The Dog Days are Over

It's official: NO MORE CHEMO!!!111one!!! w00t!

I'm extremely happy about this, and so, so relieved. I have been planning in my head for 3 more cycles, and to have that cloud lifted is great. Especially as (and this is a silly reason I know) my hair is starting to grow back - 2 months after last treatment. To think that I'd have another 3 months of chemo, and then another 2 months before my hair is back at the feeble and patchy state it is now was most depressing. I also noticed yesterday that I have a line of very short lower eyelashes.

So next up on the treatment wheel will be:

• Genetic Testing - booked in for Friday to have blood tests to determine if my cancer has a known genetic base. Given my age, it's almost certainly genetic, but only a few specific breast cancer markers have been identified so far. I wonder if the samples are used to identify new ones, if the current known markers come up blank... I like the idea of helping to move the science forward, even only in a tiny way.
• ECG test - before I can have Herceptin treatment my heart function needs to be tested to make sure it's nice and sturdy, and also to get a baseline reading, as Herceptin can cause heart problems, so this will be a fairly regular occurance for the next year.
• Get a port put in. My veins are all broken, and I'll need 13 infusions of Herceptin, so I'll need an alternative to an arm vein - minor surgery required to put in a tube in a vein in my chest so that this can be done.
• Radiotherapy: 3 weeks of daily treatments, which can be done in Bracknell, just down the road, which is a bonus. Sideeffects: sunburn like effects to the skin, tiredness, potential lung and bone denisty damage
• Herceptin: this can start at the same time as the radiotherapy. Apart from potential heart issues, pretty much side effect free, just need to go in once every three weeks for an infusion, which takes about an hour.
• And then I should be done, just be hoping it doesn't come back!

I'm really looking forward to getting my life back, sorting out our garden, going back to work, and generally having a normal life again. I'm nearly there. I should be well enough to at least start going back to work in a few weeks, which is probably a good thing, as I'm getting worryingly addicted to Skyrim...

Waiting for a Decision

Tuesday was my post-op meeting with my oncologist to review what to do next with my treatment. Unfortunately my pathology results hadn't arrived with them through the post, so until I arrived with my copy they'd not been seen - although they had received a letter from the surgeon.

There is some debate as to where to go with my treatment next. For certain I will be having Herceptin and radiotherapy - including on my neck - as the lymph nodes there are the next place the cancer could go. The debate remains around whether to go for more chemo - the gut feeling of my oncologist is to have some more, but that's not the opinion of the oncologist I saw in Essex.

We had a long chat with the oncologist about where to go next - the problem is that in many ways I'm a borderline case, so it's difficult to make a decision. The oncologist is naturally concerned that I've only really had 3 chemotherapy treatments that were effective, and he would rather over treat and reduce the risk of recurrence. I'm obviously concerned about having a further chemo unnecessarily, especially given some of the side effects I'm still suffering with - my feet are still totally numb, and there is a serious risk of this worsening with more treatment.

Given that I'm borederline and the problems with the numbness, the oncologist is going to canvass some further opinions from his colleagues to decide how best to proceed. I'll obviously go with the recomendation - it's difficult to underestimate how little I want to have more chemo treatment but I'm not going to gamble my life on it.

I'll be back to the hospital next Tuesday to hear what will be happening next. In the meantime I'm hoping for the best, but planning for the worst.

Good News

Just been to see my surgeon for the pathology results, and have had good news.

There were no cancer cells left in the breast just precancerous ones, which is great news, chemo has worked well. Over in the lymph nodes 2 out of 12 were cancerous. Generally fewer is better.

From the cells in the lymph nodes they were able to tell that it was HER2+ which is the best outcome left to me given that I already knew it was hormone negative. This means that I'll be given Herceptin treatment, which as far as I can tell halves the chance of reccurrence.

I'll need to wait until I've spoken to my oncologist but the likelihood is that I will have radiotherapy followed by 18 Herceptin treatments. Generally these are given over a year- once every three weeks, and there are very few side effects. Highly unlikely that I'll need any more chemotherapy, so I may be able to head back to work in just a few weeks time, which is great.

Itsss my Birthday

No big birthday plans for me this year, funnily enough, just a take away and maybe a cheeky glass of fizz (for medicinal purposes only, of course).

I will be heading to the hospital this evening though to pick up my pathology results, and hopefully I'll be able to update later with some good news.

Recovering Nicely

I've been settled back at my parents house since Friday night when I was discharged from hospital, and I've been feeling alright for the most part.

I went into Springfield hospital on the Thursday around lunchtime. Spent a few hours hanging around whilst I waited for my turn on the list. As I have medical insurance through work, I was lucky enough to be able to go privately which meant I had my own room to settle into. Given the surgery I was having, the extra privacy was appreciated. I was visited by the nurses, the anethatist and the surgeon.

