Since the last time I posted, I have had another visit with the oncologist and another Herceptin infusion. When I meet with the doctor, I usually bring a list of things to discuss that I've written down, so I won't forget to ask. On this week's list were 3 particular issues. When will my last Herceptin infusion be, and when can I get my port out? And lastly, what are the purple spots (they look like small bruises) that pepper my right leg? It turns out that while I thought that I only had one more chemo, I have 1 1/3. I will go on 9/7 for my last full treatment (1 1/2 hours), and again on the 28th for 1/3 of a dose (only a half hour). I have to set up a time for the surgery to have the port removed. So I should be port-free by middle of October at the latest.
As far as the purple bruises, she had no idea. "Let's just wait and see what happens". As a matter of fact, by Thursday (my appointment was on Tuesday), the bruises appeared to be fading. But lo and behold, I now have bruises appearing on the other leg. It's the darndest thing: this is not a skin rash, but small, pencil-eraser sized bruises. Where will they go next?
The Arimidex is still the source of regular hot flashes, not too bad to deal with. But now to get a full night's sleep, I have to take Benadryl before I go to sleep. I fell asleep the other night without taking it, and even though I was very tired when I went to bed, I woke up at 3:00. Sleep disruptions are a side effect of Arimidex. But the Benadryl (the PM part of Tylenol PM) works pretty well to allow me to sleep right through.
Yesterday I had a blood test for my Coumadin level (3.06), and also a CA15-3 blood test. Curious as to what that was, I googled it to find that it is a marker for breast cancer. It is given to monitor the response to treatment of invasive breast cancer and to watch for recurrence of the disease. Needless to say, I'll be watching for those results.
All in all, I feel great!
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