CANCER: Next Step - Radiation - My Journey to Wellness
Today, I had my first appointment with Dr. Susan Salter. She is the Radiation Oncologist at the Bruno Cancer Center in Birmingham. My appointment was set for 1:15, but everything moved very slow. I had to go to meet with three different women prior to being called back. All normal procedure since this was my first visit and they needed to get my file information verified and a picture of me was also taken for the file.
Ashleigh joined me with my consultation and exam today because I wanted a second pair of ears to pick up on anything that I might miss. In addition, it provided her an opportunity to ask questions. After arriving in the consultation room, an RN, Denise, took my vitals. I am so excited that my blood pressure is now GREAT! The cancer process and then Taxotere had my blood pressure very high....with my top number being 247 and my bottom number running at 165. I thank God for keeping me from having a stroke. Praise God! Praise God! I was put on Lisinopril 10 MG and Hydrochlorothiazide 25 MG. After surgery my bottom number went as low as 36 and stayed in the 40's for a while...my top number was also low. But now....It is completely normal! I have been off Lisinopril since my surgery and am now only taking the Hydrochlorothiazide until I am evaluated again by my blood pressure doctor, Dr. Kala Blakely. The Nurse Diane continued to ask family history questions and discuss my journey with cancer as she documented the information. One thing Ashleigh and I realized very quickly is that she is also a HUGE Disney fan! So, we all bonded right away! LOL
I feel very blessed to have Dr. Salter as my Radiation Oncologist. She comes from a family of doctors....her grandfather, father, mother, brother, and sister are all doctors. She is highly qualified in her field and specializes in the use of nuclear medicine in diagnosing and treating cancer patients. Therefore, I feel very confident in her and the plan to wellness that she will set-forth for me.
Dr. Salter came into the room along with Tyler Till, CRNP and Natalie Hooks, Patient Navigator. Dr. Salter considers my Pathology Report following surgery to be positive. It verified what we already knew. I was originally diagnosed with Bilateral Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. My cancer is hormone based (Hormone Receptor Positive) - Estrogen Positive and Progesterone Positive. We did, however, learn that in addition to the Bilateral Invasive Ductal Carcinoma...on the left-hand side, I also had Ductal Carcinoma live in my ducts. That is considered Stage 0 because it has not moved outside the ducts. However, since it was there it did have an effect on my treatment plan. I had a total of eight (8) lymph nodes removed from my underarms. I had three (3) removed from my left side and all were clear. Praise God! I had five (5) removed from my right side with active cancer in one (1) of my lymph nodes. Having only one lymph node with cancer is all it took to make me have such an aggressive treatment plan. Had the cancer been originally found already traveled outside my lymph node....there would be zero plan for a cure....only a plan for maintenance. I keep giving God ALL Praise and Glory over and over. He blessed me with HOPE....a hope for cure and a hope for a long, healthy life - after cancer - with my family.
Originally, Dr. Bondly - my Chemotherapy Oncologist - told me that I would have 30 radiation treatments following my chemo and double mastectomy. Now, I will be having radiation on both sides and I am currently scheduled to have 28 on each side. The treatments will happen at the same time. Radiation is not anything that physically touches you. It is painless and is administered through beams that will go to targeted areas. Because the cancer had already spread into my lymph nodes there is no way to know, at this point, if it had already spread further into my body or not. A cancer must be at least 1 centimeter in size before it will show up on a PET Scan. At this time, nothing is showing up as active detectable cancer in my body and I will believe that there is nothing there and will NEVER be there. However, from a medical perspective, Dr. Salter is going to shoot radiation into both sides of my neck as precaution in case it did travel out and in that direction. When a cancer leaves the breast it often travels to the bones, the liver, or the brain. I am thankful that she is so thorough.
Because I developed a hematoma in the right upper side of my chest, Dr. Salter delayed starting my radiation treatment for two weeks. The hematoma must either have dissolved or not change shape/size once she begins treatment because it will make where the radiation beam/beams hit possibly ineffective. I will be seeing Dr. Thomas next week on March 27th and she will re-evaluate the hematoma at that time. I am currently having to keep a heating pad over my chest for an hour and a half in the morning and an hour and a half in the evening. This is to help the blood to breakdown and absorb into my body. I pray that is happening and that nothing further will have to be done.
