T-DM1 - 2nd tumor markers very good
 

Caryn's 2nd month tumor marker on this drug has come down from 970 to 330. Yipppeeee!!!!
I don't have to tell you that positive results like this make the tough side effects she's having easier to deal with.

great ....fantastic....

Thanks for sharing the wonderful news. We are happy for both of you. Which tumor mark is it?

Great news Eric. It is going to be a miracle drug for her.

Julie

thank you and YAY!
 

Thank you all.

The big drop is in the CEA. This has always seemed to be the more telling of the 2 markers for Caryn. Don't know why as the CA27 (I believe) seem to be more telling for most women with bc but not Caryn.

Joy, she's on the weekly trial and dealing with slight queaziness and fatigue but the toughest side effect has been inflamation. It's causing problems with her eyes and lungs. She's developed bumps around her cornea that are exposing some nerves and making it very difficult for her to keep her eyes in any light. The bigger problem though is the inflamation in her lungs that has her Onc seriously concerned. It's caused her a lot of chest pain and has made it hard for her to breath. A not so bright dr told her that she had the lungs of an 82 year old. Not true as the inflammation is slowing the amount of hear she can exhale at a time. She's now on a steroid that seems to be helping.

Love and light,
Eric

Eric,
That's great news about the tumor markers! You're right, it makes it a bit easier to live with the side effects. That said, I hope the steroid can get the inflammation under control - Caryn definitely doesn't need to be dealing with that.

BTW, thanks again for sharing the eye thing. I think I've got a similar issue going on, and now I can not only be more vigilant, but also push the suggestion that this may be due to the T-DM1. People definitely need to be aware of this one as it's pretty unusual. For me, it manifested as tearing eyes, moving to irritation.

Keep up the good news!

Fantastic news, Eric! Go low numbers! ma

Chrisy,

If you're on the same drug and having the same problems I would definitely suggest going to a cornea specialist as an opthamologist didn't know how to treat it.

Eric

eye problems
 

Hi Eric,

I started with my optometrist and have a referral at the cancer center to an opthalmologist...so depending on how that goes, I may or may not have to continue climbing the specialist ladder!

The optometrist basically saw abrasion around the perimeter (where the edge of my contact lenses would be) and thinks it's basically very dry eyes. Hopefully the eye rehab program will help get things back to normal, or what passes for normal! Like we need another thing to deal with, huh!

Hi Chrisy,

It was explained to Caryn and me that very dry eyes is a fairly common side effect of this treatment so I'm hoping you find it easy to treat. You're right, there's already enough on plates.

Eric