Lots To Report

On Monday I went in for my 23rd chemo treatment. I discussed the hernia with Dr. George. She said she would rather avoid surgery because it would interfere with treatments because it is not a good idea to have chemo with an open wound. She suggested a hernia truss or belt which is similar to a girdle. But remember, she is the Chemo Kaiser and loves to keep pumping that stuff into me. The following day I researched the belts and saw that WebMD (my primary physician) recommends against using them. So I think what I’ll do is wait for a while. I think I will need some time off from chemo soon anyway because of worsening neuropathy and I’ll try to coordinate that time off with surgery. Something to look forward to. Dr. George also told me that she wanted to add Herceptin to my treatment. You may recall that Herceptin is a drug (actually an antibody) that has been successful in treating breast cancer in patients whose tumors test positive for an over expression of the HER2 gene. Lately they have been finding it useful in treating gastrointestinal cancers when there is an over expression of the HER2 gene. I tested positive for the over expression back in June. Before using Herceptin Dr. George wanted me to have a MUGA test so she got it scheduled for Tuesday. Now I must say that I was somewhat disappointed when I got to the hospital. I was expecting a MUGA test to be a test in which I sit in front of a camera and make funny faces. But it turned out to be another nuclear injection test that measures heart output. On Wednesday Dr. George had the test results. My heart was OK so I received the first dose of Herceptin. Interesting that within 48 hours the MUGA test was approved by my insurance company, scheduled by the hospital and results sent back to the doctor. I then received a fairly new type of treatment. I think that speaks well of our health care system and makes me worry about what might happen when they start tinkering with it. And I should point out that my health insurance is far from a “Cadillac” plan. It’s more like the mini-van I drive. So now I’m walking around with a large dose of a breast cancer drug in me. I keep putting my hands to my chest. I’m afraid I may soon need a bra. Oh well. It’ll go good with the girdle. The blood test taken Monday showed that my liver function still seems to be within normal ranges although it looks like the numbers are starting to creep up. Maybe the Herceptin will help. Today I went to a special Mass at our church. It was a Mass for sick people. As I’ve said before I don’t feel it’s appropriate to pray for myself so I offered the Mass up for all of the EC patients whose stories I follow. However I really got a lot from it for myself as well. Although I have faith, I’m really not a very religious person. But the ceremony was incredible. There were 4 priests assisted by 4 deacons. Mid-way through the Mass a priest and a deacon went to each participant and prayed over him/her. Then a priest and a deacon went to each participant individually again and administered the anointing of the sick. I could literally feel God’s blessing as I received it. It was very powerful and I felt better the rest of the day. The timing of this treatment worked out well. Thanksgiving will fall in the final week of the cycle so it will be the best time for eating. Carry on. ----------------------------------------------------------------