Dr. Salter and Dr Thomas, my breast surgeon, has given me several arm exercises that I must do every day. Currently my underarms are sore and very resistant to motion and especially stretching beyond a comfortable limit. The lymph nodes under my arms feel like exercise bands or muscle that is resisting each time I try to stretch them. There is still pain there as is expected. Prior to my "mapping" appointment with Dr. Salter, I MUST get my arms flexible. Because the mapping process - putting markings and tape on places for the radiation beams to concentrate on - takes approximately an hour and a half.....I will have double the markings that most patients have because of having cancer in both breast....I MUST get my arms where I can keep them over my head for the entire time without moving. I am NOT looking forward to that. I pray I can do it! It is difficult for me to keep my hands over my head for a 20 or 30 minute PET Scan. I get in my head and all of my focus and brain power seems to centralize around the fact that my arms are over my head and I can't move them. Dr. Salter said that it is crucial that I don't move. I am going to be concentrating on and working hard on these exercises for the next couple of weeks and I pray it will help.
I did mention to Dr. Salter about the chemo pill that Dr. Bondly suggested I get on for six (6) months. The chemo drug in pill form, Xeloda, has a lot of side-effects. Many of them are similar to what I experienced with Taxotere and some possible side-effects are even worse. I did not want to really consider taking it since it only provides a 5% additional chance of survival; however, Dr. Salter suggested that I discuss it more deeply and detailed with Dr. Bondly before deciding not taking it. Dr. Salter put it quite clear...."It would be a shame for you to do all that you have done to save your life....not take the Xeloda....and that extra 5% be just what you needed to keep you from cancer reoccurring." I asked Dr. Salter about the survival rate for my type of cancer. Dr. Salter said there are some new information findings and numbers out on survival rates and that I needed to talk to Dr. Bondly about that as well.
Furthermore, Dr. Bondly had told me that I would be on the pill Femara, generic name: Letrozole, for five (5) years. Letrozole is an aromatase inhibitor. This means it blocks the enzyme aromatase which is found in the body's muscle, skin, breast, and fat. It is used to convert androgens - hormones produced by the adrenal glands - into estrogen. In the absence of estrogen, tumors dependent on this hormone for growth will shrink. Dr. Salter concludes, however, that I need to be on this treatment for a minimum of 10 years....or as she put it...."I would NOT stop taking it." Taking this pill once a day will significantly reduce my percentage for a hormone based cancer returning and I am excited about that. If I have to take it for life....OKAY!
I will go back to Dr. Salter on April 3rd for my Radiation Mapping. If all goes according to plan, my treatments will take 5 1/2 weeks with having radiation treatments every day except on Saturday and Sunday. I already have some strong medicated creams to use for the radiation burns and also Dr. Salter has told me of another one that I will get when I go back to St. Vincents Hospital. It is $90 per tube for most patients; however, cancer patients get it for around $35 per tube. She said that I would need at least two tubes since I will be getting radiation on both sides.
"But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Please continue to lift me by name in your daily prayers. I am strong. I am positive. I have not wavered from day one when I was diagnosed with Bilateral Breast Cancer. I WILL survive this cancer with 100% earthly healing because my Father is the Great Physician and I know His loving, healing hands are all over me. I know He continues to guide my ever-growing medical team of professionals who are providing me with the absolute best care. What a blessing and comfort it is to know the Holy Creator and Magnificent, All-Powerful God is watching over every step of your journey. It is amazing! The journey to wellness continues!
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
Jeremiah 29:11-13 Amen!
Ashleigh joined me with my consultation and exam today because I wanted a second pair of ears to pick up on anything that I might miss. In addition, it provided her an opportunity to ask questions. After arriving in the consultation room, an RN, Denise, took my vitals. I am so excited that my blood pressure is now GREAT! The cancer process and then Taxotere had my blood pressure very high....with my top number being 247 and my bottom number running at 165. I thank God for keeping me from having a stroke. Praise God! Praise God! I was put on Lisinopril 10 MG and Hydrochlorothiazide 25 MG. After surgery my bottom number went as low as 36 and stayed in the 40's for a while...my top number was also low. But now....It is completely normal! I have been off Lisinopril since my surgery and am now only taking the Hydrochlorothiazide until I am evaluated again by my blood pressure doctor, Dr. Kala Blakely. The Nurse Diane continued to ask family history questions and discuss my journey with cancer as she documented the information. One thing Ashleigh and I realized very quickly is that she is also a HUGE Disney fan! So, we all bonded right away! LOL
I feel very blessed to have Dr. Salter as my Radiation Oncologist. She comes from a family of doctors....her grandfather, father, mother, brother, and sister are all doctors. She is highly qualified in her field and specializes in the use of nuclear medicine in diagnosing and treating cancer patients. Therefore, I feel very confident in her and the plan to wellness that she will set-forth for me.
