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Mixed News - January 11, 2024 - January 31, 2024

On Thursday, January 10, I had two tests, an echocardiogram to make sure my heart had not been affected adversely by the Herceptin, and an MRI to see how well the tumors had reacted to the chemotherapy. 

 

My heart looked good. It did not seem it was affected at all. Great news! I was, however, concerned about the MRI. The contrast (color) they put into my system to get a better picture, made me nauseous last time. Not to the point where I vomited, but I did not want to take a chance that would happen. 

 

First, I thought to put Vick’s Mentholatum in my nostrils as the nausea was brought on by a chemical “smell,” but the smell did not enter through the nose, but from inside my body. Therefore, I did not think it would be possible to block the smell. Instead, I brought one of my anti-nausea pills, the sublingual (melt-in-your-mouth) Zofran. I took that right before the MRI and it worked great. No nausea!

 

The other concern was that the tumors had not shrunk enough from the chemo. My hospital uses an app called MyChart where the patients can see everything the medical professionals write regarding us. That includes test results. The day after the MRI I was notified that the results were in.

 

The pictures showed that the tumor’s mass had shrunk by 50%, which sounded good, but the size only by 15%. This was confusing but did not sound like terrific news. Which one does the doctor look at? The mass or the size? Craig voted for the mass, but I was not convinced.

 

One week after the MRI, Friday, January 19, I saw my oncologist. She said what I suspected - because the chemo did not kill most of the cancer there was a chance I would need more chemotherapy after the partial mastectomy (lumpectomy). We would not know for sure until after the surgery, but she wanted to give me a heads up.

 

Being a control freak I truly appreciate her doing this. I don’t like bad surprises but prefer to prepare for the worst scenario while hoping for the best. It is what works for me. If I feel I can manage the worst that can happen I feel more in control, and if the result is better than the worst-case scenario, I will be happy.

 

Because of my need to feel in control I research everything and ask many questions of those who have gone through something similar. Everything pointed to a high probability of me going through more chemotherapy after the surgery.

 

That Friday was also the day I had my first Herceptin only infusion. The only premed needed for this is Tylenol, so nothing to give me energy unfortunately. But I was still happy, because I also did not have to ice my hands and feet nor chew on ice. It was a good feeling.

 

January is when my hair started growing back! The pain in my fingers and toes stopped about one month after the last chemo infusion, and they are no longer as numb today, ten weeks after the infusion. Life is good. Now I need to get better at using fake eyelashes and eyebrows 😎






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