Notes From the Infusion Chair -- April 2019; Slight Change in Treatment

Oncology Appointment

My latest CT scan and echo, that I had this past Friday, are good.  I usually skim the report, and hone in on the bottom line.  For the CT scan, it says, "Impression:  Stable exam, no evidence of metastatic disease."  For the echo, it says, "In comparison with prior study from 1/25/2019 there is no significant change."  We also look at the Ejection Fraction, which is noted on the report as 60-65%.  These are good numbers.  Great news!

In addition to going over my latest scan and echo results during the appointment with my oncologist, I talked to her about the neuropathy in my hands and feet getting more pronounced and a little painful.  I told her that the foot massage I get during my monthly pedicures helps immensely, as does holding a hot cup of coffee in my hands.  She explained to me that these sensations (pressure, heat) supersede the pain sensations in the nerves.  So, these kinds of relief, as well as pain meds,  would just mask the nerve damage.   We're going to take a break from Perjeta (the medication that's causing the nerve damage) for 4-6 months to give time for the nerves to recover.  So, not so great news.  I'm nervous to take a break from any of my medications, as they have been working beautifully so far for four years.  My oncologist is confident, though, as she has other patients who take a break from this particular medication with good results.  So, cross your fingers.  If the neuropathy does not improve with taking a temporary break from Perjeta, we'll have to discontinue it completely.  On a side note, that may also help my balance improve.


Treatment

Today is my 63rd maintenance treatment.  Counting the 7 rounds of chemo I had at the beginning, this will mark my 70th cancer treatment.  70 times I've been at this infusion center.  70 times I've had my port accessed -- more actually, when you count up the CT scans I have every three months, the 2 brain MRI's I've had, the few bone scans, and the emergency room visit.  Maybe one day I'll count them all up.

My port was a little tempermental today.  Christine, my nurse, accessed it painlessly, but had trouble getting blood return.  We tried the normal tricks -- I turned my head and coughed, I raised my right hand, we laid the bed flat.  None of these worked.  Last resort -- lay bed flat, no pillow, feet raised.  It worked!  It's funny to see, but these tricks actually work.  It's hilarious sometimes.

Today we're making a bit of a change in my treatment, as I explained above.  So, I'll still have the Zofran pre-med, which runs over 10 minutes, then Herceptin, which will run over 30 minutes.  Then I leave and go home to sleep.


So, pretty much an uneventful day, except for the change in treatment.  The hope is that by taking a break from this particular medication, my neuropathy will improve (and maybe my balance) but that my scans will still come back stable.  I will have increased scanxiety with my next set of scans, in late July.  Stay tuned for those results.






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