Dr. Salter came into the room along with Tyler Till, CRNP and Natalie Hooks, Patient Navigator. Dr. Salter considers my Pathology Report following surgery to be positive. It verified what we already knew. I was originally diagnosed with Bilateral Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. My cancer is hormone based (Hormone Receptor Positive) - Estrogen Positive and Progesterone Positive. We did, however, learn that in addition to the Bilateral Invasive Ductal Carcinoma...on the left-hand side, I also had Ductal Carcinoma live in my ducts. That is considered Stage 0 because it has not moved outside the ducts. However, since it was there it did have an effect on my treatment plan. I had a total of eight (8) lymph nodes removed from my underarms. I had three (3) removed from my left side and all were clear. Praise God! I had five (5) removed from my right side with active cancer in one (1) of my lymph nodes. Having only one lymph node with cancer is all it took to make me have such an aggressive treatment plan. Had the cancer been originally found already traveled outside my lymph node....there would be zero plan for a cure....only a plan for maintenance. I keep giving God ALL Praise and Glory over and over. He blessed me with HOPE....a hope for cure and a hope for a long, healthy life - after cancer - with my family.
Originally, Dr. Bondly - my Chemotherapy Oncologist - told me that I would have 30 radiation treatments following my chemo and double mastectomy. Now, I will be having radiation on both sides and I am currently scheduled to have 28 on each side. The treatments will happen at the same time. Radiation is not anything that physically touches you. It is painless and is administered through beams that will go to targeted areas. Because the cancer had already spread into my lymph nodes there is no way to know, at this point, if it had already spread further into my body or not. A cancer must be at least 1 centimeter in size before it will show up on a PET Scan. At this time, nothing is showing up as active detectable cancer in my body and I will believe that there is nothing there and will NEVER be there. However, from a medical perspective, Dr. Salter is going to shoot radiation into both sides of my neck as precaution in case it did travel out and in that direction. When a cancer leaves the breast it often travels to the bones, the liver, or the brain. I am thankful that she is so thorough.
Because I developed a hematoma in the right upper side of my chest, Dr. Salter delayed starting my radiation treatment for two weeks. The hematoma must either have dissolved or not change shape/size once she begins treatment because it will make where the radiation beam/beams hit possibly ineffective. I will be seeing Dr. Thomas next week on March 27th and she will re-evaluate the hematoma at that time. I am currently having to keep a heating pad over my chest for an hour and a half in the morning and an hour and a half in the evening. This is to help the blood to breakdown and absorb into my body. I pray that is happening and that nothing further will have to be done.
Dr. Salter and Dr Thomas, my breast surgeon, has given me several arm exercises that I must do every day. Currently my underarms are sore and very resistant to motion and especially stretching beyond a comfortable limit. The lymph nodes under my arms feel like exercise bands or muscle that is resisting each time I try to stretch them. There is still pain there as is expected. Prior to my "mapping" appointment with Dr. Salter, I MUST get my arms flexible. Because the mapping process - putting markings and tape on places for the radiation beams to concentrate on - takes approximately an hour and a half.....I will have double the markings that most patients have because of having cancer in both breast....I MUST get my arms where I can keep them over my head for the entire time without moving. I am NOT looking forward to that. I pray I can do it! It is difficult for me to keep my hands over my head for a 20 or 30 minute PET Scan. I get in my head and all of my focus and brain power seems to centralize around the fact that my arms are over my head and I can't move them. Dr. Salter said that it is crucial that I don't move. I am going to be concentrating on and working hard on these exercises for the next couple of weeks and I pray it will help.
I did mention to Dr. Salter about the chemo pill that Dr. Bondly suggested I get on for six (6) months. The chemo drug in pill form, Xeloda, has a lot of side-effects. Many of them are similar to what I experienced with Taxotere and some possible side-effects are even worse. I did not want to really consider taking it since it only provides a 5% additional chance of survival; however, Dr. Salter suggested that I discuss it more deeply and detailed with Dr. Bondly before deciding not taking it. Dr. Salter put it quite clear...."It would be a shame for you to do all that you have done to save your life....not take the Xeloda....and that extra 5% be just what you needed to keep you from cancer reoccurring." I asked Dr. Salter about the survival rate for my type of cancer. Dr. Salter said there are some new information findings and numbers out on survival rates and that I needed to talk to Dr. Bondly about that as well.
