So...as some of you may have gathered from my posts on The Facebook...the roller coaster ride continues. As I mentioned in my last Quick Lil Update, I had a CT scan last week. Thursday, to be exact. And I also met with my oncologist Thursday afternoon to get the results. Quick turnaround was nice. Not having much time to think and stress about it was nice. I was feeling pretty confident (possibly because I didn't have much time to think and stress about it. Ha). But, that jolly confident mood was quickly replaced by shock and denial once I saw the face of my oncologist as he walked in the door.
"It's not working," he said, shaking his head with his lips tightly pursed in the way he always does when he delivers bad news. The tumors and affected lymph nodes all increased in size this time. In fact, the liver masses doubled in size. In one month. Yeeks! This is not the news that I wanted or expected to hear...though it does make sense as to why my pain has increased so much in the last month.
My oncologist doubled my pain medicine, prescribed me tamoxifen tablets (one of the drugs shown to work for me on my targeted study), and fired off an email to his colleague at Johns Hopkins. He has been consulting with her about my case for the past few months. She is in the loop. She is an expert in gynecological cancers. I have heard her name and her expertise and her loveliness mentioned in my support group meetings. I am psyched that she has been/will be involved in my care.
By Friday afternoon, I got a call from my oncologist's office asking for my permission to be contacted by Johns Hopkins as there were several treatment options that they felt would be a good match for me. By Monday afternoon, I had a consultation scheduled with The Doctor and from the sounds of it an idea of a clinical trial for me. PSYCHED. Doin' a little dance.
I was/am, admittedly anxious about it in some ways...like the fact that my cancer has progressed far enough to be considered for a clinical trial and the fact that so many things so far have not worked and the fact that...those liver masses...1 month! Ack. But, the more I read about clinical trials and this doctor, the more confident and excited I get. This is definitely a good thing.
So, that is where I am at now. I meet with The Doctor at Hopkins tomorrow afternoon. My pain meds were doubled and I am almost feeling fine. I had a blood transfusion yesterday and all that juicy blood is really giving me a boost. Time to sit back, relax, let go and let God...
OH...speaking of God...one more little thing that has me totally jazzed right now...a close family friend approached me on Sunday and said that his pastor, who apparently follows my blog (or was at least introduced to the mega millions entry I posted last Monday), would like to use that blog entry as part of his sermon. He was requesting my permission. Holy cow!! I am like...beyond honored to have someone want to share my writing with others. Jazz hands! Happy dance. So cool!
That is all for now. I shall report back after I meet with The Doctor at Johns Hopkins tomorrow.
Peace and love and all that jazz to you,
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