I must say I got a little cocky this week-end when I didn’t suffer from nausea, pain/radiation flare-up, or fatigue. The doctor I saw on Friday asked me what I was taking for pain. “Nothing”, I told her. “Just whatever I got for nausea and it seems to be working really great”. “Let me see”, she queried. I pulled out the bottle of dexamethasone. “That’s for pain”, she told me. “Well, it’s working real great, I can’t feel a thing and I haven’t puked either. I expected to be living next to the toilet bowl last night, but that didn’t happen”. “So what else do you have for pain?” , she asked me. “Oxycocet…remnants from my back surgery.” She seemed satisfied with that and let me go have my treatment.
On Sunday, my parish priest told me I was glowing. I told him I should be because I just had 2 radiation treatments. We laughed.
But today was a different story. I had to go back to PMH. I’ve got 2 more treatments that I wasn’t initially aware of (L1 vertebrae…near my intestines/ribs). I think I would have been okay today, except after my treatment I went to a Natural Food Store to buy some organic shampoo. I was sniffing them. All was good until I sniffed a bottle of Peppermint Shampoo. That was enough to unsettle my stomach. I hate the smell of candy canes.
I drove home queasy. I was looking for something to barf in just in case, but all I had in the car was my beautiful, white lululemon bag. I was determined to leave it in pristine condition. “If I barf in it, I will never use it again”, I thought to myself. Do not barf. Do not barf. Do not barf.
Made it home and barfed. Oh what a glorious feeling! Put on some travel nausea wristbands and have been feeling okay ever since. Final treatment on L1, tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.
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Got my CT Scan results from my LTD Oncology nurse. Organs are clear, thus far. Thank heavens, ‘cause I was not looking forward to going on Palliative Chemo. any time soon.
I’m going to have to have a discussion with my oncologist the next time I see him and LTD. I went to a cancer conference last week and found out that the fulvestrant drug I’m on doesn’t usually work after 11 months. I’ve been on it for 10 months. That’s why I was worried about additional tumours forming on my organs/tissues. Then the doctor said the next step when the fulvestrant doesn’t work, is some horrible drug that gives you mouth sores, and it only keeps you alive for about 4 months. I’m now thinking my best bet is to go back on the Tamoxifen (even though it gave me a stroke), but if it can keep the cancer at bay, maybe it’s worth it. I certainly wouldn’t miss the two shots in the ass I get every month and maybe, just maybe, my feet would not hurt so much if I got off this drug and then I can walk/exercise without pain and improve my heart function! Just a thought.