Furthermore, Dr. Bondly had told me that I would be on the pill Femara, generic name: Letrozole, for five (5) years. Letrozole is an aromatase inhibitor. This means it blocks the enzyme aromatase which is found in the body's muscle, skin, breast, and fat. It is used to convert androgens - hormones produced by the adrenal glands - into estrogen. In the absence of estrogen, tumors dependent on this hormone for growth will shrink. Dr. Salter concludes, however, that I need to be on this treatment for a minimum of 10 years....or as she put it...."I would NOT stop taking it." Taking this pill once a day will significantly reduce my percentage for a hormone based cancer returning and I am excited about that. If I have to take it for life....OKAY!
I will go back to Dr. Salter on April 3rd for my Radiation Mapping. If all goes according to plan, my treatments will take 5 1/2 weeks with having radiation treatments every day except on Saturday and Sunday. I already have some strong medicated creams to use for the radiation burns and also Dr. Salter has told me of another one that I will get when I go back to St. Vincents Hospital. It is $90 per tube for most patients; however, cancer patients get it for around $35 per tube. She said that I would need at least two tubes since I will be getting radiation on both sides.
"But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Please continue to lift me by name in your daily prayers. I am strong. I am positive. I have not wavered from day one when I was diagnosed with Bilateral Breast Cancer. I WILL survive this cancer with 100% earthly healing because my Father is the Great Physician and I know His loving, healing hands are all over me. I know He continues to guide my ever-growing medical team of professionals who are providing me with the absolute best care. What a blessing and comfort it is to know the Holy Creator and Magnificent, All-Powerful God is watching over every step of your journey. It is amazing! The journey to wellness continues!
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
Jeremiah 29:11-13 Amen!
#GodisLeading #BreastCancer #DoubleMastectomy #IBelieve
#BeatCancer #GodisHealing #PrayforaCure #PrayerWarriors
#BilateralBreastCancer #BreastReconstruction
#HeProtectsMe #WhereHeLeadsIWillFollow
#HeProtectsMe #WhereHeLeadsIWillFollow
#GodisinControl #PrayingGrands #GodisaGoodGod
#PraiseGod #ThankYouJesus
#Taxotere #MyGoalisCancerFree #MyCancerWarisOn
#PraiseGod #ThankYouJesus
#Taxotere #MyGoalisCancerFree #MyCancerWarisOn
#CrushingCancer #CancerWillNotWin #IAmBeingHealed
#MyGoalisCancerFree #Pulmonary
#MyGoalisCancerFree #Pulmonary
Go ahead and get some pretty scarfs so you can cover your neck. The burn comes quickly, so you be repaired.
ReplyDeleteI love you Patricia but God loves your more
Thank you for walking this journey with me. I will be prepared; although, I don't know fully what to expect. I already have a lot of special creams that is supposed to help the burn. Love you.
DeletePatricia, you never let me down. You are still so positive and the latest information is exciting. Your blood pressure is normal, and I am thrilled that out of the 8 lymph nodes you had removed, only one had a trace of active cancer in it. Praise God. I am glad that they are treating you aggressively, and your radiologist sounds very knowledgeable. I am happy that she is taking all the precautions for you.
ReplyDeleteI remember doing the exercises with my arms over my head. I also had each arm “walk” up the wall “as far as possible” to stretch my armpits. I don’t remember having much difficulty with these exercises. I know that you can do it. Keep on keeping on. You need them so you don’t move during radiation.
I hate that you have to be on the Xeloda with all of its side effects but I will be praying that you will have as few side effects as possible. I am sure that you and Dr. Bondly will make the best decisions regarding that. I am encouraged about the new information for survival rates for your cancer and am praying for the best possible news on that. And I pray that the Letrozole has very few side effects for you.
I'm glad that you get the radiation creams at a discounted price. That should help. I hope that your surgical pain is decreasing daily. You are in my heart and in my prayers. Keep inspiring us with your attitude. You’ve “got” this. I love you.
Thank you sweet sister-friend. Your encouragement has meant so much to me during my cancer journey and continues to lift me. I feel I am doing great! I have been blessed every step of the way and I know that God continues to lead and heal as I move forward. I really believe that God sent me the absolute best medical professionals who He knew would have the knowledge and experience to bring me to complete earthly wellness. I feel, at this point, that I will try Xeloda and if I have any negative side-effects I can stop the treatment or possibly change the dose. I believe that is a better alternative at this point rather than just saying no to it completely without even giving it a chance. If my Oncologist - both of them - believe I need to try it, then I certainly trust their judgment. I do have this because God has me! Love you dear friend! Keep lifting your prayers for me....I know you will.
Delete