Another chemo down... fighting this moving forward

Hello friends,

Another week, another chemo complete. I had the chemo Trifecta today of Abraxane, Avastin, and Zometa and it all went smoothly. The cancer center went live on a new on-line computer system this week and things were a little slower than usual. Wendy was sweet enough to join me again for a marathon session (we didn't finish up until after 6:30 tonight), but she kept me entertained with a card game and the time passed quickly.

The last couple weeks my doctor has been talking with me about participating in a clinical trial of a new protocol that sounds very promising, but as it turns out I don't qualify due to my previous recurrence/treatment in 2007. We were both a little disappointed because one of the drugs on the trial is only available if you are on the study. The nurses involved with the investigation apparently spent hours going over my chart trying to find a way for me to qualify, but in the end it just didn't work out. Bottom line, I will continue with the current treatment plan of chemo for a few more months then switch to hormone therapy, which is easier to tolerate and won't require weekly visits to the treatment center. We have every reason to be optimistic the treatment will be effective for a long time to come. Once I switch to the new treatment I'll only need to come in every month for my Zometa infusion, the remaining treatment will be a pill I take at home. I'll still have PET/CT scans about every 3 months and lab work, but compared to the current schedule of weekly treatment it should be a walk in the park. In other news, I seem to have developed a slight infection in my port-a-cath, which has caused a pain/irritation in my right shoulder/neck, so I'm starting a round of antibiotics. This is one of those normal little bumps in the road we've grown to expect.
Next week we are off for some relaxation and warm weather in Palm Springs with our friends, Nate and Luanne. We've timed my chemo so that I have next week off so I'll be able to enjoy the weekend even more. Can't wait! -Nancy