Biopsy and Treatment Decisions

On Friday afternoon, I found out that my liver biopsy was negative for any of the HER2 protein, which means I can't take Enhertu, the drug that would have been most promising for me. I hadn't realized how much I was hoping this drug would be possible for me until I felt the great disappointment of this news. I am down to chemo drug options at this point, and it's taking all my courage to think that I have to face that again.

Tomorrow morning I will be starting chemo, a drug called Trodelvy. I don't know much about it yet, since I only heard about it this morning, but it was just approved in February and it targets a specific protein that 80% of breast and bladder cancer tumors have. There's no test yet to know if your tumors have the protein, but my doctor and I decided it was worth trying this drug anyway. An 80% chance is pretty good. And because this targets a specific antibody, it doesn't damage your bone marrow like other chemos do, so my body should stay strong longer, enabling me to tolerate more difficult drugs when this one stops working.

I would love all your prayers all the time, but especially at 8:30 tomorrow morning when they start my infusion. There's a risk I could be allergic to the chemo, so they'll be monitoring me closely. This first infusion will be around three hours, but if I tolerate it well, my next treatments should only take 1-2 hours. It's given in a 21-day cycle, and I'll get chemo on days 1 and 8 of the cycle. 

This is hard, but God is with us in the hard places. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me." Or as Sally Lloyd-Jones' children's book, Found, says, "Even when I walk through the dark, scary, lonely places I won't be afraid. Because my Shepherd knows where I am. He is here with me. He keeps me safe. He rescues me. He makes me strong and brave."

Trusting and believing that God will be with me and give me strength and courage.