Scan Results

I know a lot of people have been waiting for an update today.  So here's the scoop.  The CT scan showed minimal improvement in my liver (discouraging!  The Taxol has reached the end of it's effectiveness), and no change in my lung (that's a good thing--we don't want anything changing!)

The bone scan picked up two spots, one on my left hip, the other on a rib on the right.  This was my first bone scan, so those spots could very well have been there all along.  But this was the first time we saw them and they're confirmed.  Despite that, it was punch in the gut to get that news!  It felt like losing progress instead of making progress! When you find out its spread to so many locations, it's just discouraging.  So those spots will be monitored closely.

The best news from today is that I found out I DO GET THE STUDY DRUG!!!  That just made my day, I was so happy to hear it!  The clinical study starts today, I take a pill every night.  It's called Palbociclib (Ibarans).  I've seen an ad on TV for it, but it's still in the investigational stages.  My meager understanding is that it will disrupt cancer cells from being able to divide and multiply.  That's as scientific as I'll ever get!

I did have an infusion today, Herceptin and Perjeta.  They are technically not chemo, but have many of the same side effect as the Taxol.  Sarah came with me today, I'm so grateful for her!  She helped point out the encouraging words Dr. Prystas said, because there is always faith and hope.

I left Huntsman and came straight to Park City for a retreat through the Image Reborn Foundation.  Image Reborn does monthly retreats for breast cancer patients, this one is specifically for stage 4 patients.  There are 7 women here, from as far away as Maine and as close as Park City.  We've had GREAT discussions tonight.  We're sharing our stories, and I feel a bond with these 6 strangers already.  We're in a large (huge) log cabin house that the owner donates for the weekend.  I'm in my own room, on a huge king sized bed that I get all to myself!  I have my own bathroom too.  :)  We have a chef coming in to do all the cooking, and we don't have to lift a finger.  There will be massages and facials and yoga and discussions relevant to what we're going through.  I'm the only one without hair, but everyone is in active treatment.  It's going to be a great weekend!

One thing we talked about tonight is the word "survivor".  Are we survivors?  It was just a random question asked by one of the ladies.  Most of us don't want that label, I certainly don't.  I felt like a "survivor" in 2011 when I got through everything related to my first cancer.  In my head, I had survived and it was the stepping stone to the rest of my life.  But Stage 4 changes everything.  I'll always have cancer in my body.  Chemo and other drugs will work for a time, then become less effective, and new drugs/treatments will be tried.  I'll have CT and bone scans every three months to see what changes.  This is my New Normal.  I am learning to accept that and learning to put my faith and trust in Heavenly Father who loves me, and know He will help and support my family through this entire journey, however long it lasts.  I'm GRATEFUL for that knowledge.  One woman describes herself as an "active cancer fighter".  I like that better!