Thursday, June 24, 2010

Liver lesions

Yesterday's CT scan revealed seven liver lesions which did not appear on the last scans in 2008. We have no way of knowing how recently they appeared. I have no symptoms, but these are the first active soft-tissue mets since one lung met at time of diagnosis in 2002.

The plan is for me to switch to Doxil, scheduled for Monday. It can be hard on the heart, so I am having an echocardiogram on Friday. Usual side effects of hair loss, nausea, low blood counts, etc. plus a risk of hand-foot syndrome. I immediately worried about the impact on my lymphedema. Both Dr G and Dr B basically said we'll deal with that if it comes up. I should get Doxil every 21 days. It is both more powerful and more toxic than Abraxane.

After finishing with Dr G the oncologist I saw Dr Bufi the naturopath, who came up with a plan for keeping me healthy while on Doxil.

Dr G made a joke: "Sometimes the first boyfriend (meaning Abraxane) just isn't the right one." We laughed out loud. Who among us had the right first boyfriend?

I coped as long as I could and got into bed for a few hours, then ate a bowl of cereal. (I wasn't hungry all day long.)

Say the medication mantra with me (note the new prioritization and phrasing):
Very effective
Well-tolerated
Manageable side effects

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