The Good, the Bad, and the Scans

This week, I got to see the actual images from my scans, met with my oncologist, and had a bone biopsy. It's been a busy week and I've had a lot to process. I knew that my current treatment wasn't working and that my cancer had grown, but the images put that in black and white. (The white spots indicate cancer, except for the largest white spot at the bottom of each image. That's just my bladder.)

Nov. 30

Jan. 25

I've been stable for five and a half years, but it seems my cancer has woken up and is ready to party. I've never been big on the party scene, but I have to say, this is the worst party I've been to in a long time. Don't let Cancer plan your party. I give her zero stars - do not recommend. ;)

Since this rapid spread is a pretty big change in behavior for my formerly sedate and unadventurous cancer, it's possible that the make-up of my cancer may have changed (from HR+, HER2- to triple-negative) and might need to be addressed in a different manner. They'll be checking for that with the biopsy. The biopsy will also check for 28 other mutations, some of which may have targeted treatments available or currently being tested in clinical trials. The more mutations, the more potential treatment options.

I had the biopsy on Wednesday. It was a big deal, with sedation, sliding in and out of the CT scanner, and drilling into me, but actually pretty uneventful. I got a nice nap, and I'm only a little sore from it. Unfortunately, the results are expected to take about two weeks to come back. While we're waiting, I won't be on any treatment except for my bones-of-steel Xgeva injection. I'm praying Cancer doesn't decide to expand the party guest list before I can get back on treatment.

Now for the good news: The cancer is still only in my bones. While this can cause me lots of pain, it's not usually life-threatening. My next treatment could shrink these spots or even make them go away! I'm restarting monthly Xgeva injections. Because I had been on the injections for so long (and because they have some scary potential side effects), my time between injections had gone down to every six months. But Xgeva makes my bones strong (hopefully helping to avoid any fractures from these weakened spots) and it also makes them inhospitable to Cancer, so it's a good thing to have it more often now. It's like when the parents come home, catch Cancer throwing her party, and shut it down.

My oncologist also prescribed an additional pain reliever for me, and I think it's working! I'm able to move with much less pain now. I'm not quite ready to do yoga in the park (see drug commercial) but I'm "celebrating" all the same. God continually reminds me of His presence and I'm upheld by the prayers of all of you. I remain grateful.