Just Catching Up
Howdy All,
I haven't posted in awhile, but just wanted to say hi and let everyone know I just celebrated 5 years on Herceptin last month (and 5 years stage IV ). I have to pinch myself to realize how far I've come sometimes and I just felt like sharing my excitement!
I had the most incredible summer doing lots of riding that culminated with my first 50 mile endurance ride in Oct. It was a huge accomplishment for me on many levels. Of course being Breast Cancer Awareness month and my 5yr. anniversary of being stage IV was huge, but it was also important for other reasons as well.
Almost 2 years ago I attended a clinic on natural hoof trimming because I wanted to learn to take care of my horses feet myself. I wanted my horses to be able be barefoot as nature intended, but still wanted to do endurance. Although all of my friends were skeptical in the beginning, after 2 seasons and many, many miles, they are truly impressed. Even the vets are impressed with how good my horses feet look!
And the most challenging aspect of competing this year was my horse Aladdin himself. Aladdin is what you would call a difficult horse, and that's putting it nicely! He is a very insecure, Type A , high strung individual, but is also the sweetest, hardest trying horse I have ever known. Working with him has been one of the biggest challenges of all, but at the same time it has been more rewarding than I can even describe.
So I'm tooting my own horn here, but that is what I've been up to all summer and I still can't even believe it myself!
So, my next big anniversary coming up will be this Feb, as I celebrate being a 10 year survivor.....Whoooo Hoooooooo! Life is Good!
Love Kim in CA
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Diag. Feb 1997 4.5cm IDC <10%ER+, PR-. 5 out of 36 nodes +. Mastectomy followed by 3 rounds Adriamycin/Cytoxin.
5/1997 Hi Dose Chemo w/ Stem cell rescue. Spent 4 weeks in isolation ward. Then 6 weeks radiation.
9/2001 widespread mets to liver. 8 mos Taxotere/Herceptin brought me almost to NED. Stop Taxotere & add Femara .
11/2002 liver resection to remove spot that turned out to be necrosis. Officially NED!
7/2003 Tumor markers rising add Xeloda Disastrous reaction, 8 days hospital, but tumor markers came back to normal!
June -Dec 2004 UW Vaccine Trial.
7/2005 MRI single 11mm brain met
8/2005 Gamma Knife.
Brain MRI @3 months NED!
2006-2011 brain/body still NED
8/04/11 Taking Herceptin break, will monitor with tumor markers.
6/20/12 Tumor markers begin to rise. CA15-3 is 31.3 and Her2 Serum is at 17.1 Decide to repeat in one month.
7/23/12 CA15-3 now 49.3
Her2 Serum 26.8
8/6/12 Back on Herceptin
CA15-3 now 76
Her2 Serum now 49
11/7/12 Add weekly Taxotere for 4 cycles
2/2013 Stopped Taxotere added Perjeta. MRI shows approx. 50% reduction liver mets. CA15-3 still elevated @ 55. Will continue on just Herceptin & Perjeta.
November 2014 Continuing on Herceptin, Perjeta, and
Femara indefinitely. Guess I'm NED again, but watching those tumor markers carefully!
Dec. 2015 PET scan reveals mass in perirectal area of abdomen.biopsy confirms. Still Her2+, but no longer ER+. Bye bye Femara
Jan 2016 Begin Kadcyla
March 2016 PET scan shows tumor now barely visible, still NED everywhere else.
2016/2017 continue Kadcyla
November 2017 brain MRI reveals small focus of T2 hyperintensity with possible 4mm enhancing nodule. Short term follow up MRI suggested. Stay tuned...
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