Post-chemo CT scan
I had another CT scan this week, met with the doctor yesterday afternoon to go over the results. A recent federal law allows patients’ test results to be available to patients at the same time they are available to doctors. In my cancer journey, on little things like blood work, it hasn’t been a big deal. For CT scans, it has been anxiety producing. Particularly my CT scan in December that showed cancer progressing, my scan was on Dec 1 but I didn’t meet with the doctor until Dec 14. So I knew for those weeks that something was off but had to wait so long to hear what the plan would be. Jason sat down with his radiation oncology doctors to discuss the scan results, but they couldn’t predict exactly what my oncologist would do for a new treatment plan. Needless to say, December was agonizing for me and our family. I say this a lot, but in some ways it’s really helpful to have a husband in cancer care and in some ways it makes the journey more difficult. So I decided with this scan to manage the waiting by waiting to let her tell us the results. I think it was a better experience for me!
Thankfully, this week’s scan was a good one! My lungs look clear other than the consistently-present, stable, original tumor that still measures about 14mm. My lungs showed no effusions present and no new spots on my lungs. My lymph nodes don’t appear swollen or remarkable at present. The bones still appear stable, compared to the recent, previous scans. A CT scan isn’t the best way to look at bones, but there isn’t a need to take a closer look at them with a PET scan for a couple reasons: it’s significantly more radiation, and insurance won’t cover a PET unless the doctor specifically requests one to clarify something questionable. It felt like I was looking over her shoulder, but I did ask if it’s possible for the cancer to be spreading in my bones but nowhere else and could she miss some progression by trusting this CT’s results. She said it’s possible but not likely. She asked me a lot of questions. She stated she’ll always consider how I’m feeling and doing at each appointment and combine that feedback with what CT results show. Taking all into consideration, she said she has enough info to conclude that the cancer is currently stable.
We also discussed the biopsy results. They showed a couple new genetic markers, sub-mutations to the one we have known about from the beginning (EGFR) although these mutations don’t currently qualify me for any clinical trials. Not exactly exciting news, but not the worst. Things change a lot in the cancer world so we are hoping that I qualify for something else when the time comes. She also said there are a lot of treatment options she can pivot to when this maintenance therapy (immunotherapy and the antibody drug) no longer keeps the cancer stable—including doing chemo again. That was disheartening for me. I thought I was done with chemo, but she said it’s a possibility to try again if I’m at least 6 months out from this previous cycle.
I asked her if I could start jogging again, and she said that I could if I felt like it. I stopped in December because the cancer progression made the radiation oncology doctors nervous about what might be happening in my hips and joints, they preferred that I do low-impact exercise from then until now. I really don’t like jogging, but it became my go-to exercise once I quit my gym membership with Covid. It’s easy-ish to do with kids in tow and fits my lifestyle. I haven’t even run around to play soccer with the boys, a bonding activity that’s easy and I’ve really missed. So my older sister, Kate and I went for a slow walk/jog this morning. The experience was very life-giving!!
Jason and I are leaving for a 4-day weekend trip tomorrow. It feels like good timing after a good-news scan. Also we are both really worn down from the past 5-6 months. It has been exhausting for me to experience chemo and then spend about a week each cycle catching up on all I didn’t do during the chemo fatigue. It has been exhausting for Jason to come home from a demanding job to then take care of so much around the house, filling in for me in so many ways. And then wake up and go back to a demanding job and do it all over again. One silver lining: some kind friends gave him an espresso machine for Christmas, so he has made us lattes every morning the past few months. He gets to create and learn a new skill, and we both get caffeine. It’s a win-win, although more days than not we drop some other ball (timeliness, lunches getting made/packed, showers, etc) as a result of getting yummy, beautiful coffee. I’ll take it, though! Thank you to our Bridge City guys! You’ve loved us so well.
Thank you so much for the support and love you have shown us in the past months! It has been so wonderful to have groceries and meals, gift cards so we can eat out or get takeout, new books to read with the boys, text messages and notes in the mail, etc. etc. It all reminds us how we are loved and supported by you, but most of all how much God loves us. He is taking care of us in the midst of this storm, often through your timely ways of reminding us of truths that are easy to overlook. As much as I wish to give up this cancer and all of its associated burdens, God has not forgotten me. I am convinced that the One who created the universe is a refuge and holds me/us up with His everlasting arms.
