Oncology Meeting

Rob and I head to Crawley where I have a meeting with my oncologist. Obviously there are no results from the MRI yesterday. However there are some results and in truth they aren’t great. A year to the day since my secondary diagnosis it would appear the pesky cancer is on the move. 

The CT that Michelle took me to that I was so nonchalant about has shown that my letrozole is no longer working and the cancer has broken through. So I got about 10 months on it after everything I went through with the trial.... 

I don’t really know how to feel. The bastard cancer has now additionally affected some paraaortic and retrocrural lymph nodes and also some of my skin. 

I already knew about the skin though, I could feel it getting more noduley and hard around my lower left boob.

It has also caused the pleural effusion.

I'm frustrated that I only had the MRI part of these scans yesterday because it means we don’t know for certain about bone progression. 

We discuss a new treatment plan, basically switching Letrozole to another AI. The new plan would be Exemestane and a protein blocker called Everolimus.

I feel strangely okay about this. It’s not in my organs, it could be a lot worse. Yes the new drugs will come with their side effects but I’m ready to keep fighting.

Dr P takes me through to the room where they give you a feel after “the chat” and I show her the area of skin I was concerned about (which has been picked up on the CT scan anyway). I also tell her about my wish for palliative rads on my back and thank feck she agrees.

In that side room she listens to my chest, she is concerned some pleura fluid is re-accumulating on the left side again and wants me to have another drain. She says there is actually a possibility for me to have it tomorrow and wants me to go for it. Once I have it, I can start the new E & E treatment next week.

"Sure" I say. Despite everything I’m feeling good, let’s go, get it done, then I can have a day to recuperate and then go to LWTF. I love LWTF, I missed it last year due to the secondary diagnosis shock. This year I want to go, to be there, to see people, to interact, to do my job.

I tell Dr P of my intentions to go. She tells me she doesn’t think it’s a good idea. She advises that I perhaps go for just a day later in the week and says she thinks that may even be too much 😥

She asks that I go and have bloods taken so they are ready for tomorrow's drain op. I hate bloods so much. However I strike gold and get the lady who always gets them first time. Small mercies.

Then finally I go up to Comet ward to have my Denosumab injection and for the first time the injection bastard hurts. Rob and I eventually head home and I crash out on the sofa exhausted.