Second Scan Results and Not-So-Good Bloodwork

My latest bloodwork came back with VERY negative kidney results. Without going into a bunch of numbers, my kidneys were showing distress. I knew that I have not been drinking enough water and that dehydration could be the culprit, but they were scary numbers. After seeing the oncologist, he said, because of the way the numbers related to each other, or the pairing of numbers on the kidney functions test, that he was 99% certain that I was dehydrated. He said the numbers were high, but he was not worried. This was a brand new development, my kidneys had not shown any problems previously in all my bloodwork, which is done every three weeks. I'm terrible about drinking water or getting fluids. I probably was drinking less than 24 ounces a day, and that was through the summer. I've been getting leg cramps more lately, and that is an indicator as well. So-o-o-o...get that water bottle going, Sparky, and you should have better numbers next visit. He also told me to drink 5 little bottles of water before my next lab draw! Hydrating will balance the numbers to where they should be. SHOULD BE....I sure hope so!

I was told, when I got my diagnosis of invasive lobular carcinoma, HER2 positive, that PET scans would be necessary every three months for quite some time. This type of cancer has a protein called HER2 on the surface of the cancer cells, which causes the cancer to grow. If the PET scan results showed no new growth, then the scans would spread out to every six months. I've only had two so far, three months apart, and it looks like I will be having the three month interval for quite some time, because one of the spots is growing. I have a spot in my collarbone, and the oncologist is a little worried about it, which means I am REALLY worried about it. 

I'm currently on herceptin (trastuzumab) and perjeta (pertuzumab), getting them as injections every three weeks, instead of infusions. I prefer this method of getting my drugs (haha) because of the time factor. It takes less than 10 minutes to get the injection, versus several hours to get the medications through my port. That's NOT including waiting on the pharmacy to get the meds down to the infusion center, which is usually more than an hour's wait, nor does it include getting my labs drawn and waiting for those results for the procedure to start--another hour or so.....But hey...it's two hours at the infusion center vs. 4-5 hours. AND....I can go after school.....

The herceptin and perjeta target the HER2 protein on the cancer cells, blocking its ability to promote cancer cell growth. With this cancer, treatment usually involves adding hormonal blockers or non steroidal aromatase inhibitors. They lower the amount of estrogen in your body. The most common ones are anastrozole, letrozole, and exemestane. They have many unpleasant side effects. Here is just a partial list for one of them:

I tried anastrozole and my blood pressure got dangerously high, so with the doctor's permission, I stopped taking it to get my blood pressure down. He said we could wait till the next scan which I had last week, to try another hormone blocker. The scan showed tumor growth in the collarbone area, but no spread to organs, and the original breast and lymph node sites appear to be stable and not showing any "hot spots" on the scan. No spread is good, continued growth in a previously identified spot is not good.

Even though I'm 75, my body still produces some estrogen, and it's enough to fuel this type of cancer. So we have to knock down the estrogen levels some more, and hope this stalls the growth of the cluster of cancer cells on my collarbone. If it doesn't, then they will do another biopsy to find out if this is a different kind of cancer and how to treat it. Radiation may be in my future to target this specific spot.

In the meantime, I got a bone density scan. I have osteopenia, bone density that is lower than normal but not enough to be osteoporosis. (Common for the age). But my hip fracture ratio is high enough to where I am eligible to get a shot once a year (!) to build bone density. I'm at a higher risk for fracture, starting the aromatase inhibitors now, because they are going to cause more bone density loss. The problem with the once a year shot, is a risk of bone necrosis/disintegration of the jaw. You have to get a dental clearance to go on it. The oncologist said he has only seen one case of that in seven years of treating his patients. With a strong fear of dental work and going to the dentist, I said, NOPE! Not going to do that. So he says, then you are going to have to get more exercise. HA! I already ride my bike when I can, (which does NOT build bone density, I know that.....sigh....) walk three miles a day at my job, walk on the weekends, and row at the "Y" a couple of times a week if I can, so I'm doing the best that I can right now. I will just have to be careful about not falling and trying to do weight bearing exercises as much as I can. Sort of damned if you do, and damned if you don't. 

So....I've started taking Exemestane....we shall see what THAT medication does to my body. I am already in constant discomfort, a lot of stiffness, a lot of pain in joints, my muscles hurt, I'm getting leg cramps, and I walk like a 95 year old lady after sitting till I get moving again. I have been given two different pain meds, strong ones, and they both caused severe insomnia, (Tramadol and Percocet) so I'm back to Tylenol which does nothing. I do take Aleve now and then which is okayed by the doctor, and it really helps.

I'm tired of exercising, I'm tired of being tired.....And that is the latest for now, I'm tired, I think I need a nap!.....Thank you for reading!