Every once in awhile there is a tiny snag.....

Hello to all, and thanks to all of you for your continued support. I always get a thrill when I realize how many of you are out there checking in on me !!!!

I'm just now getting through the "worst" days post chemo (I had Myocet/Cytoxin #7 last Friday). I've begun the GSCF shots (Neupogen) and generally the remainder of the cycle goes smoothly.

However, I have hit a bit of a snag this week. For the past week or so I have been struggling with extra pain in the area of my collapsed lung. I've been trying various things to get it under control, but it hasn't really been working, and unfortunately, I was not aggresssive enough with my morphine. So I had a little pain crisis of sorts this week, and have really had to get back on track to get on top of that pain.

There is nothing (additionally) wrong with me, and in fact, my scans and physical exam in my lungs are good. But I still have pain, and so I have been getting help from my homecare nurse and my doctor. Hence, you may have noticed (both on this blog and in "person") that I have been sort of quiet. (Pain really sucks) But, I am getting on track - this basically means that I have to take more morphine. I am improving, and I'm hoping that we'll have this all sorted out in the next week or two...... At any rate, it is NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT....... Every day of living and managing a dynamic and life threatening diseasae can bring new challenges, that's all..... sometimes it's easy to forget that!

Otherwise, my family is also "stable" !!! Michelle and Craig are thick into mid-terms and assignments.... Brian continues to do well in Grade 11. Gord is taking some courses for the next little while, but he also continues to enjoy his job here in Regina. And my mom and dad help keep our operation running, I'm not just sure what things would be like without them, but since we do have that amazing level of support and love, we are able to just keep on living, and living pretty darn well too!

Cheers to all! Joanne

Stable !!

Well, the results from my most recent CT scan (Tuesday) show that there has been no significant change since the previous scan. Given it was only a 6-week interval, rather than the usual 3 months, my oncologist considers this a very good result. Also, my lungs are sounding improved and there is some evidence of functional improvement. He was very happy with this results.

So, while of course I would rather see continued shrinkage, "stable" is also very good news. In fact, my oncologist suggests that we may not see further shrinkage from this drug, and that continued stability is a good outcome. I am also glad that the cancer continues to be limited to my lungs and internal lymph nodes, there is no evidence of any further spread. I'm not sure how significant that really is, but it makes ME happy.

My heart is also still in good shape and so I will have two more treatments of the Myocet + Cytoxin and then there will be a discussion as to what to do next. It will likely be a switch to a different chemo drug (Navelbine was mentioned), but we will know more at that time....

The chemo room was full today, and since I did not have a treatment booked (pending results of scans) I have a day or two "off" and will return for my next treatment as soon as they can fit me in.

Thank you so much to all my friends and family, and acquaintances and colleagues who continue to check in on me through this blog. And for all of you who continue to think about and pray for me and my family, your warm thoughts are appreciated and it helps me to stay strong and to keep my hope strong.

Cheers to all - Joanne

Thanksgiving

Well, I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. We certainly did. Both Michelle and Craig were home for the weekend, and we had a wonderful time together as a family again. My mom cooked a spectacular meal, which was enjoyed by us as well as my Aunt, Peggy and 3 of her kids. My grandfather was also well enough to attend, which was really amazing and wonderful. Unfortunately, I am the one who didn't make it to thanksgiving dinner.... that day I had a lot of bone pain (side effect of the Neupogen shots) and I just wasn't able to get enough morphine in me to be able to move comfortably AND be lucid. Anyway, that was small detail, I still enjoyed the entire weekend.

We are all very saddened to hear of the death of my cousin Patricia's husband, John Sinclair. One of Patricia's aunt's also died recently (as it happens this is also the mother of one of my friends and fellow book club member, Michelle) My heart goes out to Pat, Michelle and their families as they cope with these deaths.

Things are stable with me. On Thursday I have the MUGA (heart) scan, next week is the CT. The worst of the "chemo" crap side effects are mostly over, and I feel pretty decent.

Scans coming up

Well, I just found out about the upcoming appointments, so I thought I would share them here....

MUGA (Heart) Scan - October 11

CT Scan - October 16

The results of these scans will determine my next treatments......

I'm hanging in at the moment, feeling OK as long as I don't try to do too much. Althought forward progress is slow, I am NOT GETTING WORSE, which is actually quite a good feeling! I am passing the time by reading, needlework, "Emailing", and keeping in touch on the computer. And, my great family helps me pass the time with movies, other TV shows, lattes and other treats. All in all, I am doing OK, and I will check in as soon as I can with any other news!