This got so long last year, that I archived it and will start with new entries in 2012, with most recent on top. See here for older stuff
5-11-12. Got abdomen/ pelvic ct scan yesterday. Showed most of "numerous liver lesions" were stable, with some small increases in others. A liver lesion grew from 1.3 by 1.3 cm to 1.4 by 1.6cm. That's disappointing,as the Arimidex is not holding it stable. Saw lung doctor Wed. and I have slightly improved lung function. I am increasing by epsilon each test, but increasing. So I am now off prednisone. Hope I can thus loose some weight. Saw oncologist today who , because of liver results, switched me off Arimedex onto Tamoxifen, another estrogen suppressor that my mother took for years, but that my sister couldn't tolerate. I'll start that tomorrow. I see him again on May 31, unless I have trouble and call sooner. Still waiting for radiation oncologist office to call with brain MRI schedule. Need to do that MRI in June. Almost done with school- grades due Tuesday and commencement tomorrow. Still RV shopping.
5-4-12 Spent most of yesterday at Tx Oncology; just had labs and doctor visit before zometa infusion,but things took forever. Last day of class today, but lots to do. Planning to go to Houston Sat.to pick up RV, which we have only seen online. It will be adventure since Willie wants to drive the electric hyundai, so we will have to charge for 4 hours or so at RV place. Actually it is now Sunday- I forgot to upload this to the internet Friday. Didn't get the RV as it had some problems that had not been disclosed to us. Still had to drive car from Houston back to the Columbus rv park, as we had no other place to charge car. So we parked car in rv spot to charge and slept in motel just across street from RV place. Worked out fine. We had enough charge to leave around 8 and got home around 11 this morning and were surprised to learn it had rained an inch last night. Busy week coming- final exam Tuesday, lung doc Wed., ct scan Thur, oncologist Friday, plus grading finals and papers and such.
4-27-12 I have to admit that I was dissapointed not to feel better this week. I was hoping to have more energy and enough stability to walk without cane. That has not yet happened- stable I would say. With luck I just need more patience,but improvement seems to come slowly. Saw the eye doctor and got a diffferent type of contact lens to try. I'm having some allergy symptoms, which makes contacts harder to wear,so mostly using glasses. Next Wed. I see pulmonary doctor. I have not gotten worse with breathing, but can't tell any improvement either. Only thing I have noticed is less appetite, which I was expecting with the lower dose of prednisone. I see oncologist on Thursday and will have zometa infusion, then have scan of liver area the following week. One more week of class.
4-20-12 Visited eye doctor to get glasses on which I accidentally took a nap replaced. Also got disposable contacts to see if those will work for me. Will return next week for any needed adjustments. Only 3 weeks of class left- hard to believe. Radiation oncologist seemed to think brain scan was ok. I finally got to see pictures, and the numerous white islands in a sea of gray have gotten smaller with some vanishing altogether. He still may want to treat some, but said it could take a year for them to disappear (if they don't start to grow again). So they will schedule me for scan in a couple of months, and then we will decide on Jun 15 if focused radiation, such as cyber knife, should be used. Nothing but eye doctor next week.
4-14-12 Forgot to post Thursday because I went to MAA Tx section meeting in downtown Dallas, from Thursday to Saturday. Faculty colleague drove so I got to just be passenger. Also had 5 students, and all helped me carry stuff and navigate stairs, etc. while walking, which really helped. Hotel also had shuttle to get me from hotel to campus (about half mile walk) which I used after I walked back from campus on day one. Felt ok while doing it but really felt it in muscles on day 2. Used the portable oxygen machine for sleeping. I was happy to be able to make the trip without too much trouble, but my stamina is still much less than "normal". Will rest this evening and tomorrow while finishing taxes. My face may be a little less puffy now that I am on this lower steroid dose. I get to drop to 5 mg per day of prednisone starting Sunday, which I hope will help me lose the weight I gained when I started steroids and look even less puffy. I see radiation doc this Friday to get his verdict on brain MRI.
