Tumor Marker

When I went for my follow up visit in November, my tumor marker was up. So they changed one of my medications. The doctor took me off of Tamoxifen which slows down estrogen. and placed me on an injection called Zoladex and a pill called Femara. Zoladex is given in the abdomen and the Femara is taken on a daily basis. The Zoladex will stop estrogen completely. These new medications are taking me through some hormonal changes right now that I hope will soon pass. The changes has been pretty mild. I have been experiencing a few hot flashes and occasional crying spells. I went to a funeral of one of our elderly sisters at our church about two weeks ago and it seemed like I was the only one in the building crying. I was just boo hooing. I almost got up and left, but I just took a few deep breaths and sat there through the service. Now that the medications have changed, I will have to go to MDA twice a month. My treatment of Herceptin has to be given separate from the other two medications. The Herceptin is given one week and then I go the following week for the Zometa and Zoladex and I take the pill daily.

Some of you may be wondering what is a tumor marker. Tumor markers are evidence in the bloodstream of the presence of a tumor somewhere in the body. This test is done by testing your blood. So this is done at least once a month when I go in for treatments or at the doctor's request. Stay prayerful that these new meds are working. I will see the doctor in March for a follow up and I know that I will have positive results by then. I didn't let this news get me down. I'm maintaining a positive attitude because we all know who's in control.

Tingling/Spasm Update

Hi everyone! Well I completed testing to find out why I was having tingling. A few weeks ago I saw a neurologist and she scheduled me for a series of testing. The first test I had was an office visit where they checked my reflexes and feelings on my hands, feet and legs. That all turned out fine. The second round of testing was nerve test. They shocked me along my left hand and arm with this lttle taser thing, to test for carpel tunnel syndrome. Well, that test came out fine. The doctor concluded that it seems to be nerve compression in my neck area along with arthritis after looking at CT scans. She just said I need to do some neck strengthening exercises, stretching and some yoga should help. Oh yea I almost forgot to tell ya that she scheduled me for this three hour glucose test that I was surprised with when I went in for treatments. Well, from reading my results online, that all seems to be negative. Since the visit I've had only one episode of tingling and spasms. She said it will get better. So we shall see. Keep on praying!