatments, the plan was modified to a PET scan after four cycles, partly due to the number of all the different side effects that I was experiencing, and because the doctor wanted to know how I was responding to treatment sooner rather than later.  Disappointed to find out that the doctor was off on the day of my infusion appointment and in my mind, the turning point to determine any more chemo t...

Just when I thought I might be out of the woods getting ready for the next hurdle, the PET scan, I went to the hospital on Sunday for an IV fluids infusion to try and boost my severe fatigue levels of the past two weeks. They routinely draw blood to make sure nothing else is going on. Well, something else was going on, it seemed. Most of my red cell markers were very low, a sign of anemia, internal bleeding, or damage from the chemo treatments. I called the doctor on Monday. Things are considered ok for my situation. Although red blood cell counts were low in several different categories, by the 4th chemo treatment, it is not all that uncommon to have low red cell counts, which can definitely cause significant fatigue. Of course, HOW low is the key. A transfusion would be considered if my hemoglobin count was at 8 or below. Mine was 11.1. (Normal low end range to high is 11.4 g/dL to 15.4 g/dL.) My protein levels were low...I'm to try and boost that a bit with supplements and focus...

My medical team plan is for me to have four chemo treatments, wait two weeks for optimal results as far as another blast to those damn cancer cells from chemo #4, then have a PET scan (April 2) which will show where and if the  cancer has spread, or optimally, how much the tumors have shrunk. I have heard that some people's tumors disappeared and they couldn't find them on the scan! I have two titanium markers in my left breast to mark my main tumor, so the location will be pinpointed should it have disappeared. I'm not expecting it to disappear, it was quite large. I still have disfiguration on the breast, you can still tell something is wrong, it's off kilter in size and appearance, but the swelling is way down and that's a good sign.  I wish I had a picture of the first pet scan. The scan of my body was lit up like a Christmas tree. (That's not good. You don't want to be lit, haha.) The tumor filled the whole breast and the one in the axilla (armpit) node...

Things were uneventful after the second chemo except for I hit a roadblock over the weekend, just before my third chemo appointment. Severe fatigue hit me so suddenly, it was alarming. I felt too weak to walk or stand up. I went to bed Saturday night at 6:00 PM, slept till 10:00 PM, got up briefly, went back to bed and slept till 3:00 AM, woke up for a bit, then fell back to sleep at 5:00. That day I felt a little bit better, but the fatigue lasted through the next two days. I've also had a sore throat for two straight weeks. It's not getting any worse, but it's not getting any better. No fever. I'm worried about my white cell count, it could be super low. I have not had this level of fatigue this late in the chemo cycle until this weekend, I was feeling very well. I will find out at my next appointment which is in two days. I'm hoping that it is just my body trying to catch up on sleep, as I have only been able to sleep intermittently each night for about two hours...