Happy New Year everyone, we hope 2019 will be healthy, happy and prosperous for you all.
The side effects from my last chemotherapy session on 28th December have been a little more pronounced than before, probably because the chemical cocktail has a cumulative effect. Over the last week I have felt more tired and I have also experienced muscle aches much of the time. I have been able to cope with all this pretty well and I’m lucky that I have suffered far less than many other people undergoing the same treatment.
This morning I had my second review appointment with my Consultant Surgical Oncologist. After a physical examination, he looked at the mammogram images of my right boob. He showed us the changes from when the initial mammogram was taken on 7th November against last Friday’s mammogram (4th January).
It was amazing to see how the tumour has reduced in size and its density has reduced too. It has actually shrunk by 39% from 41mm to 25mm after only three chemo sessions; quite dramatic in fact.
He is very pleased with my progress.
Whoever thought that was a good idea for biscuits?
We discussed my ongoing treatment and I asked why the cocktail of drugs will change after the next session from ET (Epirubicin and Cyclophosphamide) to Taxol. Apparently it is “to spread the bets”!
Put simply, the drugs work in different ways to each other and by using them both in the same treatment plan there is more chance that every trace of cancerous growth will be eradicated. That’s also why I will be having radiotherapy after the lumpectomy surgery in early May – he said it was to “sanitise” the whole area and limit the chances of the cancer returning.
I mentioned to him that I have felt a little breathless of late and also that my resting heart rate seems to be much higher now than in the past (thank-you FitBit!). He said I am probably a little anaemic and he then looked more closely at my blood test results. If my red blood cell count falls much more, he will consider giving me a blood transfusion to top them up.
His wise advice was that to avoid tiredness and breathlessness I need to reduce my rushing around from 500 million miles an hour to only 400 million miles an hour!
The next appointment for a mammogram and ultrasound scan is in the first week of March after which he will see me again to review what we all hope will be further good progress.
So all in all I am feeling positive about how well the treatment is going. The next chemo session is set for 18th January and I will post again after that unless there’s anything else to report in the meantime.