I had my "let's see how the treatment is going" scan a couple of weeks ago.
Things I have learnt from having my scan.
If it takes two attempts to find a vein, go for the second site first, especially if you have to call a someone else to do, because they always get the vein.
I also now know the difference between a radiographer and a radiologist. The latter is a doctor the former is not.
Finally, it is more painful removing the plaster which covers the cannular, then it does putting the cannula in, especially if it is removed against the hair growth. Bizarrely in spite of my hair loss I still have remarkably hairy arms.
In the time honoured fashion I will give you the bad news first.
I still have cancer, which is no surprise as I have incurable secondary breast cancer.
I also have slight damage to my lungs as a result of collateral damage from the radiotherapy. It is minor and explains my slight breathlessness together with my reduced haemaglobin level.
The good news is that my tumours have shrunk, quite a lot. Given that my oncologist was aiming for stability, I have exceeded expectations. Hooray!
So what happens now?
I will have the final round of six full monty treatments at the beginning of June and then the chemo element (docetaxel) will be dropped and I will continue on the maintenance regimen. That is just the monoclonal drugs Hercaptin and Pertuzamab. During this I will have 4 monthly scans until I receive just the "Bad News". Then the oncologist will put me on some other drugs of which she has many in her stock of ways to torture her patients.
So here's to the next few years of 3 weekly visits to the hospital.
Hooray xxx
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