This was the big week. I had been waiting (not so patiently) without treatment since December 29th to allow my body time to heal and be ready for another round of treatment. In my January PET scan there were four spots of cancer: lower neck, upper chest, two abdominal. Two of those spots were spots that developed in spite of my previous chemo and two were spots that had grown. So, I was expecting my March scan to show growth. I was prepared. When I got the call last week to review my scan information I was not surprised to hear that the four existing spots had grown and that there were two additional areas of concern. I was thankful to have the results so I didn't have to worry all weekend about what might have been, I like to know what the scan says.
Monday I met with my gynecologic oncologist so we could review all of the results and make a choice about what the next steps of the treatment would be. He had taken my case to the cancer board on Monday morning, it is like an instant second, third, and fourth opinion. The board developed some great ideas. We discussed clinical trials, immunotherapy, and even reaching out to pharmaceutical companies to inquire about getting access to medications which have been proven to help with the mutation we found I have through my Foundation One testing. We opted to start chemo immediately, Topetecan and Cistplatin, and continue searching through the other options as none of them are immediately available to me. I told them that I wanted to start as soon as possible. The meeting was Monday and now it is Wednesday. I am laying in the chemo bed as I type this. There was one hiccup, yesterday we found out that my insurance company would not approve me having Cistplatin and Topetecan together, it was a one or the other type of choice. So, today I am getting Topetecan. With this regimen I will get it once per week for three weeks in a row and then have one week off then repeat. We will do this for three months and then do a progress scan to see how it is working.
So, how did I prepare for today? I did what any rational person who is about to start chemo, AGAIN, I scheduled to go and get a tattoo on Tuesday night. I had told my students that I wanted to get a robot tattoo. It has a lot of significance to me, but that is for another post. I am lucky enough to have had three other fabulous women who were willing to go and get the robot tattoo with me and we had an amazing time!
Monday I met with my gynecologic oncologist so we could review all of the results and make a choice about what the next steps of the treatment would be. He had taken my case to the cancer board on Monday morning, it is like an instant second, third, and fourth opinion. The board developed some great ideas. We discussed clinical trials, immunotherapy, and even reaching out to pharmaceutical companies to inquire about getting access to medications which have been proven to help with the mutation we found I have through my Foundation One testing. We opted to start chemo immediately, Topetecan and Cistplatin, and continue searching through the other options as none of them are immediately available to me. I told them that I wanted to start as soon as possible. The meeting was Monday and now it is Wednesday. I am laying in the chemo bed as I type this. There was one hiccup, yesterday we found out that my insurance company would not approve me having Cistplatin and Topetecan together, it was a one or the other type of choice. So, today I am getting Topetecan. With this regimen I will get it once per week for three weeks in a row and then have one week off then repeat. We will do this for three months and then do a progress scan to see how it is working.
So, how did I prepare for today? I did what any rational person who is about to start chemo, AGAIN, I scheduled to go and get a tattoo on Tuesday night. I had told my students that I wanted to get a robot tattoo. It has a lot of significance to me, but that is for another post. I am lucky enough to have had three other fabulous women who were willing to go and get the robot tattoo with me and we had an amazing time!
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