Tuesday, December 31, 2013

If only PET scan results came with an airbag!

I had my last PET/ CT scans of 2013 right after Christmas.  On Monday, December 30, Mark, my mom and I were headed to Dr Laudi's office to get the results.  My mom lives closer to the clinic than we do and got there minutes before us, so we asked her to check me in.  She was still standing in line when we arrived.  We were roomed by a snarky young woman who commented that I was late.  I asked if I had kept Dr. Laudi waiting.  She said no, but I had to be on time, even though Dr. Laudi wasn't.  I laughed.  Snarky always makes me laugh!

After 20 minutes had passed and still no Dr. Laudi, I said "See!  I wasn't late at all."

"You know why he's late, don't you?"  Mark said without looking up from his phone.  "He's looking at the PET results."

"Dragging his feet?" my mom ventured. "Celebrating?  Crying?"

Mark slipped into an Italian accent, "Oh, no, I have killed her!"

Bad taste?  I guess so.  Tempting fate?  Maybe.  But this is a long and winding road and we all were laughing when Dr. Laudi walked in with what appeared to be red eyes. 

"There appears to be progression." he said, signing into the computer and bringing up the scans from 3 months ago, 2 months ago and last week.  Three months ago, the only active area was L4.  Two months ago, L4 was slightly smaller with 2 small spots in my liver.  Last week, the liver spots were nearly gone, L4 was smaller, but there were 2 new spots under my left arm.  I remembered to show Dr. Laudi the rash I have been doctoring in my left antecubital that was thought to be a viral infection, but was spreading.  After some thought, Dr. Laudi wanted to biopsy the skin rash and the lymph nodes under my arm.  One or both could be cancer cells, even though the known cancer cells were being killed by the chemo, these cells could have mutated.  Dr. Laudi hoped if they had the cells were now HER-2 +, because there were some promising new treatments out there. It was possible that my skin rash and lymph nodes were part of an infectious process and not cancer at all.

Here we go...

Skin biopsy time



Emla- a cream that numbs the skin
Skin Rash
Doing the Punch Biopsy
 Dr. Laudi numbs up my skin and takes a small "punch" that looks like a small, pencil eraser-sized sharp cookie-cutter like thing and punches a hole into my skin, taking the skin cells with it and leaving a small hole.  He put 2 stitches into each spot.
The next day



Here I am modeling a Breast Center top 


Lymph node biopsy gear
 During a needle biopsy, an ultrasound technician finds the lymph nodes, then the doctor numbs the area and sticks in a guide needle.  To get the sample, he shoots in a large hypodermic needle and then removes the cells from inside the needle.  It only leaves a small puncture wound that needs a pressure dressing.



Biopsy cells
   




Please aim prayers right here. 
Thank you! 

More Stinky Pinky

These images speak for themselves,
but it's my blog
 and I will speak for them.
 
 
 
        
Stinky Pinky Grippy Gardening

                

Wite-Out Breast Cancer

Stinky Pinky Pens

Breast Cancer SUCKS!


Breast Cancer Hair Products


"Fighting Breast Cancer with Grease Fighting Power"


Breast Cancer Snacks

Breast Cancer Crafts

Breast Cancer Treats

Stinky


Stinky

Stinky

Pinky


 

Monday, December 2, 2013

Ding! Ding! End of Round One!


On November 25th, I got my second dose of chemo- completing Round One. 


My chemo is given over a 5 minute slow push.



That little syringe knocked me to the mat!  My blood counts dropped.  I got a fever, which is treated as life-threatening to someone with low counts, so Dr. Laudi sent me to Mercy Hospital ER for blood cultures and antibiotics. 

Blood Cultures

 
After a week to recover, Round Two started on December 9th.  When I went for the second dose on the 16th, my counts were too low, so I got a "Snow Day" and finished up some Christmas shopping with my mom.  Dr. Laudi ordered 6 days of Neupogen shots (I can't stand those things!  More about that later) 

On 12/20, my ANC was 1.7, so my chemo was a go on the 23rd.  Ding! Ding! End of Round Two!



My New Haircut and Sweet Amore!
After Christmas we will do another PET and CT scan.  Please pray that everything is getting smaller or is gone!  I hope the New Year brings peace and love and joy to all!