I post a picture of fire to represent how my radiation feels today. It’s like a fire under my arm and especially under my armpit. I have one more full breast radiation treatment on Monday and then I have my boost. The boost is just radiation to my tumor bed so my armpit will get a break — Yahoo. I need this break so much and will be very happy to be done with my radiation a week from Monday. Until then, please be patient with me as I haven’t been able to do much crocheting lately and haven’t had any new recycled patterns to share with you this week.
Rest assured, God willing, I will be back soon and in full health to post more free patterns very soon.[…]
Sometimes I am just amazed at all the new words and cancer lingo that I have picked up in this pink journey of mine. If you are not familiar with a MUGA (MUltiple Gated Acquisition) scan, it is a nuclear medicine test to evaluate the function of the heart ventricles. Specifically it is used to test my left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) rate of blood. This test is used to monitor my heart’s overall function while taking the cancer drug Herceptin. While Herceptin is an excellent drug to fight the HER2+ cancer cells, it can affect ones heart function and in some cases cause serious heart damage.
In May, I had a baseline MUGA scan done before I started Herceptin. My baseline score was 55. A normal score is between 50-80. My treatment plan has me scheduled to take Herceptin for a full year. So having a beginning score of only 55 made me very nervous. Many people’s scores are reduced as they continue on Herceptin and if you have too low of a score, you may have to stop Herceptin or cut back on your treatments. Because it is a wonder drug for breast cancer patients who are HER2 positive like me, I was really anxious to have my first MUGA done since I started Herceptin.
I am thrilled to share that my recent MUGA score was 61.9. I am so happy and relieved to know that my heart is functioning well and that my score was actually higher than the baseline one. So that means for now, I am tolerating the Herceptin well and it’s not causing any damage to my heart.
One other update to share is that my radiation or rads as we call it in the cancer lingo world, is going well. On Thursday, I will be halfway done with my treatments. My skin has just a mild pink look which is similar to a sunburn. I am using my gel cream twice daily and so far my skin is holding up.
Anyway that’s all the MUGA and rads news I have to share. Now I’m off to work on a new recycled tote bag project that I’m trying to get done. I’ll be back to share it soon, until then — Happy Green Crafting to all![…]
Well, this week I’m officially on the radiation roadway. On Monday, I had my simulation where the radiology tech walks you through a sample treatment procedure and shows you all the machines. I also had my form made. It’s a big blue pillow that is filled with bead-like material which is similar to a bean bag chair. The pillow is big and starts about at my mid back and goes up passed my head. You lay down on it to shape your head and body into the pillow and put your arms up above your head just like you will do for each radiation treatment. The radiology technician then sucks the air out of the form, leaving it shaped firmly just to fit your body. The form is used for me to lay down upon now for each radiation treatment. The idea is that I will be in the exact same position each time and this form helps the techs place me precisely the same for each treatment. I had x-rays and a CT scan done for the doctor to do all the necessary calculations for my treatments.
I returned on Wednesday once all the calculations were completed. […]
Yesterday, I had my radiation consultation which is the next step in my breast cancer treatment. I was told at the beginning that radiation would be necessary for about 6-7 weeks following completion of my chemo. Unfortunately it’s every day, five days a week, and I live 80 miles round trip from the nearest Hospital that provides radiation. Oh, boy and gas is so cheap these days…
Anyway thankfully I’ll be done before the weather gets bad and the snow hits up here. So that’s at least one good thing. I’m trying to focus on the positives and keeping my spirits up. Of course the biggest positive of radiation is that it’s killing off any remaining cancer cells and hopefully putting a final end to my cancer ever returning. […]
Yes, 3 treatments down and only one more to go. I’m so happy to say that I have only one more chemo treatment left for my BC. What an uplifting feeling it is to know that I’m nearly done with chemotherapy. I’m feeling still a little crummy after my last chemo on Thursday, July 3. But hey, you got to feel a bit lousy if we want to kill off this cancer, right? Anyway I’m doing okay and usually by about day 5-6, I feel pretty normal again so I’m hoping tomorrow the chemo fog will lift.
So for everyone that has been emailing me for an update — I’m still here. I’m feeling okay for now. I still have a very positive outlook. I reminded how lucky we all are that are facing this cancer beast. We have the greatest medicines to kill this stuff and the greatest force on Heaven and Earth — God!
So for all of us who are fighting this foe — take heart, hold onto your faith, carry your head high, we can and will win this battle![…]
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