Pneumonia, Radiation, and New Chemo Side Effects Oh My!

This has been a very tiring week for me. Not only did I start radiation this week, but if you aren’t on Facebook and didn’t hear, I found out that my respiratory bug ended up being walking pneumonia.  I have had a cough for a while, and yes I should have gone to the doctor sooner but I kept putting if off thinking that I was getting better. Not real smart I know but it has been a little overwhelming for me getting adjusted back to the school routine with my energy levels so low. I realized this week though that my cough wasn’t getting better and that I felt worse this week than I did a couple weeks ago when I was closer to the last chemo treatment. The doctor said that my chest x-ray really didn’t show anything but when listening to me I sounded terrible. I am being treated right now as if it is bacterial walking pneumonia. If it does not get better, the doctors may have to start looking into other possible causes. I was a little surprised to learn that one of the chemo drugs that I took can cause lung toxicity although not commonly. I’m just praying that I just have normal pneumonia and that my compromised body will now be able to fight it with the help of antibiotics.

I have now had four doses of radiation and am learning the routine. The first day it took about half hour but I was told that they had to do extra scans that day to make sure my marks were still in the correct places. I guess they will periodically do this throughout treatment. I will also see the doctor once weekly to check my skin and radiation area. On all the other days it will be a very quick in and out. It probably only takes five minutes to get me lined up on the table and do the radiation. I also found out for sure this week that the doctor’s plan for me involves using a bolus for most of the treatments. Since my doctor really hadn’t told me a lot up front, I did what I always do and researched. From this research I knew that the bolus was coming and that I wasn’t going to like it. Bolus is a fancy term for a warm wet towel. It feels really good and the technician said that many women mistakenly think that they are doing them a favor when they apply it, but they are not. What it does is “trick” the machine. Deeper tissue gets more radiation than the skin. This is usually what you want for a lumpectomy patient, but for a mastectomy patient the most likely places that the cancer will recur is in the skin or chest wall muscle. So the bolus “tricks” the machine and the skin now seems like deeper tissue thus getting more radiation than normal. This means that the skin is much more likely to break down and get more irritated. It is not a given though. Some women still make it through OK I’m told.

As I said, this week has been a tiring week. I feel like it has been harder to deal with stuff probably because I have been sick. I am now six weeks out from chemo and I had felt that I was now starting to get into the safe zone where I wouldn’t see new side effects. Unfortunately Taxotere seems to be the chemo that keeps on giving. One morning I woke up to notice that half of one of my eyebrows is now gone. I had been so glad to see that my eyebrows and eyelashes had remained after four treatments and now this happens. My nails are now also starting to pull away from the nail bed. Surprisingly it is not super painful, but it was kind of upsetting to see both of these things happen when I thought I was past all this. If they would have happened during chemo treatment, I think I would not have so shocked by them.  But it is what it is.

Thanks for all the responses to my Facebook post for prayers. It is comforting to know that I have lots of friends praying for me! Hopefully this next week will go a little more smoothly! I know that no matter what happens that God is still in control and has a plan.

Radiation starts next week

I have a start date for radiation. It is next Tuesday the 27^th and I was able to get a morning time that will work with the school schedules. This is an answer to prayer, but it will also make our morning a little hectic as I will need to make sure all of us are fed and dressed and out the door by 8:00 sharp. I have been a little more run down this week, so I am hoping that by next week I will feel a little more energetic. I have been fighting a respiratory bug for a while now, and I think that the combination of it and the back-to-school craziness has made me more tired. Of course I’m still not back to 100% from chemo so that doesn’t help either.

Yes school has started! All the boys seem to be adjusting pretty well. My youngest is now in kindergarten and he has had a good first two days. It’s kind of sad to see the last going off to school, but at the same time I know that he is ready. I don’t know if it is just me or not, but I kind of dread the beginning of each year. Each of my boys has to quickly figure out what this new teacher expects and how she operates her class. I have to do it times three. For some kids this doesn’t bring a lot of stress, but for at least one of my boys it does. I know where he gets it from. I was the same way each year when I was in school. He loves school and will relax soon, but it is the unknown at the beginning. So I can’t wait to get these new school jitters out of the way. Once we know what to expect and get our routine down, things will go much more smoothly.

