Hey readers!
Today I had a long day at the Hospital. We got there at 8:30 am for labs, onc. visit, and my 9th Herceptin. Blood work is looking ok--hemoglobin is slowly starting to come up. It was 10.4 today (it was 10 two weeks ago). It should keep going up now. Met with Dr. Jahagirdar, and he let me know that I'll have another MUGA (heart) scan the end of Nov., and see him again the beg. of Dec. I'll have a MUGA every 3 months while on the Herceptin, as it can decrease heart function. I'm already a little concerned because my blood pressure today was 105/73, which is low for me. The top number is usually in the 120-135 range. The doc saw it and said, yes, that is a little low, and that was it! I suppose because I'll be getting the MUGA in a month, he's not too concerned right now.
My Herceptin infusion took 90 minutes, because I got the larger, every 3 week, dose. I was worried that it would make me more sick than last time, but I don't feel too bad. Slightly "yucky", and tired, but that's it. Hope I'm not too tired tomorrow because I will have Brennan here in the morning and again in the afternoon! I didn't watch him last week because he was sick, so I can't wait to have him tomorrow! I miss him.
Anyways--on to the radiation. I had the "simulation" done to get me ready for my radiation treatments. I had to lay on the skinny hard table and keep my left arm above my head, while the techs marked me with markers, stickers, and eventually, tattoos (4 tiny dots). I had to go in the little CT scanner a few times too. My left arm and chest area are still tight from surgery. I quit doing my stretching exercises because I can use my arm just fine. I mean, how often do I need to raise it above my head? Apparently I shouldn't have quit stretching! It hurt SO BAD after laying like that for at least 20 min. Probably longer. The shoulder still hurts. Thankfully, the actual rad treatments will only take a few minutes. They made a mold of my head and arm, so they can easily position me the same again. My first radiation is next Monday at 8:15 (rush hour traffic-great). The time will eventually change to 9:45--much better! I will have 33 treatments, daily, Mon.-Fri,, except Thanksgiving. Last one will be Dec. 9th.
The rad onc. (Dr. Bisignani) said after chemo and radiation, my chances for a recurrence of breast cancer is around 10%. The chances of getting cancer from the radiation is about 1%. I could get a soft tissue sarcoma in the chest area, or lung cancer in the small area of lung that gets some radiation. After all the radiation and ct scans I've had , if I don't get cancer again someday it'll be a miracle! Thankfully I know God does still do miracles!
So, now I'm just very tired! I'm going to watch a little tv, and play on the computer for a bit, then get to bed early!
Blessings!
Tina
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