Round 1 after effects

Well, I guess I might as well post about what the chemo feels like. I don't recall feeling anything but a bit out of it on Thursday, after I got the treatment - probably from the steroids, not sure. Friday I was feeling weak but not terrible. Saturday I felt pretty bad, I guess. Weak and just not well. While I would get hungry, food didn't sound good. My mouth had an almost oily coating which didn't help. I seemed to experience a lot of hot flashes as well. By Sunday afternoon, I seemed to be feeling a bit better, but that evening the aches and pains started. Hard to describe - they just come and go, all over my body. I'm taking digestive enzymes when I eat to help with digestion, and I seem to be digesting alright - not great. The steroids, which I take for three days whenever I get the treatment, kept me awake; the doctor prescribed a sedative which helped. I have some trouble relaxing and feeling comfortable because of the aches and pains. Hoping all of this will ease up as days go by. My mouth seems to be not as bad as yesterday. I have to be careful of the sun, so I'm using sunscreen when I go out. I did work today for a few hours, which helped distraction-wise. Not sure I did a very good job, but I was there, anyway. Long as I could sit still, it was okay. Moving around was a bit of a challenge, due to the weakness. I left early and stopped to have my hair cut off on the way home. It's hot here, and I just don't feel like messing with it anymore! It'll be gone in a couple weeks anyway. The big news is that I exercised this afternoon - sort of. It will help, hopefully, with digestion and general well being. Buster seems okay with all of this, which is nice. I was afraid I'd smell different or he'd sense something, but he seems just fine. His appetite is great, as usual. :D I'll post again in a couple of days. Take care.

Round 1 is over

My first appointment went very smoothly. The nurses were exceptional. I was plenty comfortable the whole time. No reactions to any of the drugs, which is all I could hope for. It was a long afternoon - about 4 hours - especially, following a sleepless night, thanks to the steroids which I must take for three days each time I do chemo. The doc gave me a sedative to take tonight to help me sleep. Met some very nice people, and listened to a wonderful healing audio CD provided by a dear friend. I feel a bit tired, but don't know what to attribute that to. No nausea. In fact, I'm eating a lovely bowl of lentil soup. Thanks again for all your good wishes! I know I had a lot of people pulling for me today, and I so appreciate it. I'm so very lucky, and I know it!

Starting chemo today

My first treatment is scheduled for three hours; the chemicals are administered more slowly the first time in case there is a reaction. And I'm having my teeth cleaned right before, since dental work is recommended against while having chemotherapy. I will be made very comfortable during the treatment - lounge chair, blankets, TV. Side effects are well managed these days, and I don't expect to have any serious problems with the treatment. Fatigue throughout is likely. And hair loss. Hopefully, that will be the worst of it. I'll let you know how it goes. Meanwhile, here's some very interesting news about resveratrol from Dr. Weil:

Resveratrol Against Cancer
Resveratrol, the antioxidant found in grape skins and red wine, has been studied in recent years for its potential effect on longevity, but new research suggests that it may also have an anti-cancer effect. When tested in conjunction with radiation, resveratrol prompted human pancreatic cancer cells to malfunction and die. In a laboratory study, researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York found that resveratrol seemed to work against the cancer cells by interfering with the activity of their mitochondria, the energy producing mechanism needed for cellular function. When combined with radiation, resveratrol stimulated production of destructive substances within the cancer cells that could make them easier to kill. Exactly what this means for human cancer treatment isn’t known. It’s too soon to say whether taking resveratrol supplements or drinking more wine (a questionable idea during cancer treatment) would do any good, the researchers said. (N.B.: Drinking and smoking have been directly linked to breast cancer. - Marcia) Next on the agenda: find out whether resveratrol acts on tumors in the body the same way it does on cells the test tube. The study was published in the March, 2008 issue of Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology.

Never mind

Contrary to my last post, I will not be entering the trial. Long story short: the size of one of my surgical margins did not meet the standards set for the trial. I have decided to undergo chemotherapy, and will start next Thursday. It will be administered four times, three weeks apart. I expect to sail through it, and will certainly keep you apprised of my progress. I've been exercising and eating well, and am probably healthier than I've been in years, so I'm going into it in optimal condition. Thanks for your support throughout this tough decision process. I am greatly relieved to finally be moving forward again. My love to all.

