Saw the oncologist today for the results of my CT scan. He says the tumors have “stabilized” He was concerned about one of the 3 in my lungs but it’s stable too. Wait! What? 3 in my lungs? I don’t remember that. I do remember one. The other places I have cancer haven’t changed either.
I asked about the tumor markers. He says they’re relative to the person and the treatment for that person and he doesn’t diagnose solely on those. In my case they point to me being stable.
Me: “So now we wait for the markers to increase?”
Him: “Yes.”
He says my results aren’t what he was hoping for but they aren’t bad either.
On a good note-I don’t have to go in for a blood test next week. After the fiasco with the CT scan I’m relieved. Apparently Ibrance now says that if there’s no change in 3 months of being on the drugs, a person can get checked every 2 months instead of every month. That would be me!
I’m not sure what’s worse, waiting for my markers to go up or them not changing at all and still waiting for them to go up. Either way it’s just a waiting game. I guess I just get to wait longer than a lot of people do.
The cancer isn’t going away.

Went for my CT scan today. The scan went well. The catheter for the contrast dye-not so much 😦 I hate needles. No, I mean I really hate them. My veins, so proud and blue, run and hide as soon as they see that sharp point of torture. They did the same thing today. The first time she jabbed me, it didn’t work and she blew out the vein. 2nd time, same arm, inches away, same thing. By them I’m done. I don’t want to play this game anymore. My arm wouldn’t stop bleeding but she then gets him to try. They decide my hand is the best spot, beside my thumb. By now I’m crying, my arm is killing me and going numb from the tourniquet. I told them if this one didn’t work I was done. Stung like crazy but they made sure it stayed in. She came out of the safe room when it was injecting the dye to hold the needle in place. I have 2 really ugly big purple and red bruises in the crook of my arm. Talk about being traumatized.
The worst part is I have to get blood tests every month and CT scans probably every 3.

I’ve been awake since 3am. I’ve never slept well but it’s gotten worse the last couple of months. There’s too much going on in my head, and the night sweats are back. I feel like a ball bouncing around. One minute I’m up, the next I’m crushed on the floor ready to bounce up again.
I had a conversation with a friend the other day about the anxiety I feel. Normally I can talk myself down from anxiety or worry attacks, but like he says. there’s no getting away from this one. Every appointment and every test just crushes me to the floor again.

Had my monthly appointment with my oncologist today. My tumour markers have leveled off. Before I started the Ibrance and Letrozole they were at 120 (whatever that means). Last month and this month they’ve been at 60. So. The cancer isn’t going to stop growing (which really sucks) but it appears to have slowed down. The CT scan I am having in 2 days will give him a better picture.
Ibrance was made available to BC Cancer patients as of April 1st under specific conditions. One of those is to not have been taking an aromatase inhibitor in the past 12 months. I was on one till last spring so I don’t qualify but my oncologist is going to fight that. He’s hoping that because of my apparent positive response to it and hopefully equally positive CT results that they’ll let me have it without my insurance having to pay for it. I see him on the 24th to find out. Here’s hoping!

I took mom for her oncology appointment today. She was scheduled for a 2 hour appointment. Of course there was paperwork to fill out. Pages and pages about the person and their history. A spot asked for her occupation, then her spouse’s. I told her to put “angel” down for her spouse but she wouldn’t. Then it got to the medical history and I was trying not to laugh so bad that I laughed hard enough to have tears. The question was if any family members had cancer. There wasn’t enough room to put them all. They only give you 3 spots for them.
The actual appointment took all of about 15 minutes. At one point he suggested her getting a mastectomy on the other side. My question was why? I did that and look what happened to me? He couldn’t really answer, just that it had to go somewhere.
Are double-mastectomies really life-saving or not? If I’d left my good boob alone and not had a double-mastectomy, would the cancer have gone there instead of metastasizing into my bones?