5.29.2007

May Onco. Update

I saw my oncologist today and the lung mets seem slightly smaller but now he's concerned about an enlarged lymph node right smack dab next to my heart. (Roseanne Roseannadanna "If it's not one thing, it's anuthah!") We compared the same images from February's scans and it's a little hard to tell if it is swollen or if my position was 5 mm off from 3 months ago so a slighly different perspective is offered.

I still have no cancer related symptoms so we decided on careful observation and continued weekly Herceptin IVs for now. He did give me a very big smile when he said that the Herceptin is working. If the August scans show further enlargement we'll blast away with Taxol and keep up with the Herceptin. The Taxol would be weekly with a one week break every month and I'd have to be careful about neuropathy so I don't mind waiting until I have some symptoms that need relieving before beginning possibly debilitating treatments.

Today seemed to take forever as it was fairly crowded so I didn't get home until about 4 p.m. but I did enjoy the time as a British friend came along to talk the time away. We worked on crossword problems and laughed at trashy magazine articles and news.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Kathy i just keep that Herceptin is working and you still are free from cancer symptoms....someone loves you above :)
prayers and thoughts are always with you there
love anastasia

Anonymous said...

Two things hit me strongly when I read your blog, Kathy:

1. If your doctor smiled and said, "It's working" you can be sure he means what he says. Japanese doctors, in my experience, are not 'positive' unless they've got reason to be.

2. You've got to love that doctor...who gives you a BIG SMILE when he tells you the good news....and you want to be sure not to let that one get away.

Many, many congrats on this great news....

Tamah