SO RELIEVED

I was nervous this time coming back home to have a Pet Scan. This would be the first time taking a Pet Scan to find out if the medication Verzinio with Tamoxifen would work. Verzinio protocol as a stand alone medication you have to take 150mg. I could not tolerate that amount. It drove me crazy. So my doctor dropped the medication to 100mg. But for the medication to work the protocol is to include a monthly Fasodex shot. My doctor knowing that I will not be in town each month for the shots, he asked how long I have been off of Tamoxifen (I took Tamoxifen starting in 2004 for five years), and when I told him it was over 10 years he said so instead of the Fasodex shot take the Tamoxifen, (pills), and let’s see if that combination will work. So it was an educated guess on the part of my Oncologist to suggest something not tried and true. AND IT WORKED. My doctor is a genius!!!

My test results were better than I had ever hoped for. The cancer is shrinking, the hot spots have diminished in intensity and the lump in my breast is gone. Now will this be over time the cure for all my woes, there is no telling. But what I can say at this moment the meds are working and therefor, off I go on another 3 month trip. After the three months I will have to come back for another Pet Scan. It appears that I will have to live my life from Pet Scan to Pet Scan. But live my life, I shall.

What my test results also say; you must find a Doctor that is knowledgeable, experienced and one who will work with you. I have had that doctor, but now he is going to retire. I now have to interview doctors to find one that will be willing to work with me and one who has had enough experience over the years to be able to make really good, concrete and well thought out educated guesses. Not every oncologist is the same.

So this Friday, we are leaving to go to Vietnam for a month. From there to Thailand and Bali, each for a month. This area of the world intrigues me. It is so vibrant, colorful and different. I am psyched!!!

Live life to it’s fullest!!! Living is not merely surviving!!!