On a totally different note – I have peach fuzz on the top of my head. Not all over. Just the top section. It is very fine, soft, light-colored hair. It reminds me of the first hair that babies have. It will be five weeks tomorrow since my last chemo. I had heard it takes a while to start growing hair. I guess they were right. This peach fuzz is a start, but hopefully soon something more will start to grow. :o) 

Radiation and Hormones

I had two important doctor’s appointments Thursday, and I’m just now getting around to updating everyone. Darren and I went to Galena for a long weekend. The boys went to Grandma and Grandpa’s. It was very nice to be able to get away just the two of us. We needed a break from all the cancer stuff. But anyway here are the highlights from the visits. I’m now working on two different fronts to fight the cancer. With my type of breast cancer there are four ways to fight it:

1. Surgery – been there and done that a couple times now
2. Chemo – just got done with this!
3. Radiation – I will be starting this very, very soon
4. Hormonal therapy – I tried one drug last year that didn’t work, I am starting a new drug now

Not everyone that has breast cancer will have to receive all these types of treatment. Last year I only had surgery and hormonal therapy. This year I will receive treatment in all these areas with the hopes that the cancer will be stopped. Of course the most important way of fighting cancer is prayer. God is in control yesterday, today, and tomorrow!

As of Thursday, I am now starting treatment with radiation and a new hormonal therapy.

Radiation

I saw my radiation oncologist and was mapped to prepare for radiation. What this involves is a CT scan to determine where all my major organs are. I was then marked with three X’s so that the technicians will be able to position me exactly each time I go in to receive radiation. As you can imagine, it is very important to get this step as exact as possible. I, for one, would like my heart and lungs to be out of the radiation fields. I was told that it would take 5 – 10 business days after mapping to be ready to start radiation. This means that I will be starting radiation either late this week or more than likely next week. My kids start back to school Monday – a week from today. I’m a little nervous about how all this is going to work. They all three will be in school, and I’m hoping for an easy, smooth start to the school year for all of them – especially my youngest who starts kindergarten. I will have 30 treatments. This means six weeks of Monday – Friday treatments. I’m told the treatments don’t take long. I’m sure the drive will take longer. I do not have a time for radiation yet. That is scheduled once they are ready to start.

I was also told that since I have had a mastectomy that radiation is usually a little harder than for someone who has just had a lumpectomy. I was nervous about this already. I have very, very little tissue on my chest wall now. The doctor confirmed my concerns. He did tell me though that each person is different. He said that we might be pleasantly surprised, and I could get through this with little problems. If I do have issues, it will most likely be with my skin and how it holds up. Please pray that God will help me through this next step and that the radiation will cause minimal issues.

Hormonal Therapy

I am embarking on new territory now. I am officially menopausal at the age of 39. Thursday I was given a Lupron shot that suppresses my ovaries for six months. I have been hesitant to do the Lupron shots. I have already made the decision to have my ovaries removed soon to permanently take care of the issue, but I gave in to having one shot. It is so important to start hormonal therapy as soon as possible. Estrogen is like the fuel for my type of cancer. If I reduce the estrogen in my body, there is a better chance that the cancer will not be able to grow. So I did the shot. But I have already scheduled my hysterectomy for November 7. I had to wait until November to have it because my body needs time to heal from chemo, and it is important to start radiation now.

I am also now taking a new drug. It is called Arimidex. I was told at Northwestern that it is a little more effective than the drug that I was on last year. Arimidex requires me to be fully menopausal to take it though - thus the Lupron and hysterectomy. There are a lot of possible side effects from Arimidex. You might not know this but even after menopause women still have a little estrogen. This is made in several places in their body. Arimidex prevents even this estrogen. This is great in terms of fighting cancer, but it can cause problems too. Bone and joint issues are one big area. BUT some women take it and do well. Please pray for me as I adjust to not only menopause but also to Arimidex.

Thanks for the prayers!