Feeling good!!
Thursday, March 1: Wow! I can't believe that it is March! It feels like we were just home for Christmas only a few weeks ago! I haven't updated since I went for my last eye exam last November so I will start with that. Robert and I went the week before Thanksgiving. I booked a hotel on Rodeo Drive, hoping to do some sightseeing in that area this time. I booked a hotel on the south end of the road, it was much cheaper. When we go to the hotel they said that they are overbooked and would like to send us to another hotel and they would pick up the tab for the hotel. They gave us a few choices and I knew one of the hotel choices, a hotel called The Lux that was about $400 a night and was at the north end of Rodeo Drive where all the shops and restaurants were. We headed there. By the time we got there most of the shops were closed but it really is a pretty road with chandeliers hanging through the middle of the road. They were filming something , we never could figure out what but it was interesting watching about 4 huge trucks unload and set up for filming. The next day I saw the eye doctor and when they looked at my eye he said that there were no changes at all.He skipped taking pictures because he said that he could tell just by comparing from what he could see to the previous pictures that there were no changes. We were there all of 45 minutes. I have to go back in 6 months for another check up. That will be May 10. Robert is going to Mexico on a fishing trip the next week (May 13) so Kit may go with me and we may make a girls getaway out of it. If they want me to come back again I am going to tell them that I will follow up with the retina specialist here. The drive to LA is a pain...we may fly this time but it is hard because you never know when you are going to be done. The first appt. went from about 10:00 am to 4:30 pm and the next one was 45 minutes! Plus you need a car to get around. I have seen enough of LA as well.
I don't think that I have mentioned this before but I had a second head MRI that I really didn't know that I was going to have. Back in July they did an head MRI. I went for a follow up visit with my radiologist and as he was reading from my chart he says blah, blah , blah oh, I see you had an MRI and they see an area on your skull and for you to go get another MRI in 6 months. I said WHAT??!!!!! I was called after that MRI and was told everything looked fine. This was when Dr. Allison was out of town and her nurse called me. The radiologist read and explained the report because he said he was really not concerned and wished they had a previous MRI to compare it with. He said that everyone has imperfections and on their bones, organs, etc. and because of my history they are going to have to make sure this is nothing. So on to my check up with Dr. Allison a few weeks ago....
Everything went well with my 3 month check up. My blood work looks good and everything back to normal but I still have a weak immune system so to still be careful. I have been doing well on tamoxifen. I am getting a few hot flashed here and there but that is about all. I had my last echo of my heart and it looks normal. I also had my last herceptin treatment at the beginning of February and I am happy that I am done with treatments in the chemo room. So, I asked Dr. Allison about the MRI. Because of the wording on the report she was not concerned either but she went ahead and sent me for a follow up. The report on that came back as "stable" which she said meant that the area had not changed at all. I am supposed to go back in another 6 months for another one , to double-check I guess. I did have an MRI about 7 years ago at a local hospital andI really ought to give them a call and see if I can find it to compare. But in the report terminaology it says that it does not have the characteristics of a cancer metastesis. So I guess this is one of those things that would be of no concern but because of the breast cancer they have to investigate. so that is where I am at this point.
I feel really good. My hair is growing a lot. I am working doubles occasionally but only one day at a time. I am working about 3 to 5 shifts a week. I will work a double now and feel fine. I had a day a few weeks ago where I felt like the chemo was re-surging through my body. I just layed around all day. It was really weird. Robert thought it was becasue I am not in good shape and was tired, but I know the difference. I only felt this type of discomfort on the taxol. I call it discomfort because it was not pain..just didn't feel good. I was glad I was not working that day and could just take it easy. Other than that episode, I really feel good. Someone asked me how close to feeling like I did before the treatments started and I said about 95%. The other 5% will probably come with loosing the last 10 pounds and working out. I guess I am not going to complain about gaining 25 pounds with my last treatment because as I have talked to others they gained much more than that. I gotta get on the ball though and get the rest off. To be the correct weight is one of the most important things that I can do because the heavier you are the more hormones you produce. I am happy that things are returning to normal around our house and that cancer is not the focus. Oh yeah, I get to have my port taken out today! I will be glad to have it removed. I go to the surgeon this afternoon and they take it out in the doctors office. Robert is going to go with me but I should have no issues. The nurse told me the doctor will use a local novacaine and take it out. I don't understand...if it is going directly into a main vein then how do they keep that from bleeding. We'll see how it goes!
I don't think that I have mentioned this before but I had a second head MRI that I really didn't know that I was going to have. Back in July they did an head MRI. I went for a follow up visit with my radiologist and as he was reading from my chart he says blah, blah , blah oh, I see you had an MRI and they see an area on your skull and for you to go get another MRI in 6 months. I said WHAT??!!!!! I was called after that MRI and was told everything looked fine. This was when Dr. Allison was out of town and her nurse called me. The radiologist read and explained the report because he said he was really not concerned and wished they had a previous MRI to compare it with. He said that everyone has imperfections and on their bones, organs, etc. and because of my history they are going to have to make sure this is nothing. So on to my check up with Dr. Allison a few weeks ago....
Everything went well with my 3 month check up. My blood work looks good and everything back to normal but I still have a weak immune system so to still be careful. I have been doing well on tamoxifen. I am getting a few hot flashed here and there but that is about all. I had my last echo of my heart and it looks normal. I also had my last herceptin treatment at the beginning of February and I am happy that I am done with treatments in the chemo room. So, I asked Dr. Allison about the MRI. Because of the wording on the report she was not concerned either but she went ahead and sent me for a follow up. The report on that came back as "stable" which she said meant that the area had not changed at all. I am supposed to go back in another 6 months for another one , to double-check I guess. I did have an MRI about 7 years ago at a local hospital andI really ought to give them a call and see if I can find it to compare. But in the report terminaology it says that it does not have the characteristics of a cancer metastesis. So I guess this is one of those things that would be of no concern but because of the breast cancer they have to investigate. so that is where I am at this point.
I feel really good. My hair is growing a lot. I am working doubles occasionally but only one day at a time. I am working about 3 to 5 shifts a week. I will work a double now and feel fine. I had a day a few weeks ago where I felt like the chemo was re-surging through my body. I just layed around all day. It was really weird. Robert thought it was becasue I am not in good shape and was tired, but I know the difference. I only felt this type of discomfort on the taxol. I call it discomfort because it was not pain..just didn't feel good. I was glad I was not working that day and could just take it easy. Other than that episode, I really feel good. Someone asked me how close to feeling like I did before the treatments started and I said about 95%. The other 5% will probably come with loosing the last 10 pounds and working out. I guess I am not going to complain about gaining 25 pounds with my last treatment because as I have talked to others they gained much more than that. I gotta get on the ball though and get the rest off. To be the correct weight is one of the most important things that I can do because the heavier you are the more hormones you produce. I am happy that things are returning to normal around our house and that cancer is not the focus. Oh yeah, I get to have my port taken out today! I will be glad to have it removed. I go to the surgeon this afternoon and they take it out in the doctors office. Robert is going to go with me but I should have no issues. The nurse told me the doctor will use a local novacaine and take it out. I don't understand...if it is going directly into a main vein then how do they keep that from bleeding. We'll see how it goes!
posted by Meredith @ 9:10 AM
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