Cycle 2, Day 1

Follow-up went well. It was nice to have such a short morning at the hospital for a change! Did all the basic labs, got new meds, and chatted with the doc. It sounds like for now, until we have more information on how my bones are doing, we're going to keep going with the Zometa. Dr. Gounder didn't seem to have any reason why we shouldn't do it for now, he admitted that my type of cancer is not his particular specialty, but it sounds like Zometa is used in many ways for many types of cancers and other diseases with a lot of success, so for now, we're going to stick with it. If my next set of scans shows us that for whatever reason the Zometa either isn't doing anything, or is actually interfering in some way, we'll reassess my need for it. They're going to coordinate it so that I can receive the Zometa here in NY at the same time as my regular appointments, so that I don't have to mess around with scheduling at Hopkins in between. So that's helpful.

Next appointment is Nov 7th, it sounds like that one will be much the same as this one. On Nov 21st, we finally have the big day: the next round of scans that will hopefully show us if we're making progress or not. I FEEL good- no coughing, no feeling of tightness in my chest to suggest that the tumors are growing. The pain in my back has actually started to recede slowly, it's more of a dull nagging ache than a sharp pain now. So... fingers crossed and keep praying.

Overall, things are good. My hair is growing back. I'm staying active. No changes in my weight, appetite, or overall health. I rode on horseback 15 miles through the mountains this weekend, and other than a little muscle soreness, I felt fantastic afterwards. I'm going to try to carefully increase my exercise, now that my back is feeling better- the exercise actually seems to help, not hurt, so I'm going to walk more (now that the weather is nice, I'm sure Ruff will appreciate some nice long walks at work during the day), ride more, and maybe try some gentle yoga for stretching.

Superman Bone Juice, Round 2

Yesterday I got another dose of the Zometa- I was supposed to have it after my last round of chemo a few weeks ago, but that was when I got pneumonia, and I just wasn't up to anymore treatments.  We're going to discuss it with Dr Gounder next week- I had meant to ask him last time we were there and I forgot.  I emailed him, but didn't get an answer until after the dose was administered.  His opinion was that I don't need the Zometa "unless I'm at risk for bone fractures".  So we need to find out if he considers horseback riding "at risk" or not- that was the only reason Dr Kang suggested it in the first place; currently there's no evidence that my bones are any weaker, we just know there are some tumors in them.  So, we'll see whether or not Dr Gounder thinks I need to continue.  As long as they let me keep riding, I don't really care if I get the Zometa or not :-P  .

Feeling pretty good, just a little extra sore today.  Gearing up for a great week, followed by my biggest horse camping trip of the year next weekend!  And then back to NYC next Monday.

Love you guys!

Observation Day 2

So, we're back for our 6 hour observation session.

Blood work came back normal- no negative effects from the treatment.  My levels are coming back up to where they should be after chemo as well.  (Oh and PS, my hair is starting to grow back again :-)  ).

The only issue I've had recently is a slight increase in the back pain I've had for months.  There's no way to know whether it's related to the treatment (they had mentioned before that some people see a sudden burst in tumor growth when they start the medication, which is then followed by a rapid decline, so there's a chance that's what's going on now) or just normal progression of the disease, but either way they gave me an RX for a slightly stronger, longer acting pain-killer, since it mostly affects me at night.

Other than that, everything is good to go, so we'll be continuing treatment for 2 more weeks, and we'll be back here on the 24th just for labs and a visit with the docs- no observation time.  Dr. Gounder said it would probably be another month before they do another scan to actually look at the tumors and see how we're doing.

So that's about it for today.  Just hanging out, they'll take more blood and EKGs over the next 6 hours, and then we'll head home.

We did forget to talk to them about the Zometa, so I'll have to send them an email to follow up with that concern.

Back to the Big Apple

Just checked into our hotel room for the night.  Tomorrow we go back for my first follow-up since starting the meds.  We don't know exactly what will be going on- blood work and vitals I'm sure; I don't know about any other testing they plan to do.  Then I'll take another dose there, and do another 6 hour observation period, with more blood tests and probably more EKGs.  As far as I know, this will be the last time we have to do all that.  Then we go home and wait 2 more weeks.  My guess is at that point they'll probably do some more scans to see where we're at.

Not much else to report...  we are going to ask them about the Zometa, and whether they think I should continue receiving it or not.  They told us before that there was no reason I COULDN'T continue with it, but Ty wants to ask more specifically if they think I SHOULD keep it up-  I don't see why we shouldn't, but he wants a professional opinion, so we're going to talk it over with them.  And also see about getting me some longer lasting pain killers- my back has been giving me some trouble at night, and the Oxycodone I have is a fast-release pill that only lasts a few hours.  It's not quite getting me through the nights.

So that's about it for tonight.  We're unwinding for a few hours before we head out to our bar for all-you-can eat mussels night!!!  Woot.  :-)