Quick look

A quick trip to Cedars for a nurse's visit.  The research nurse wanted to check out the injection sites on my leg.  It did not have the crazy reaction that past drug trial treatments have shown.  She thinks that my immune system is getting back on line, thus I am not having drastic adverse reactions to the injections anymore.  This is good to hear!

Drug Trial Day - Month 12

Time for my twelve month follow up and next round of injections.

As always, first stop the vampire's lair.  Today we set a new record as the vampire sucks out twelve vials of blood.  It takes a while to suck out twelve vials of blood.  I'm going to say twelve minutes at least, but I think it was more like fifteen.  And, since they were taking so much blood this time the vampire informed me that she needed to use a bigger needle.  Oh yay!!! Blah!!!  The vampires do their best to keep the mood light as it seems like it is taking forever to fill all the vials.  They are quite the jovial bunch of blood suckers.  We had some laughs and finally I was done and on my way.

Next stop is the doctor's visit.  First we discuss the results of all my tests from last week.  Everything looks good, except they did not do the ultra sound on my pelvis to check on the fibroids so they will schedule one for me.  Blah, definitely not a favorite test.  He would also like me to schedule an appointment with my breast cancer surgeon to go over my mammogram results.  He said that I should be seeing her after each of my mammograms (every six months).  Then we discuss how I have been feeling lately.  My biggest complaint is that I seem to feel nauseous more often these days.  Other than trying to eat much healthier, there does not seem to be anything in my diet that would be causing it.  He thinks my body is beginning to produce hormones again.  At my last visit, my estrogen levels were still very low and the tamoxifen will block any estrogen my body tries to produce, however, the ovaries are still trying to do their job and are likely producing other hormones that my body is trying to adapt to.  Other than that, all the same fun symptoms seem to be hanging around; fatigue, hot flashes, memory loss.  On the plus side of side effects, my body seems to have adapted to allow me to eat berries again.  I have been slowly testing the waters this last week.  So far blueberries and cranberries have made it through without any hives.  Yay!  We shall continue albeit slowly with the berries.

Side note:  the research nurse had to do this huge report (looked like 50 pages) for my file from my little  over night stay in the hospital when they thought I had a blood clot.  I felt a little bad and told her that it was not my intention to stay overnight and have them run all those tests.  We agreed it would be best if that did not happen again, I for one am on board with that plan.

Now it is time to head over to the short-term treatment area to be tortured by the cobra.  I put the first round of lidocaine on my leg in the doctor's office to give it time to set in.  Plus, took the Ativan after I finished at the vampire's lair.  I should be nice and ready for these injections.  There is still some time while they prepare the injections, so Southpaw and I ready ourselves.

Tried to get the cobra to give Southpaw some of my injections.

Southpaw checking the needles. 

Let the games begin:

First injection goes in, no problem.  Hardly felt it.

Number two is not too bad either.

Not happy about number three.

Three does not go in very nicely.  I'd give it a six on the ole scale.

Fourth injection, the worst of them all.

I'm not sure if it is the placement or what, but the fourth one goes in with a big bang.  I even flinched a little and when it was done it still felt like the needle was in.  Now we hangout for an hour to make sure I don't have any adverse reaction.  Southpaw and I finish watching our movie and then the cobra comes back to bandage me up before I go home.

Southpaw checking out the cobra's bandaging technique.

The cobra gives the okay and I am discharged.  Off to lunch and get today's treat.

Today felt like a two treat day so we got both.

Marathon Scan Day

Time for my annual scans, twelve months post chemotherapy.  It is going to be a long day at the Cedar's Campus.  Arrival time: 8am.

First stop is the new Heart Institute Pavillion for yet another echocardiogram and ekg.  The technician remembers me from July.  I get through this test without any problem.  The ekg technician comes in afterwards and takes care of this test rather quickly.  Now I have some time to kill before my next appointment.  I go in search of food.  For my next round of scans I cannot eat or drink anything after 10:30am and will not be able to eat again until about 5pm.  I find myself a nice breakfast; eggs, chicken sausage, potatoes, and toast.  Good to go.

Next stop, Imaging Center.  First up is the injection for bone scan, she also puts in an IV port for the afternoon procedures.  This one goes in so much more nicely than the last time.  It probably helps that I have also had a couple of Ativan.

Southpaw thinks she did a nice job.

This takes only a few minutes and I am off to the CT scan area to drink the "smoothie".

Southpaw shares smoothie.

After we drink up it is off to the mammogram area.  I only have to have my right side done, so I am anticipating no real problems.  I get three images done and then wait for the doctor to look at them.  He wants to see some more images, so the technician does four more images.  So, that is a total of seven boob squishing pictures.  They want me to wait again for the doctor to look at these images.  I inform them that I need to go to my CT scan appointment.  They let me go, but I have to come back to them when I am finished with all of my other scans.  I get to the CT area and they make me drink a baby "smoothie" because too much time has passed.

Banana, not so bad.

I make it through the CT scanning without any issues.  Now it is over to the bone scan area again.  The technician is ready and waiting for me.  She gets me all secured into the machine, they strap you in nice and snug to keep you still.  And off we go.  This room is dark and cool.  The scan takes about thirty minutes.  I am exhausted by this time.  I fell asleep about five minutes into it.  A nice little cat nap.  I wake up when the technician comes back into the room at the end of the scan.  All went well, so off I go back to the mammogram area.  The nurse informs me that the doctor would like to have an ultra sound done.  So down the hall we go to the ultra sound room.  This test takes about twenty minutes and then I have to wait for the doctor to look at the images.

Southpaw the Ultra Sound Tech

The ultra sound looks fine and they schedule me for another mammogram in six months.  My day is now complete, nine and a half hours later.  No treat today, I just want to go home and go to sleep.