Done With This Round of Chemo!

I didn't finish all six, but apparently doing 5 of 6 is good enough for everyone. I saw my doc at UCSF yesterday and my local doc today and both agree that I've had enough and one more dose is not going to make or break anything. I'm tired and done with that crap.

Keith and I had an interesting talk with my UCSF oncologist. She (like every oncologist I've seen - that's 3 at this point) doesn't think a mastectomy is a good option. She thinks we need to wait and see what the MRI looks like. If there is next to nothing left, she'd suggest I get a lumpectomy and radiation. If there is measurable disease, then she suggested a trial they're doing at UCSF. They're testing an already approved drug for HER2+ breast cancer to see if it is more effective at higher doses. It is a targeted therapy so it should be easier than chemo, but it still has side effects (GI issues and skin rashes are the most common). I would be highly monitored during the trial, which is intriguing. I love the sciencey aspect of someone looking at the cancer cells prior to treatment and after treatment to see if this drug is working. At least it sounds more satisfying than waiting for months and doing a scan. There is no promise that this trial might cure me, but I will learn whether my particular cancer cells are sensitive to this drug and if the side effects get bad I can always quit.

Today I talked over all that and more with my local oncologist and she is on board. She is concerned about side effects, but she told me that the side effects go away once you stop taking the drug, so I'm not risking too much there. She also told me that she was leaving the practice here. She is taking a job at Kaiser-Permanente and will be working with her husband. I'm sad to see her leave because I trust her but it sounds like a good switch for her. Really, her leaving almost makes it easier to consider the trial. I would get all my care at UCSF while on trial and while I hate the 45 minute trek to San Francisco (vs. 10 minutes to Berkeley) I trust (and like) my doctor over there.

So the plan of surgery is in question. I'm not sure what to hope for. I mean, I'd love for the cancer to be so small that a lumpectomy would work- but if I have surgery, my summer is pretty much shot between surgery and radiation (daily for 4-6 weeks starting 4 weeks after surgery). The idea of having daily appointments for most of the summer makes the trial more tempting. So I guess the take away point is there is an upside to either option. Regardless, the MRI is scheduled for next Thursday and we have to see that before we take another step.

In other news, the doctors in Duluth think Keith's mom has Myesthenia Gravis. From what we've read it is a chronic but generally manageable thing. The good news is that she seems to be doing a little better these days. Today she even managed to eat! She hasn't had anything to eat (except via a feeding tube) for almost two weeks. This is a huge step that gets her a lot closer to getting out of the hospital!