Monday, November 5, 2018

Short update

We won't have a firm plan for 2 weeks, which is when I see Dr. Oncologist again.  Before then, I will have a PET scan and a bone scan to determine if there is cancer lurking elsewhere in my body.  I don't think there is, and of course I hope that there isn't, but if there IS the good thing about that would be that she could biopsy it and see what its receptors are.  Because we are treating Lloyd in the absence of knowing for sure what its receptors are.  Our assumption is that Lloyd is Her2+ like my breast cancer was, but Lloyd could be something different, or at the very least is quite possibly something different now after being irradiated.  

I will also see Dr. Radiation Oncologist in the next two weeks, and he is one of my favorite Drs. for answering all of my questions.  Although I don't even know what my questions are yet.  What a whirlwind!  

Dr. Oncologist today was terrific, and she has at least 4 possible treatment plans.  She said that she's pretty certain that whole-brain radiation will be a part of my treatment plan to kill Lloyd's slowly growing undead appendage.  She also has some infusion drugs to offer me, including Avastin and irinotecan.  Or possibly some other drug (sounded like "zolata", but google is coming up empty with that) + neratinib, the last of which I'm already taking.  And she had two other combos of these drugs that she mentioned, but she is going to do some more research before making a decision.  ALSO, presuming that Lloyd is still Her2+, she thinks that the neratinib isn't working, so she's not too keen to continue it.  

Now I'm going to leave all of this uncertainty here in the Midwest for a few days and go wiggle my toes in some warm sand.  

4 comments:

  1. You so deserve this vacation Sis. Love you so much.

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  2. Firsts of all... all the virtual hugs a girl can send to you and the rest of the family. I am glad you all can get away, and damn... it is cold here, so good timing on that too! While you try to get back to a state of calmness and peace, don't throw too much sand at the sea turtles. They are having a rough go of it too. Love you sweetie and you and I really do need some time together. Miss ya.

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  3. I think the drug is xeloda. Sending you lots of love. Hope your vacation was wonderful.

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