First Scan After Chemo Ended

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.....sigh...I have to have courage and faith that the cancer has not spread to other organs or areas. 

Another positive is that my insurance company has OK'd immunotherapy given by injections, which will shorten an almost all day deal with normal infusions to a session of a couple of hours. I will still be getting these injections every three weeks. The medication is called phesgo. They told me it should help bathroom problems which have been daily since chemo.

I see the oncologist on August 18th and will find out more specifics. In the meantime, the positives are more than the negatives. I have been working out at the local fitness center, Beacon Health in Elkhart, which is an amazing facility. I row for 30 minutes and I walk the treadmill at a brisk pace for 1.5 to 2.0 miles. That's about all I can do for now because I have severe pain in my lower back and hips every day most likely due to the immunotherapy drugs I get at every infusion. Each time after I exercise, my hips and back are on fire and I walk like a 95 year old after I have been sitting a bit. Once I get moving again it eases a little. BUT-in three months time, my cholesterol is down from 234 to 199, my blood sugars are the lowest they have been since last year, my A1C went from 6.3 to 5.9. Yay! I haven't ridden my bike for awhile because of the heat and how it affects me much more since I have been diagnosed. (I get woozy and lightheaded very easily.) 

The health center also has one of those hydromassage chairs...it's a leather chair that has warm water (82-90 degrees inside the chair) that pulsates and moves all up and down your spine. You can personally control the speed of the vibrations, the area of massage, and the pressure. Boy, does that help after a workout! But only temporarily, darn it!

On Thursday, I get a bone density exam. When you suppress estrogen (that's what my tumors feed on) your bones become more brittle and osteoporosis is a big concern. So much, that if the exam shows significant weakening of the bones, then I will get shots to build bone density every 6 months, I believe. I'm hoping that with my rowing and walking the treadmill at a brisk pace, I've been stabilizing my bones. I read somewhere that you have to walk more than 3 miles an hour to build bone....so I'm bogeying to tunes while on the treadmill to pick up the pace. What am I listening to? It's a real mix! "Fast Cars and Superstars"-Cristian Marchi, "Sisters are Doin' It for Themselves"-Annie Lennox, "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"-Queen, "Working at the Car Wash" -Jim Croce,  and "Emergency" -Icona Pop...etc. Those are some of the be-boppin' ones.

I really enjoy people watching while I'm at the health center and doing my thing. It's funny to me that MANY people are on their phones more than they are on the exercise machines! Are they channeling better music to listen to? Texting their friends? Who knows?

I've got more hair now...haha....But I feel NAKED without a hat or beanie when I go out in the community! I've been wearing them constantly for 8 months, just hadn't been comfortable rockin' the bald look, but now I am trying to get used to it. I'm tired of wearing hats and scarves! I've graduated to headbands and going to wean myself off of all of them soon as school starts August 11. 

Oh, yeah! Another positive--I'm subbing for a gifted and talented first grade class for two months for a lady on maternity leave soon. I'm excited about that! So that is it for now, thank you for following along and being so supportive! Love you guys!