LIFE IS TOUGH, BUT THE TOUGH KEEP GOING

I had a Cat Scan, not the Pet Scan my doctor had ordered, even after the doctor contacted the insurance company to petition for the correct test to be administered, but was unsuccessful, the Cat Scan showed growth of my cancer. But because it was not a Pet Scan, it could not be compared with my previous test, its findings were inconclusive. Another week passed and then I got the Pet Scan that I should have gotten in the first place. I therefor, had a test, a Cat Scan, and for the test to be even remotely close to a Pet Scan, the test must be done with contrast, which requires the use of substantial amount of radiation, so for no reason other than to save the Insurance company money I had to be subjected to a hell of a lot of unneeded radiation. Let’s face it, the insurance company’s business plan is to delay, delay, and delay and to deny, deny and deny. They want me dead or let’s just say they prefer that I died, I am just a number to them, and this number is costing them way too much money.

The subsequent Pet Scan showed new growth of my cancer, so my protocol was about to change. I was devastated, I had believed that I would be on this protocol for at least a few years, if not more. I thought that this was a death sentence of a sort. I believed that there are just so many tools in the tool box and that I just lost the most indispensable one. I must say, with all my optimism, the reality of death was finally hitting home. My doctor gave me about four different choices of drugs that I could take for my treatment. We, my husband and I, chose the treatment that kept me on the Ibrance and the Falsodex shot, but included another drug called Anastrosol. I did increase the dosage of the Ibrance from 100 mg to 125 mg. I had lowered the dosage when Covid was at its worse and there was no vaccine, because my white blood count was often too low at that higher milligram causing me to stay home for long stretches of time and away from people. I was then scheduled for another pet scan in a month to see if the additional drug and the increase in milligrams with my protocol was arresting the growth of the cancer.

DOCTOR NOTES: I decided to again seek out a second opinion and to speck to a doctor who I have had consultations with before, she is an Oncologist in Sloan Kettering in New York. One of the many doctors I had spoken to when I was first diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer. I had four second opinions. She stated that this change of medication was usual in the course of a treatment for Stage Four Cancer. That a Cancer patient will be changing treatments until one is finally found that is right for you.

My Oncologist in Miami is Charles Vogel. I cannot say enough about him. An old time doctor that I had seen back in 2004. He has helped many of my friends. I respect his judgment and I think I am in the best hands that I could be in. That does not mean, I do not get second opinions, but it does mean that I trust his knowledge and intuition. Dr. Vogel has written a book that contains many of his patients, quite a number of patients, that have Stage 4 Cancer who are still alive for over 10, 15, 20 years since being diagnosed. His belief after so many years as an onclogist is that Stage 4 Cancer is not a death sentence, but a chronic disease. I am just starting to understand the game plan; that if one group of medication does not work for you, you move onto another group of medications and see if that one works. It is hard for me to process sometimes, change is difficult, because I was feeling really well on the protocol that I was on and I had really hoped that it would work for a hell of a lot more time then it did.

I went back to my doctor for my monthly exam and found out that my white blood cell count was once again low, critically low. I was immediately taken off the Ibrance. I also did not go out of my home for at least five days. Again, I must admit, I was down and concerned with my future outcome.

My Pet Scan showed that my cancer was still growing, but really really slow. It was one tenth of one millimeter larger. My new cancer is a slow growing cancer, it took 17 years for this cancer to grow and become visible. Thankfully, this is not the cancer I had in 2017.