April 4, 2012 The Half Way Mark Finally!!!
I have to say that the chemo routine has been getting a bit old for me this round, but all of you keep me going! Just making it to round #4, (with the skin of my teeth due the strep throat infection) has actually boosted my energy and optimism to prepare for the next 4 rounds of chemo. While there is more to come after that (four weeks or so of daily radiation, an additional 9 rounds of Herceptin injection therapy after the next four treatments - which will not have the same aggressive side effects of chemo therapy - breast reconstruction at some point in the future and then 5 years of hormone therapy), this chemo stage is what I believe to be the most difficult part of the journey given the added infection risks due to comprised immunity. Having had such a significant infection early on, I now have the realities of chemo therapy and surgery risks under my belt and have made it through so far.
On the brighter side, I actually seem to tolerate chemo therapy treatment quite well other than the infection setbacks that have come and gone. As mentioned in my previous post, the first 1 – 10 days are the most wonky and then I generally feel pretty good. My oncologist reminded me that while exercise is good, it is better to do it more often with less intensity – getting worn down is what I need to avoid, so I will try not push myself as much, but boy is it hard to restrain yourself when one feels relatively normal, and I had been getting fairly fit prior to this (besides you all know how patient I am about being restricted, etc.:o( ).
I will get through the next three weeks and keep healthy. I need to stay healthy to help my Mom through her ordeal which starts on April 20th with her surgery. As well, Todd and I have been really looking forward to going to see Coldplay live on April 21st (thanks to Todd’s sister’s - Heather - generosity and creative on-line booking skills). I am crossing my fingers all goes well over the next few weeks otherwise; Graeme might be the proud owner of a Coldplay ticket!
Here is how the chemical party has played out so far and will for the second round:
Chemo Cocktail Part I (first 4 rounds): with these first four rounds of chemo, I was prescribed the following two main chemo cocktail ingredients:
1. A – Doxorubicin (or trade name: ADRIAMYCIN): this is the lovely ruby red drug that makes your pee pink for the first few times after infusion and can affect your heart (permanently). So far may heart seems to have survived OK – yeah!
2. C – Cyclophosphamide
Between these two drugs the main side effects could or have been:
· Lowered immune system/white blood cell count – this proved to be a problem for me on the first round and is now being supported by Neupogen (the self injected drug to boost my white blood cell count)
· Hair loss – well we all know what happened there:o)
· Onset of early Menopause – well nothing to report in that department yet, but I have a few good friends to get some advice from when this wonderful side effect kicks in!
· Increased risk of bleeding – I have been OK in this department
· Tissue or Vein injury – thanks to my “Power Port”, I am good in this department as well.
· Heart failure – so far so good:o)
· There are a few other nasties that are highly unlikely so I won’t go on.
Chemo Cocktail Part II (second 4 rounds): For the next four treatments, I will be moving to two new drugs (the first two will no longer be administered):
1. T – Paclitaxel (or trade name: TAXOL) – this is a chemo drug that can cause some nerve damage on the fingers and toes (and potentially other areas of the body), however, the risk should not be too high for me based on my general health. This drug can also compromise my immune system and white blood cell count and cause food to taste metallic. However, I should not experience any nausea with this drug so this will be a nice change. I will continue to take the Neupogen to counter the drop in my immune system.
2. T – Trastuzumab (or trade name: HERCEPTIN) – this is not a chemo drug per say, but a drug that targets specific cells. As I am what is called HER2+ (HER2 Positive - which makes the cancer I have more aggressive), my prognosis would have been more dire in the past without Herceptin as the chances of recurrence and mortality are doubled for me without it. Although there are side effects with this drug (but should be manageable given my general health), Herceptin will all but remove the additional risks by targeting the troublesome over expressed protein cells it is looking for. It has only been approved for common use in cancer patients for the last few years – it had been an experimental drug prior to that with more side effects. Again a silver lining as I am benefiting from previous research and will have improved chances of survival and less chance of recurrence due to this medical advancement. So I will try not to worry about the potential side effects that could include: impacts to my heart, flu-like symptoms and potential chills/fever on the first dose (not bad if possibly happens only once!)
While I will need to get used to how I feel with this new round of chemical cocktails, I am optimistic that I will fair well, and hopefully better than the first four rounds of chemo.
Wish me luck!
...Onto the second half of the chemo part of the journey and my personal marathon….
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