I just got back on Saturday night from a delightful week's vacation in Maui. I had Sunday off, but then spent two days at the cancer center. One day was for scans of the chest/abdomen/pelvis and the second day was for results, blood work and chemo. Treatment cannot proceed until the oncologist reviews everything and signs off on the plan.
First things first ... my scans show no new cancer in my liver and stability in the bones. I am tolerating this chemo (Abraxane) well and we will continue this treatment.
There were many things discussed, but I won't go into all the details here. However, one of the things that came up is the fact that I've lost 25 pounds since starting this chemo. I haven't been trying to lose weight ... overall, I think I eat a lot, but then again, food doesn't taste that good, so maybe I don't eat as much as I think I do. My doctor suggested that I eat more calorie dense foods (peanut butter on crackers as snacks or a bowl of ice cream before bed). I don't think she imagined I would come home after a very long day and simply eat a big bowl of radish and cucumber salad with homemade dressing, along with two ears of corn on the cob. I was craving these foods and they made me happy. They just aren't calorie rich.
I'm having difficulty with styes on both eyes but hopefully, they will clear up soon. Same goes for the reduced hearing in one ear.
I am still recovering from side effects of whole brain radiation. I will wean off the steroids (I'm on a low dose anyway) which may help out with those as well. I get tired easily and need to take naps, but I've always said, "Sleep is good!"
I will have a brain MRI towards the end of September to review what's happening there. God willing, I will be a good responder and all eight of the tumors will be gone. Long time to wait, though!
It was a long day today, but not a bad one. In fact, I'm rather satisfied with the gift of no progression and I will enjoy it again tomorrow.
Thanks for being with me.
#TreatmentTuesday #ResearchNotRibbons #iwantmorethanapinkribbon