The anethatist did very well to put me more at ease about going under, and said he'd try to ensure I wasn't sick afterwards (as I have been in the past) and went through the pain that I could expect to have when I came round. It's the first 20 minutes after you wake up that were to be the worst- so if that wasn't too bad, I'd be likely to be OK pain wise, and that the underarm would likely be the worst.

Mr Smith, my surgeon also came in to go through the potential problems so that I could sign the consent form. Nothing unexpected came up, and he also demonstrated where my scars would be- basically a line across the middle of the breast and another line in my armpit, and that I'd be left with a numb patch under and on my right arm.

Simon and Mum came with me to the hospital and stayed until I went down for surgery- about 4.30. They managed to keep me pretty calm all afternoon and although I had a bit of a moment as I was wheeled out of the room I was a lot calmer than I thought I'd be by the time I got to theatre.

Once in, it took a while to find a decent vein, and I remember complaining that the pre-med made me see double, but I don't remember the feeling of going under- I just had some weird dreams and woke up in recovery. As I woke up the surgical team were talking about the "release roger" scene from The Life Of Brian, so the first thing I said was "Roderick" which amused everyone. Apparently it's unusual for patients to quote python as they come round.

My other memories of being in recovery are pretty vague, but I was given some nice strong painkillers and a special drain was put in under my arm to stop me swelling up with lymphatic fluid. I got back to my room about 7.30, by which time Simon had come back to the hospital. There was a drink and some sandwiches that were most appreciated.

I stayed over night and until late on Friday, and had post op visits from the surgery team and a physiotherapist, who has given me some exercises to ensure I recover as much movement as possible in my arm. Apart from having the drain in however, I felt pretty normal- actually less tired than I had in the few days before I went in. I've been able to keep the pain under control with paracetamol and some anti-inflammitories. I did have some Tramadol (rather than morphine) the next morning, but it made me feel very woozy. Which was alright at the time, but I didnt want to take any more, as it seemed unnecessary given that I was in no pain if I was still.

So 3 days on, I'm feeling remarkably well. I'm able to move my arm quite freely, although gently, and the excercises have been helpful. I still have the drain in, which has to be emptied from time to time, but that will be removed tomorrow evening. Once that is gone, I think my movement will improve again. The implant still needs to be inflated to expand the skin, but the shape is nice and I think I'll get a good result in the end.

Overall it seems I've been very lucky- no nerve damage and no other major issues and I'm recovering quickly. I should get the results from the pathology early next week, which will inform the next stage of my treatment. There is even a small chance that I won't require anything else.

Post Op

I'm through the op now and feeling OK all things considered. Pain is largely under control but am about to be given some morphine to knock it on the head.

I'll post more about the op later as I'm having to type left handed on the iPhone, which is a challenge. My right arm is a bit useless for the moment, it's quite painful to move it, although its the chest muscles that hurt rather than the arm. If I'm still I'm alright. Not feeling too bad from the anaesthetic- last time I had one I was quite sick, so fingers crossed that won't happen this time.

Plan is for me to head home late this afternoon once the drain under my arm can be taken out.

Treatment Break is Nearly Over

Thanks to the change in my treatment schedule, I was able to enjoy a relatively healthy Christmas and New Year, which was mostly spent with family. It's taken me a long while to get over the last dose of chemo, and am still suffering from some odd side effects - i have numb fingers and toes and my muscles have a tendency to burn if I put them in certain positions. I can't knell down for example, as the lactic acid starts to build in my thighs as soon as I do.

Apart from that and still getting very tired, I'm mostly over the chemo. Now all I am suffering from is terror for the upcoming surgery. As I mentioned before, I'm scared of being put under. I think it's now fair to upgrade that to a full on phobia. I'm not sleeping much in the run up, and it's mostly the anasthetic that is giving me sleeplessness rather than the actual surgery (that just makes me cry rather than be scared). I'm very thankful for my Kindle at the moment, as it's helping me get through the long sleepless nights, and distracting me until I'm so tired I fall asleep anyway.

There has been a suggestion that I should take some sleeping tablets, but I don't like them either, so I suspect by Thursday I'll be a walking zombie before they even approach me with the needle.

I'm packing up to driver over to my parent's house today, as I have to go for a pre-op meeting tomorrow morning. I suspect I'll be staying there a few weeks. Simon has taken Thursday and Friday off work, and will join me at the weekends as well, but I'm going to need a lot of looking after and it's not fair for him to have to take holiday to look after me - I'd rather we use the holiday to actually take a holiday somewhere this year.