4-5-12 Had first ever MRI on Tuesday. It was of head and brain; I thought I could not do any MRI due to steel rods in spine after scoliosis surgery in 1997 but for some reason the steel is not magnetic. Also had mammogram was fine- no cancer evident in that region; bone scan showed something odd around left & right femoral diametaphyseal region. (I think that means near femur bones in thigh), but it was "not likely to be metastasis".They will do xray in May to follow up on that. Overall lungs, bone were essentially stable; liver showed incease in size of tumors- one went from 1.0cm by 1.1.cm. to 1.3cm by 1.3 cm. I don't see radiation doc until Apr. 20, but the brain scan showed multiple lesions in brain which have "slightly diminished" since Feb scan. Oncology doctor thought about going back to chemo for liver, and mentioned several possible drugs, but we are also worried about more neurapathy (numbness, tingling, loss of sensation in hands and feet.)which I got from Taxol and still have, so we decided to stick with current anti estrogen med (Arimidex) and rescan in 6 weeks. There was a gap from Dec. 29 to Feb 13 with no chemo or arimidex, so I am hoping that's when tumor liver growth occurred. Of course if I have more symptoms, we will look sooner. I am glad brain scan showed diminishing mets, but I'll reserve judgement of progress til I talk to radiation doc. So Apr. 20 is next appointment to see radiation oncologist. I now have mohawk style hair that looks like it is on purpose. No luck losing weight yet, but its only a few days I've been on lesss prednisone. Not great report, as cancer is still present and growing, but could have been much worse. Happy Easter!
3-29-12 Most of day spent at medical facilities gettings scans. Mammogram, chest CT scan, pelvic CT scan, bone scan. Only have brain scan left to schedule. Saw pulminary doctor yesterday for lung function test. Lung function was stable- tiny improvement over last time, but said she thought I could start to taper off the prednisone and would likely continue to improve. (We'll see what the next 4 weeks bring.) Should get scan results next Thurs. Spent an hour looking at a Sprinter Conversion RV. We're looking for a good used one to travel in this summer.
3-24-12 Went to school 4 days this week due to meeting Thursday, and stayed late Friday for Senior Seminar talks which ended at 5:30. Students did a nice job this year. No doctor visits occured this week. I was able to walk to barn last Sunday (0.3 mile) then walked to barn and back (0.6 mile) last Tuesday. Traveling slowly- the dogs arrived to barn 10 minutes before I did- but traveling. I see lung doc next Wed. , then do bunch of scans on Thursday Mar 29. Meanwhile, I am trying to eat less, though the doctor said I was not likely to lose any weight while on steroids. On the plus side I am now able to get up from some chairs using only my legs. Stairs without handrails are still tricky.
3-16-12 No doctor visits to report. Went to pool after Willie dropped me off . I think I got more exercise walking around closed road to Andre office, and carrying swim gear to pool and back than I did swimming. Breast stroke still doesn't work, but crawl does,though it is still easy to get unbalanced when I roll head up to breathe. I also just jog in the shallow end. About 15-20 minutes in pool. Made it up ladder out of pool with minimum of help from life guard. Left leg is definitely weaker than right, I notice on stairs and ladders. Walked to library to get picked up by Willie, whose lymphoma check up went well. I was very tired rest of the day., so I think more exercise is definitely a good idea. Will try walking today and tomorrow. Monday it is back to class.
3-10-12 Feeling pretty decent. Had labwork and zometa infusion yesterday and saw oncologist. Things looked ok, but to verify, they'll rescan everything but head on Mar. 29 to see what's happening. That also includes bone scan and mammogram. They last scanned Dec. 29 and doctor likes to scan every 3 months or so. I will contact radiation oncologist to see when he wants to rescan (last head scan was 2/10/12.) I see the lung doc Mar 28 but I think lungs also are improving or stable. Would be nice to test normal or close to normal for lung function.
3-2-12 Happy Texas Independence day! Still not much new. Basically still breathing ok when still but walking around soon has me puffing. I seem to be fine walking around without the portable O2 units MWF at school or when running errands in car. Basically I'm using O2 at night and Tues/ Thur/ weekends when I am working at home. I am trying to move around more, so perhaps exhaustion following more activity is to be expected. Hair growth is slow- may have fuzz on the radiated parts of skull,but still definitely looks like mohawk, with "tallest" part about half inch, bald on sides. I am noticing numbness/tingling in fingers and feet more, so I wonder if that means some feeling is coming back. Should have more news next week.
2-24-12 Not much new to report. Didn't hear more about brain scan, so looks like we'll go a few weeks, then look again. Dropped down to 20 mg of prednisone end of this week. Might have made me feel a bit weaker oveall, though I was able to haul myself up after kneeling on floor to get to bottom shelf of refrigerator. Still no horrible side effects from Arimidex, so that's good, too.
