Having a scan? Waiting on results? The waiting room is open!

Oh, I got one of the very nice nurses to read me my CT scan report.  I'm stable again.

Suems,

So sorry that you're sick and that everything seems to be piling up at once. It really can wear one down, when it's one thing after another! I know what you mean about the achiness - I have the same thing in my knees and one hip (the one that doesn't have cancer in it!), for probably a lot of the same reasons (and being a preschool teacher is hard on one's knees too).

I hope that this finds you not quite so overwhelmed and that you can get some relief from the pain and lymphodema. I hope all the x-ray and scan results are good too. I'll be thinking of you and sending prayers and light your way.

Hugs,

Amy

I'm in the waiting room this week. I've done 19 cycles on the clinical trial and it's scan time (every 3 cycles). My TMs are up just a smidge but are still half of what they were when I started the trial, so I'm going to look at that as positive news. The reports from the bone and CT scans arrived in my inbox within 24 hours and seemed to say (to my eyes at least) that all is still stable, aside from "mass in rt breast 2.8 x 1.8 x 2.7 cm (previous measurement 2.6 x 1.5 x 2.1 cm)". This is the same mass that I was blissfully ignoring for an entire year (while in tx for stage iv) because it didn't show up on my PET scans and my regular onc was assuring me was nothing to worry about. I got on the trial, it shows up on CT, and suddenly we're calling it a tumor. Sigh.

Anyway, the trial onc has asked to review the actual scans herself this time so I'm delivering the CD to her today. I think I'm allowed a 30% progression from baseline to remain in the trial. Fingers are Firmly crossed that it's less than that and I can continue.

Thanks for being here, hanging out in the waiting room and sharing your support. I can't tell my friends or family how scared I am, but you all just get it. I appreciate all of you!

Yay CarlaK! So glad to hear that it's nothing to do with progression and it can be managed for you soon.

They didn't make me wait long for the good news. They're considering me still stable and approving me for 3 more cycles on the trial. Yay! Thanks for letting me post my worries here.

Great news, kebab!

Dang...I ate my jamocha almond fudge ice cream last night...going to get a DQ Blizzard to celebrate Terri & Kebab...woohoo!!!!!!!

I'm now booked for a bone scan on Tuesday, and waiting to hear about my full-body CT scan. In the meantime, my Doc is trying me on cough suppressants and a different antobiotic for my cough, and is waiting for the scan results to see what's happening next, in both knees and cough.

Waiting waiting waiting ........

This Facebook photo made me think of the room

I agree 100% Bosco!

Yay for the good news Terri!
I'm keeping you in my thoughts suems. Hang in there.

My mother's results all showed stable, but a fracture in the sacrum has the onc questioning whether it's something she's done/wear and tear on already damaged bones, or if Xeloda is failing after 18+ months. He has sent her for radiation to the sacrum and lower spine and will re-scan her after rads before deciding if she will switch treatments. So the news is confusing, but we're still hanging onto the fact that 5 scans in the past 6 months still show stable. I know bone mets are hard to track on scans of any kind, but fingers are still crossed.

Unfortunately, we had a not so great experience at the cancer center we were sent to for radiation. The radiation oncologist and his nurse were both incredibly negative. Okay, more like the angels of death! My mother, until this fracture and resulting pain episode, has not been on any pain meds in the 3 years since her stage IV dx. Even now, she's content taking Advil when she does have pain. This sent the nurse into a fit! She lectured us about the severity of her cancer and talked over her when my mother tried to explain that she'd been pretty much pain free up until this. The nurse repeatedly said "You NEED to understand that you have metastatic disease and it is only getting worse". She also kept talking about how she should "take something at night because cancer hurts more at night and not sleeping isn't helping anyone" -- this even though my mother repeatedly told her that she actually feels better at night because she is not putting any weight on the hip/leg and therefore sleeps great. It was infuriating! Then the rad onc came in, and while very friendly, he too jumped to conclusions about my mother's pain and ability to live her daily life, even saying to her that she needs to put her mother (my grandmother who lives with her) in a home. I swear he was on the verge of suggesting hospice or some kind of facility for my mother until we both jumped in and informed him that my grandmother is entirely self-sufficient and doesn't actually require my mom's physical care. If anything having my grandmother with her has been a great help because she cooks and helps with basic things so my mom can rest her hip. My mother also had to remind him several times that until this fracture, she's been very active and feeling great. She felt dismissed and completely misunderstood because the nurse and onc both made the assumption that her extensive mets mean she must be completely incapacitated and on her last leg. Did I mention she still only has bone mets as of last scan? I wanted to grab their tongues to stop them from saying anything else and actually listening to us! It seems that not being in hysterics gave them the impression that we don't understand the severity of her disease. Jeez.

An infuriating experience that we'll try to put behind us as she starts her radiation next week.

Wishing everyone great results!

Thanks Linda. It was definitely a shock. Not sure we will be quite so diplomatic if it happens again. Fortunately, we only need to go there for rads; all other treatment and her regular oncologist is at a different center and he's great.

Bama, glad that your tumor markers are low. Sorry that you dislike your doctor so much, for me that's the most important part for me. I love my oncologist and always feel better when I see him, no matter what the news is. Hoping for good news from your PET scan, keep us posted!!

Just had another PET scan done yesterday at hospital. My onc's office called me this morning to tell me "No evidence of recurrence." Needless to say, I'm so happy to hear that kind of news. Previous PET scan in March said same thing. I never take it for granted that it will be good news or bad news, but I sure love hearing good news once in a while! I'm gonna date NED for as long as he'll have me, that's for sure! Best to all of you out there. Ann