SPRING! Updates!
Spring for me comes between the vernal equinox and Easter usually. But this year mother nature started a little early in SW Ohio and seems to be (after an unseasonably warm week or so) letting spring unfurl slowly, which is lovely.
With spring comes, traditionally, hope. And I'm feeling more than a little after a dark winter. I know I am not alone, and that things are in some ways objectively better, but in others crushing. Ok...enough of that, let's get specific as you're here for that!
I started a new line of treatment a little over a month ago- continuing to target estrogen using a different mechanism and switching targets in intracellular signaling pathways. Specifically, Afinitor/everolimus is a daily pill and mTOR inhibitor and Faslodex/fulvestrant is an estrogen receptor antagonist. I'm also continuing with Zometa for bone strength, but once every three months instead of monthly (yay!). Physically, this regimen is not bad at all. I think it's wreaking a little havoc on the cognitive side (brain fog & short term memory is a bit rough), but that could be *waves hands wildly* all this other stuff too. I'm losing my hair, but slowly and enjoying the new haircut.
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| Haircut! |
Taking a few steps back on how we got here....I met with both my Dana Farber oncologist (Dr. Heather Parsons) and an oncologist up at OSU, Daniel Stover, recommended by Dr. Parsons at DF. He was wonderful, and spent a lot of time talking about possible next steps from wait and see to clinical trials, to standard of care options. Woo! Loved it. I'm not eligible for clinical trials due to lack of measurable soft tissue tumors (most of mine are bone or super small pleural). However, I did get to hear about them, and it makes me hopeful not only for metastatic breast cancer but all cancers. The most cutting edge one was an oncolytic virus (targets and kills cancer cells) paired with immunotherapy. They're also working on oral versions of the Faslodex injection. I would go for that for sure, primarily for convenience, but also they are not comfortable. I'm also considering a trial for a new type of PET scan that uses flouride instead of glucose to better measure bone lesions. The hope is that bone lesions can be more reliably measured and therefore used to track disease in clinical trials (a lot of MBC patients only have bone mets, rendering them ineligible). Science!
Back to decisions: based on some pain and scans we decided on the current course of treatment down here in Cincinnati since it's much more convenient. I also switched local oncologists to a breast cancer specialist (Dr. Gina Chung). So far I like her. She suggested seeing a genetic counselor. Two weeks later, and, unsurprisingly, it's not genetic (as far as known variants for 84 genes). She also noted some elevated tumor markers (different than original set) so we're going to follow those and of course any symptoms. Scans at four months from start of treatment (so, July-ish).
So. With all of this and knowing down the road I will likely want/need to enroll in a clinical trial up at OSU, we didn't want to move further from Columbus. This led to terminating the contract on the Anderson house (they were amazingly understanding) and finding one in Mason. After inspection it turned out it needed foundation and water work in the crawl space. That should start Monday, and we hope to close May 10th. It has a fenced in yard for Hermes and plenty of room for a garden. It does mean a late start, and the baby plants are quickly maturing; luckily my sister Shell's garden is growing larger, and she is happy to take some off my hands.
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| New house :-) |
More on ungrading when the semester is over. Students, faculty and staff are struggling, too many of my students (and colleagues) with very serious life events, and it's heartbreaking. Be kind to each other, and offer grace wherever you can.
Also, I'm planning a major road trip for summer. More to come...
Love you all & thank you for the cards, thoughts, messages, and just reading through and being around.
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