My Cancer Journey

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 enou...

Herceptin, the drug that attacks the HER2 cells, can cause heart failure. Only 1-2% is permanent, but doctors want to take precautions just in case. I was diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse in 1988 after my last child was born, so my oncologist wanted to be extra careful. (Mitral Valve Prolapse is when one of the heart valves does not close properly between each beat. This may cause the valve to leak blood back into the heart after it has pumped it out. It is usually not very serious, but it is important to not get an infection above your heart. An infection will contaminate your blood and can cause it to leak back through the problem valve into the heart. Contaminated blood in your heart can be dangerous. This is why it is important to make sure that your teeth, for instance, are healthy.) Therefore, on Wednesday, September 6 I had an echocardiogram (ECG) to make sure my heart would be able to handle the Herceptin infusions. The cardiologist delivered some great news. My heart was p...