#5 Today and counting down

Hi Team,

Today was chemo #5 of 6... and I cannot wait to be done with this. Last week I did an echo-cardiogram since I had the weird dizzy spell this past time around, and herceptin (one of the drugs I am taking) is known to have a negative effect on the heart. Well, good news - my echo showed normal heart function on all accounts, and the dr. had previously done an EKG as well, also normal. So he said the heart is looking good and we can continue as we were with the chemo.

Even better news, the oncologist does a tactile exam of my breast where the tumor was each time I come in - when I first came in to see him, my tumor measured 5cm by 4cm. The last time I went, he deemed it "unmeasurable" because it had almost entirely gone away. This time, he said he thinks it was even more soft and he thinks we are continuing to get a great response. Of course our first question is, if I don't have a tumor anymore do I have to keep doing chemo? And of course the answer is yes - just because we can't feel anything doesn't mean it's not there, and he wants us to finish all 6 rounds before going into surgery. His hope is that we might possibly be able to get a complete response to the chemotherapy - that is very rare, and means that when they remove the tissue and lymph nodes during my surger, MAYBE they will not find any cancer in the tissue. Maybe. :) Either way the progress is great and although the treatment is grueling and really sucks, I am so thankful that I am getting a reward and some success from treatment.

This past weekend was nice, went into work on Friday for the first time since taking leave. I had a nice lunch of dim sum with a bunch of friends, then spent some time making the rounds around the office saying hi and chatting with everyone. It was a nice reminder that even though when I'm at work, I get caught up in the daily business and craziness of retail, I actually do really enjoy the people I work with and am really fortunate to have a lot of genuine, good people at work.

Saturday we went shopping with a good friend from Kona, Diane and her daughter Emma - it was fun to get out and walk around the mall a bit, trying to get a little more exercise, and what better exercise than shopping! Of course, I had to rest and have some tea after a little bit, but it was nice to get out a little more.

Overall I had a nice last week before my chemo, but I have a hard time going into these Tuesday infusions, I have been getting used to being more active, then I have to restart it all over again. I just can't wait until I can just be more active and not have to get beat down by the chemo meds again. Anyway, today's infusion went fine - I usually feel ok as long as I take my nausea meds according to schedule. For today and tomorrow I am still on a steroid and feeling ok, but after that the soreness starts to set in for the next week and a half or so. I guess at least I know what to expect, but on the other hand knowing what to expect certainly doesn't help much. Only two more times and counting... !!

Love,
Amy