As I mentioned in a previous post, I will be going into chemo again. I talked to the medical oncologist today and I feel much better about the situation than I did after talking to they gyn/onc. Today I was told that I will be starting tomorrow and instead of using regular taxol, he is using a more expensive form because of a reaction he had not been informed of. When he first started treating me in August, they did the infusion slowly to make sure I wouldn't have any kind of reaction. The next time I was at a different location and they gave it faster and I started having extreme back pain. When they slowed it down, the pain didn't occur. The only problem is, they didn't inform him of the reaction. It was decided that I would get treatments at the location where the doctor is rather than the location closer to where I live (both are close to home, but the other one is much closer). That way, if I have any kind of reaction, he is there and can take action.
I will still be getting taxol, but apparently the form they will be giving me is bound to something derived from humans (I don't remember the word he used right now) so it won't require the benedryl to prevent a reaction but it is more expensive and most insurances won't cover it unless there is a reason for it. Because of the past reactions, it should be covered. I just hope that it goes ok.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Back on the Roller Coaster
I went to the doctor today (March 11) and got a rude awakening. Not that it wasn't totally unexpected, but it sure wasn't appreciated. I knew that my CA-125 was on the way up again (I had been told that during a previous visit with the medical oncologist two weeks ago), but hearing it from the gynecological/oncologist made it much more real. They were both in agreement that something needed to be done, but the way it was presented to me today was really scary.
I accept the fact that my condition is chronic and that I will be in chemo the rest of my life, but when the doctor told me today that I could choose between chemos and that my options were now much more limited than previously available it was hard to hear. Especially when she said it was either that or look into hospice. In my mind, looking into hospice is giving up and saying there is nothing more to do. Personally, I am not at that point yet. Other than a few aches that hadn't been there before, I feel fine. I have to many things to do in life to throw in the towel and accept that defeat! So I am getting back on the chemo as soon as I am able to get in with the chemo doctor again, which will be next Monday.
They want to put me back on the weekly taxol, but that means I will lose my hair again. The other option I was given was to go on doxil. I talked to one lady recently who had been on that and she shared her horror story with it and I decided that I would rather be bald again than to face the possibility of having blisters all over the place; besides which that is what the chemo doctor suggested since it had been successful before. Most of the other options they use have been ruled out because of reactions I had in the past.
There was one strange thing the doctor told me to do. Normally, I eat a lot of produce and mostly organic foods. Today she told me I should eat more processed foods so that all digestion would take place in the stomach so that I wouldn't face another bowel obstruction like I had in January. I need to do a little research on that to see if I can figure out a healthy way to be on a low residue diet. All I can say is I will KEEP ON KEEPING ON!!!
I accept the fact that my condition is chronic and that I will be in chemo the rest of my life, but when the doctor told me today that I could choose between chemos and that my options were now much more limited than previously available it was hard to hear. Especially when she said it was either that or look into hospice. In my mind, looking into hospice is giving up and saying there is nothing more to do. Personally, I am not at that point yet. Other than a few aches that hadn't been there before, I feel fine. I have to many things to do in life to throw in the towel and accept that defeat! So I am getting back on the chemo as soon as I am able to get in with the chemo doctor again, which will be next Monday.
They want to put me back on the weekly taxol, but that means I will lose my hair again. The other option I was given was to go on doxil. I talked to one lady recently who had been on that and she shared her horror story with it and I decided that I would rather be bald again than to face the possibility of having blisters all over the place; besides which that is what the chemo doctor suggested since it had been successful before. Most of the other options they use have been ruled out because of reactions I had in the past.
There was one strange thing the doctor told me to do. Normally, I eat a lot of produce and mostly organic foods. Today she told me I should eat more processed foods so that all digestion would take place in the stomach so that I wouldn't face another bowel obstruction like I had in January. I need to do a little research on that to see if I can figure out a healthy way to be on a low residue diet. All I can say is I will KEEP ON KEEPING ON!!!
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