Breast Cancer Journey

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...