I completed chemo treatment number 11 yesterday…only 4 more to go!!!
Before treatment I had to have my blood work done, and of course…my port decided to act up. I had to go to the lab and the lab tech was able to get blood from my arm in a single stick. I had to get a clot busting drug (I think it was called TCP) put in through my port in case there were any clots or fibrous tissues clogging it. Thankfully when I was ready for chemo my port had decided to act right!
After labs, but before chemo, I had an appointment with Dr. Riley. I had an exam and everything “felt right” so that was good. I have monthly checks during chemo and they always do an exam where they check for any new lumps in my breast area and under my arms where the lymph nodes are. Dr. Riley was concerned because I have lost more weight. Chemo makes it hard to eat!!! She prescribed another medication for me to take that is supposed to help. It is called Reglan. Other that the weight issues, she said everything looked good. I see her again in 4 weeks on the morning of my last chemo treatment!!!
I was also invited to be a part of another drug trial. If you remember, I was asked to join one early on in my treatment but Nick and I decided to decline. I was given two packets of information on this new trial and I read over it all last night. Nick read over it today and we agree that I will not join this one either. It is still in an experimental stage and only 100 women have received it so far. It is a vaccine for breast cancer. I would really like to be a part of a trial that that could potentially help women down the road from going through this, but there was so much involved in this trial that Nick and I could not really see ourselves being able to keep up with everything.
The trial would involve me going to Louisville for an injection once a month for the first 6 months, and then once every 6 months for 3 years. I would also have to go in every three months for a visit that would last approximately 3 hours. I would have to have blood work done every 3 months at these visits. Also included are ECG of my heart, echo of my heart, bone scans, CT scans, MRI’s, chest x-rays, bone scans, and mammograms. I would be followed for 10 years. All of this would be provided free of charge since I would be a part of the drug trial. There is even more involved, but I can’t think of everything right off. There would be so much time involved in traveling, time off of work, and plus…it is still experimental which kind of scares me. So it does not look like I will be a part of this trial either. I guess after all I have been through already it scares me to add anything else to my body right now.
debbiepinkstrong 