I will enter the trial

I made the decision to enter the trial. I just spent 20 minutes on the phone trying to let anyone at Kaiser know that, without success. But that's another story.

As you may have surmised, this wasn't an easy decision for me. There is not enough information currently available to point definitively toward Yes or No for chemotherapy, in my case. For what it's worth, I am just not convinced that it is necessary in my case - but I wouldn't turn it down if I am chosen for that treatment.

Besides that, the notion of giving up control of the decision (by entering the trial) hasn't been easy for me to accept, which will come as no surprise to those of you who are intimately familiar with the women in my family....

In case you have time on your hands and are interested, here is a link to an interesting article about the breast cancer chemotherapy decision.

Green Tea - more reason to drink it

Dr. Andrew Weil says: "An antioxidant found in green tea seems to fight breast cancer in mice and might be beneficial in humans as well. A study at the University of Mississippi found that the EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate) in green tea slows the growth of breast tumors in mice. Researchers added EGCG to the drinking water of female mice and gave plain water to a mouse control group. Then they injected all the animals with breast cancer cells. After five weeks they found that the breast tumors developing in the mice that drank water laced with EGCG, were much smaller than those of the mice who drank plain water. The study leader suggested that the EGCG helped by suppressing formation of new blood vessels needed to nourish the tumors as well as hindering the proliferation and migration of the cancer cells. The findings were to be presented at the 121st Annual Meeting of the American Physiological Society. While there’s still no proof that EGCG will work this way in human breast cancer patients, its potential to prevent oxidative cell damage and premature aging have been established in previous studies."

I'm not wild about the flavor of green tree, but have found a widely available product I like well enough to drink daily: Good Earth's decaffeinated Green Tea Blend which is flavored with lemongrass.

Treatment could start soon

I learned today that if I enter the trial, a decision would be made and treatment of one kind or the other (either chemotherapy or radiation) could start as early as next week. I will spend the rest of today coming to terms with the trial idea - meditating on the two possible scenarios to make sure I'm comfortable with them and willing to give up control of the decision.

Trouble deciding about chemotherapy

I pored over my books and on-line stuff this weekend until I couldn’t see straight. I was comparing the various treatment options and combinations thereof. I found statistics for dying, local recurrence, distant recurrence (metastisis), recurrence in the other breast, absolute and other kinds of stats – I couldn’t get any of it to line up neatly on a chart and point the way to a best decision.

I did, however, note some telling phrases from two highly regarded doctors/researchers – Susan Love and John Link. Basically, I’d be a fool not to do radiation and Tamoxifen. I at least have to try. I had been leaning away from these treatments due to their side effects, but it seems this would be foolish. And the chemo - in my case - is just a crapshoot. It is more likely than not that it won’t help me a lot, but it is somewhat likely that it might help me some.

Bottom line: I have decided to volunteer for the trial and be randomized to receive chemotherapy or not. The trial is to determine which women in the Oncotype DX score range of 11-24 are helped by chemotherapy. At least I'll be doing something positive for medical science and the women who come after me. I decided this morning, and I am living with this decision until sometime tomorrow; then I’ll notify my doctor. I posed some questions to him this morning via e-mail about timing – how soon would I learn whether I am to have chemo or not, and how soon could chemo or radiation start? I hope I'll hear back from him shortly.

Stay tuned.

Oncotype DX Score

The results are finally in. My score is 15 - toward the upper end of "low," the range for which is 1-17 (full range is 1-100). My oncologist tells me that my prognosis is good, generally speaking, and said he himself wouldn't know what to decide about chemotherapy were he in my position. He input my score into an online database called Adjuvant! Online, along with specifics about my status (age, overall health, tumor info), and the resulting report indicated that chemotherapy would likely reduce my risk of recurrence within 10 years from 9.8% to 7.5% - a reduction of 2.3%. I must weight the benefit of that reduction with the risks associated with chemotherapy.

So, it is now up to me to decide and I must make the decision within the next day or so. I'll post as soon as I've decided something.

Thanks so much for your prayers and good wishes the past couple of weeks! I truly appreciate it. Keep 'em coming, if you don't mind, as I can use all the help I can get as I sort through my treatment options. Take care.

More waiting

My doctor tells me that he still has not received the results of the Oncotype DX test, so it will likely be some time next week before I hear. Meanwhile, researching of treatment options continues....