I finished my first 3 months of chemotherapy treatments last week. And not too much worse for the wear so far. Aside from extra fatigue, I pretty much continue to evade all other common chemo side-effects and I continue to count my many many blessings!
I had a PET scan (full body cancer scan) this week to determine how well the chemo has done its job so far. I will find out the results of that scan in 2 more weeks. Here's how these results could pan out:
A) Complete remission. (very unlikely) No more chemo. Whoo Hoo! On to surgery.
B) Measurable reduction. (most likely) I'm guessng 20-30% based on how much the tumors in the breast have reduced. In this case we carry on with chemo for 3 more months and then measure again.
C) No shrinkage, but no new growth. (also likely) This would be disappointing, but acceptable. We'd then have to decide if we do 3 more months of the same chemo or if we switch tracks to another chemo or to hormone therapy.
D) Growth. (please, no) But again, there are still other therapies to try so it's not the end of the world.
Now to go enjoy my 2 weeks of not knowing in sweet ignorant bliss.
Do I get to vote again?! I vote A. Thank you. Love you Heidi!
ReplyDeleteI will be praying for option A or B. Your positive attitude makes such a difference for both you and those you influence. Love your guts Heidi!!
ReplyDeleteHeidi, I had forgotten to add your blog to my Google Reader, and therefore had forgotten to read it lately. However, I still have been thinking about you and your family all the time. I just caught up on all your posts. You really are an example to me of facing your trial with clear eyes and an as-positive-as-the-situation-allows-but-not-fakey attitude. Thanks for keeping all of us posted on the chemo and other events. Don't worry about the non-supermom days. We all have them, even when we don't have good excuses. :) And I think your goals are great. They're ones I really ought to work on myself instead of oh - watch TV, read my phone or dig into a novel. Hmmm, something for me to think about. Keep up all the good work!
ReplyDeleteTwo weeks?!?!? Ahhh!! I'm sorry. Lots of deep breathing! ;)
ReplyDeleteHi Heidi, I'm Diane Hoffman's daughter and I think both you and your blog are awesome. For a class I'm taking we're working on a policy to take to the Utah legislators to enact a bill that requires insurance companies to provide oral chemotherapy at the same cost as IV chemo. As part of this project we're required to get "photovoices" from people who might benefit from oral chemotherapy. I don't know how much you know about it--but it's a much more convenient option for people who live far away from clinics or who have young children at home. Anyway, I was wondering if you'd like to be part of it. All you'd have to do is take a few pictures of what it's like to be on chemotherapy and be a mother at the same time. You can email me at jennahoffman13@yahoo.com if you are interested or you want more info. Thanks! Good luck with everything!
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