I'm Just Sayin . . .: Chemo # 7 Update

Wednesday, I headed to Jax for blood work and a CT scan. Two things that should be very straightforward, especially with my new port. WRONG...

First, wearing a mask and walking three buildings is getting tougher and tougher. I get so winded so quickly, especially with the mask. I could barely breathe when I got to the lab. Once I sit down, I am able to catch my breath within 10 minutes but it does worry those around me and certainly does not make things easy. I got to the lab and said to the phlebotomist, "I have a port." She then took my arm and said, "You poor thing. You are very beat up." Then looked for a vein and stuck me. It immediately bruised.

Then I went to the next building over and upstairs. I went to the check in desk and then was redirected to another check in desk. I was out of breathe when I got there. After being asked my name and date of birth, I was given a tablet and a clipboard. Just what I want to do touch dirty things other people have touched. The tablet literally asked my name, DOB, zip code, and to confirm I was getting a CT. Really, I needed a tablet for that! Then she took me back to get the CT scan. A scan that literally takes 5 minutes. I told the tech I had a port, she asked why the lab didn't use it, which I told her I didn't know. Then she looked at the port and determined she could not use it. It has not completely healed and still has the surgical glue on it, she didn't feel comfortable that when she touched it, I told her it hurt. Then she went to do an IV and couldn't find a vein. She called someone to come up from the VAT Team (Vascular Access Team). It took a little while for the tech to come up. She had to use an ultrasound machine to find a vein. She got it in. Then I had to wait about 30 minutes to get called back. The CT scan took about 5 minutes. The radiologist tech commented how much scar tissue my veins had. Everyone empathizes with me and my poor veins. When I took bandage off, there was quite a bit of blood, which is not typical but it also was quite swollen and terribly bruised. I have been icing it tonight.

I wash hoping chemo will be able to use my port. It was too painful to put in not to use it. I really needed something to go my way!

Here is the chemo shirt for chemo #7...it says it all!

On Thursday, at 7:45 AM (that is not a typo) I met with a new cardiologist who specializes in oncology cardiology. I really liked him. He was very honest, straightforward, and funny. He was sarcastic like me, which is a great match! He confirmed the course of treatment for the pericarditis. I have to be on the heart medicine until the beginning of December but I can modify taking it around chemo. I did find out that the pericarditis is an autoimmune. One more the list.

At 9:45 AM, I met with my oncologist. My CT scans showed the cancer is stable, which made him extremely happy. He even had the radiologist measure everything he could see on the films to confirm the stability. We talked about the side effects and they are all normal for the treatment. We have two vial options moving forward. One is the trial through Moffitt and one is a new immunotherapy just approved by the FDA. The two treatments have one drug in common, which is interesting. My doctor wants me to continue on the current chemotherapy for at least 3-4 rounds or until it stops working. I explained that I want to move past maintenance and into something that might reduce the size of this beast. He understood. He knew I would do my research so we decided that I would do that over the next few weeks and in three weeks we would decide how many rounds of the current treatment I would do and when I would begin the new treatment. He does bring up some valid reasons to stay with the current is that we know how I react to it, we know how the cancer responds to it, and once I come off it I cannot go back on it. That being said, if the trial or immunotherapy does not work, there are other options. Both treatments would be IV. At Mayo (continue chemo or do the immunotherapy) would be once every three weeks and at Moffitt it would be every two weeks. My oncologist says my decision between Moffitt and the immunotherapy at Mayo probably will come down to my convenience because the treatments are similar.

Some may wonder (as I was), what is the difference between chemotherapy and immunotherapy? Chemotherapy directly attacks cancer tumors. Immunotherapy boosts the immune system in the body to identify and destroy cancer cells.

Next to chemo. As you can see, I have added one more accessory thanks to a gift I received in the mail.

Both my oncologist and as he said, more importantly the chemo nurse, the port is healing well. They both agreed with me that my diabetes may make the healing slower than normal. It is still quite swollen and tender. That being said, they were able to use my port! I was so happy. Even though it hurt when she linked to the port, it did not hurt any more than the day before being stuck - my veins have spoken. Next step is to find a local solution to using my port for blood draws.