Medical update

UPDATE TIME !

On November  4th, 2016 I started weekly treatments and changed medications.  With my type of breast cancer (and maybe other types of breast cancer, I don't know) there are three different types of chemo medication they treat with.  They refer to them as ACT.    

A- Adriamycin ( I think)

C- Carboplatin

T-Taxol

In September and October I was receiving the A and the C.  One of these is one I can never receive again, but I can't remember which one.  

With that said I have really spent so much time thinking about the women before me who helped the medical world figure those types of things out.  How many people before me under went these treatments and had awful things happen  because they received them for to long or received the wrong type.  I mean KUDOS to the first person to ever receive chemo therapy treatments. Every medication they give me is based on governmental guidelines that have taken someone, a mother, a daughter, a sister, and  research.  I am so grateful that people were brave enough before me to go through these specific studies.  

So........the A and the C....... with these medications I went 2 weeks between treatments I was sorta on this curve with my white blood cells.  I would receive treatment and by the weekend following my blood cells would be the lowest but I had this thing placed called the Nulasta on body injector.  The on body injector helped the blood cells begin generating more quickly which allowed me to stay out of the danger zone and have some immunity.  The Nulasta was the worst part of the A and the C.  it caused massive pain from my toes to my jaw and pretty much made me miserable for 2 days.  It also caused  me HUGE amounts of anxiety.  So the best part of changing medications is that I don't have to have the Nulasta any longer!

Now I am on the T.  So far I am doing okay on it.  The bone and muscles aches are still present and sometimes I think more annoying then before. Instead of having two really bad days I seem to have pain everyday.  It's not as awful as the pain from Nulasta but it is also way worse then any muscle pain I have had  before,  It makes me uncomfortable in my body.  No matter which way I stretch or lay it doesn't really go away or help.  Heat and sitting is pretty much the only thing that relieves the pain at all.   I have not had any nausea in the last two week but the nurses told me that  I probably wouldn't because I didn't have much with the A and that really is the worst for nausea.  The last two treatments I have received 10mg of steroids starting this Friday I will be dropped down to 5mg and although I am excited about less steroids I am nervous this may make it so I am more nausea's.  Apparently I am given steroids to help with the nausea.     I am still exhausted 24/7.  It's such a crazy feeling to constantly have the need to lay down.  Sunday I slept and laid all day,  Monday I woke up expecting to have some energy, I was wrong.  Really couldn't drag myself off the couch at all so basically 48 hours of laying and sleeping led me to.........STILL BE EXHAUSTED when I woke up for work today.

I am learning this!

   I really have no idea what to expect over the next 10 treatments.  You would think the medication will slowly build in my system and symptoms will get worse but no one has said that exactly so I have no idea what to expect and to save myself a lot of worry and fear I am just trying to look at the positive right now.  I am handling this medication change well.  I am also still responding to the chemo.  I am now going to ask you to look at my boobs, clothed of course, but the picture is mind blowing.  You can see the shrinking.  It's bizarre really.  I don't quite understand why the whole breast is shrinking instead of just returning to it's natural state but from what I do understand I think it's because the whole breast is the tumor, the cancer cells live within the skin.  I intend to ask my oncologist to explain this to me a little better at my next visit.   

To recap- I changed medication.  I am handling it well, my body hurts all the time, I am still responding to chemo, and I am wearing a smile on my face!