This update isn’t as good as I had hoped. As I mentioned in the last update a few months ago I started on a new chemo, well it actually did more harm than good. It didn’t really touch the tumors. In the pet scan I had last week there has been a lot of growth in the tumor on the liver and the tumor on the breast. I don’t think I mentioned before that the tumor on my breast is a fungating tumor which means it is pretty much growing on the outside (very gross looking). It has a lot of drainage some blood and because it is sitting right next to a lymph node I am getting a lot of lymph fluid drainage, which I guess is good it is draining and not recirculating into my body. It is getting large enough now that I am using a baby size 3 diaper to cover it with and collect all the fluid. It does have a nasty odor . I have some pills that I crush up to put on it to help with the odor but they are not working as well as they did in the beginning.

As I mentioned the new chemo did more harm than good. I had to have an ekg to make sure my heart was good enough so I could get a port put in ( a place to put my chemo so that they don’t have to poke me every time) well it didn’t come back very happy it showed I have a left bundle branch block which I knew I had and have had it for years but it was never an issue. The anesthesiologist wanted to do an echocardiogram just to make sure everything was good to go.  I figured no big deal just go get it done then reschedule for the port.  Well come to find out my heart is now only functioning at 30 percent, which explains a lot. Right after I started this chemo I started having a hard time doing things I normally do, it took way more energy and I was tired all the time. I am not going to lie I am so so very angry about this. My heart was fine but now because of the chemo it is not. I have heard a lot about how chemo destroys your body it is so very true. So it is a damned if you do and damned if you don’t.  I am waiting for a call from the cardiologist to get an appointment to see where we go from here as far as the heart.

It also depleted my iron levels and my hemoglobin my hemoglobin was under 8, they had said that under 8 they start thinking about a blood transfusion. I also had way low iron so they are giving me iron transfusions. I worry about the iron since I have read that doses  iron will feed cancer. That may be one of the reasons why it has grown so much.

I do start a new chemo on Friday that is more heart-friendly so hopefully it will work and not have the ugly side effects.

I will get through this and come out stronger on the other side.

P.S. I appreciate all the prayers and good thoughts.