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hutchibk · 02-17-2009, 12:49 AM

Whew. Busy, busy, busy. OK, so what's new in central Texas? Let's see...

A quick chronological rundown: SEPT - IMRT targeted brain rads (worked phenomenally well, no sign of pesky spots), OCT - switched to Herc/Tykerb combo (suffered gasto probs and diarrhea on 5 Tykerb, so dropped to 4 daily with tri-weekly Herceptin and all is going great), NOV - caught a bad case of something that included middle ear crud and dizzies, finally cleared that around Thksgiving and ended up with a surprise case of the blues along with hangover fatigue from the brain radiation (we assume) so my doc asked me to start on Remeron (mild anti-dep). DEC - attended SABCS with the HER2Support team and had a blast, went to NYC for 4 days which turned into 6 days after being snowed in, went to Tampa for Christmas, Remeron really started to help after about 3 weeks, but caused weight gain (bummer, about 11 lbs)... but thankfully I was good as new by Christmas and New Years. JAN - traveled to Tampa for 3 weeks of my annual work at the Super Bowl. The game was fun and this year we got to go onto the field after the game. Got my pic taken with the Thunderbird Pilots... FEB - had my capsulectomy (remove scar tissue from around my implant and replace implant) surgery last week, so here I am with drainage bulb and a computer. Hope to have bulb out by this Thursday and be allowed to plug back into being a mobile human again by the weekend... and start to work off/walk off some of the new poundage that I am toting around.

Last scans (Dec) looked great! Nothing new. I love hearing that. Tumor markers are lower than they have been since original dx. Unbelievable. Next set of scans scheduled for March, and I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed.

So, that's what I've been up to. How's everyone else?

XO, Brenda

02-17-2009, 12:49 AM	#1
hutchibk Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 3,519	Update Hucklebuck Whew. Busy, busy, busy. OK, so what's new in central Texas? Let's see... A quick chronological rundown: SEPT - IMRT targeted brain rads (worked phenomenally well, no sign of pesky spots), OCT - switched to Herc/Tykerb combo (suffered gasto probs and diarrhea on 5 Tykerb, so dropped to 4 daily with tri-weekly Herceptin and all is going great), NOV - caught a bad case of something that included middle ear crud and dizzies, finally cleared that around Thksgiving and ended up with a surprise case of the blues along with hangover fatigue from the brain radiation (we assume) so my doc asked me to start on Remeron (mild anti-dep). DEC - attended SABCS with the HER2Support team and had a blast, went to NYC for 4 days which turned into 6 days after being snowed in, went to Tampa for Christmas, Remeron really started to help after about 3 weeks, but caused weight gain (bummer, about 11 lbs)... but thankfully I was good as new by Christmas and New Years. JAN - traveled to Tampa for 3 weeks of my annual work at the Super Bowl. The game was fun and this year we got to go onto the field after the game. Got my pic taken with the Thunderbird Pilots... FEB - had my capsulectomy (remove scar tissue from around my implant and replace implant) surgery last week, so here I am with drainage bulb and a computer. Hope to have bulb out by this Thursday and be allowed to plug back into being a mobile human again by the weekend... and start to work off/walk off some of the new poundage that I am toting around. Last scans (Dec) looked great! Nothing new. I love hearing that. Tumor markers are lower than they have been since original dx. Unbelievable. Next set of scans scheduled for March, and I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed. So, that's what I've been up to. How's everyone else? XO, Brenda __________________ Brenda NOV 2012 - 9 yr anniversary JULY 2012 - 7 yr anniversary stage IV (of 50...) Nov'03~ dX stage 2B Dec'03~ Rt side mastectomy, Her2+, ER/PR+, 10 nodes out, one node positive Jan'04~ Taxotere/Adria/Cytoxan x 6, NED, no Rads, Tamox. 1 year, Arimadex 3 mo., NED 14 mo. Sept'05~ micro mets lungs/chest nodes/underarm node, Switched to Aromasin, T/C/H x 7, NED 6 months - Herceptin only Aug'06~ micro mets chest nodes, & bone spot @ C3 neck, Added Taxol to Herceptin Feb'07~ Genetic testing, BRCA 1&2 neg Apr'07~ MRI - two 9mm brain mets & 5 punctates, new left chest met, & small increase of bone spot C3 neck, Stopped Aromasin May'07~ Started Tykerb/Xeloda, no WBR for now June'07~ MRI - stable brain mets, no new mets, 9mm spots less enhanced, CA15.3 down 45.5 to 9.3 in 10 wks, Ty/Xel working magic! Aug'07~ MRI - brain mets shrunk half, NO NEW BRAIN METS!!, TMs stable @ 9.2 Oct'07~ PET/CT & MRI show NED Apr'08~ scans still show NED in the head, small bone spot on right iliac crest (rear pelvic bone) Sept'08~ MRI shows activity in brain mets, completed 5 fractions/5 consecutive days of IMRT to zap the pesky buggers Oct'08~ dropped Xeloda, switched to tri-weekly Herceptin in combo with Tykerb, extend to tri-monthly Zometa infusion Dec'08~ Brain MRI- 4 spots reduced to punctate size, large spot shrunk by 3mm, CT of torso clear/pelvis spot stable June'09~ new 3-4mm left cerrebellar spot zapped with IMRT targeted rads Sept'09~ new 6mm & 1 cm spots in pituitary/optic chiasm area. Rx= 25 days of 3D conformal fractionated targeted IMRT to the tumors. Oct'09~ 25 days of low dose 3D conformal fractionated targeted IMRT to the bone mets spot on rt. iliac crest that have been watching for 2 years. Added daily Aromasin back into treatment regimen. Apr'10~ Brain MRI clear! But, see new small spot on adrenal gland. Change from Aromasin back to Tamoxifen. June'10~ Tumor markers (CA15.3) dropped from 37 to 23 after one month on Tamoxifen. Continue to monitor adrenal gland spot. Remain on Tykerb/Herceptin/Tamoxifen. Nov'10~ Radiate positive mediastinal node that was pressing on recurrent laryngeal nerve, causing paralyzed larynx and a funny voice. Jan'11~ MRI shows possible activity or perhaps just scar tissue/necrotic increase on 3 previously treated brain spots and a pituitary spot. 5 days of IMRT on 4 spots. Feb'11~ Enrolled in T-DM1 EAP in Denver, first treatment March 25, 2011. Mar'11~ Finally started T-DM1 EAP in Denver at Rocky Mountain Cancer Center/Rose on Mar. 25... hallelujah. "I would rather be anecdotally alive than statistically dead." Last edited by hutchibk; 02-17-2009 at 07:13 PM.. Reason: forgot to include my week at SABCS! OOPs! And all the other Dec travel...