2-17-12 All scan results looked pretty good- tumors reduced in liver and brain. Have a couple of places in brain to watch- doc is deciding whether to wait and scan in a few more weeks, then treat if needed, or treat now with focused radiation. Until I hear otherwise, I am assuming we'll wait. Also started hormone therapy Wed. which means take drugs (pill) which totally supress estrogen production in my body, since my cancer wants estrogen in order to grow. Prednisone seems to be keeping lungs stable, so that's the plan unless I hear otherwise. Plan is take the hormone med Arimidex, plus stay on prednisone, then in a few weeks re-scan and see where we are. Next doctor visit is Mar 8. Walked from parking garage to Science building and back today in my plan to try to walk more. Did that ok.
2- 10-12 Finally got portable o2 unit this week- switched companies. Small unit is about 6 pounds and I can carry it to office and wear as a backpack unit for walking around outside. Had CT scan of brain today- results next week or so, I expect. Had Zometa treatment as well (bone strengthener). Felt reasonably strong- could walk fairly well and breathing was pretty good. Previous scans in Dec. showed reduction in tumors in liver. Breathing test last week showed lung function improvement, and doctor thought I looked pretty good today walking and breathing without o2 unit today, and only minor cane use, so unless brain scan shows more trouble, plan is to continue with steroids for 6-12 weeks for lungs, stay off taxol, then rescan everything and plan from there. Doc said weight gain and puffiness is likely to remain while I am on steroids. I don't feel "normal" having gained 20 pounds on steroids so will try to exercise more if stamina allows. Also taking antibotic 3 days a week as prednizone makes one susceptible to infection. Still, I feel as well as I have these last couple of months, so if the brain scan is good, I will be encouraged.
2-2-12 Saw lung doctor today and lungs are improving. They are still working on getting me portable O2 unit. Still on O2. I will be on steroids for 6 more weeks at least, though the dose was lowered from 40 to 30 mg.I see oncologist next Friday, and I am not sure if I have ct scan next week so will call next week to find out, if no one calls me.
1-27-12 Got through the week ok. I can't really tell if I need to be on O2 or not, as I still get out of breath after moving around but seem to be ok %wise on monitor.Guess I will find out on Feb 8 from lung doc. Still some wobbly walking but generally using cane as back up in case I stumble. At least I seem stable andmaybe improving.
1-19-12 Radiation oncologist thought early (Dec.) head scan looked pretty good- with a couple of places to watch, and wants to rescan end of this month. Meanwhile, I was able to teach Wed. and just didn't use O2- never got the small bottles.In my view AAA is not a good service provider. Say they are coming but never show. But I didn't feel all that short of breath, either, and was at 90% when I used my oxyimiter. I will check Humana site and see if there is another provider.Planning to teach MWF, so we'll see how it goes. I am sleeping 9-10 hours counting naps, so I guess I need the rest.
1-12-12 Saw oncologist today. Conclusion is that lung trouble is inflammatory reaction to Taxol, as biopsy of new region showed no cancer or infection. Treatment is steroids (started yesterday) plus no chemo for a while. Will see lung doc on Feb 8 and oncologist again on Feb 10 but no chemo scheduled. Still need to check with radiation oncologist next week to see how we did on brain. I hope to get the truly portable O2 condensor soon, or simply to improve to where I don't need o2. Planning to teach my analysis class and research students, but got a colleague to take over the calculus class. Class starts next Wed.
1-7-2012 Got through Friday ok, but was totally exhausted, and really short of breath when I got home. Couldn't reliably walk by myself. Today is back to typical. On O2 but can walk around when needed and rode with Willie into Lockhart for errands. Hope to hear from some doctor Monday or Tuesday on biopsy.
1-4-2012 Saw pulmonary doctor today who declared my lung function as "remarkably abnormal", and she suspects the lung is reacting to the Taxol. I am supposed to be on oxygen all the time. That's easy at home but not traveling. She has scheduled me for a broncoscopy biopsy of lung on Friday. So no Taxol or Tx Oncology tomorrow but go to Seton at 9 am Friday for this 11 am procedure. I am ready to get some good news somwehere in here. Hope this procedure tells us something helpful. There is not a significant amount of fluid in lung to be causing trouble.