March 6, 2020

(3/6/2020) Dear Friends and Family -

I hope spring is starting to poke it's head above the snow for many of you. We've had a lovely few days of warmth and sun and the weekend looks to be very spring-like!

I'm happy to report I have a new friend I'm calling Stable Mabel! I had scans last Friday and met with my oncologist on Tuesday. He said all indications are that I am stable. This means no new areas of progression of the cancer and so the medication continues to work. This is the best possible news we could get. I'm hoping that Stable Mabel and I become the best of friends and she hangs around for a long time!

Generally I'm feeling good. Side effects from medication continue to be minimal, for which I am grateful. If you're interested in more detail on the scans and such, I've included some below.

I will continue to take medication, every day. I will keep meeting with my doctor each month have scans every 3 months or so. I suspect my next scans will be early summer. The scans are the only way to really tell if the medication continues to stop the cancer progression. So for now, we have a little peace of mind. We will repeat this all over again (the scans and scanxiety) in a few months.

Even though I have a suppressed immune system, I am not at high risk for catching the flu or COVID-19, at least no more so than any other 50 yr old. We all got flu shots and like you, are diligent about washing hands and keeping things clean.

The girls are doing ok but struggling a little. It’s hard enough being a teen without worrying about your moms cancer.

It may sound like we are a broken record, we really are grateful for you all. Have a great weekend.

Much love,
Donna & Glen

Long version: I'm continuing to take Ibrance and Anastrazole daily and get monthly treatments of Zometa and Lupron. The Ibrance stops the cancer cells from dividing and growing and the Anastrazone prevents the cancer from taking up estrogen (kind of like its 'food'). Zometa strengthens my bones and Lupron induces menopause (decreases the amount of estrogen in my body). My cancer is what they call ER/PR+ and HER2- (responds positively to estrogen and progesterone and is negative for the HER2 gene).

I keep a detailed health/medical journal (thank you science training) and have documented patterns in sleep, fatigue, and other minor side effects. Knowing what is coming at different times of the month is helpful.

Since PET scans are expensive and insurance doesn't like to cover them, I get 2 scans: a bone scan and CT scan. The combination of the two largely gives the same information as the PET scan. Both are pretty quick. it does take up a 1/2 day to get them both though. What better way to spend a Friday afternoon?

The bone scan is a nuclear imaging procedure. It requires me to get an injection of radioactive materials and then go back to the hospital 4 hours later. During the 4 hour period, the radioactive materials collect in areas of the bone that are impacted by cancer. I lay on a table and the instrument/scanner detects where the radioactive materials are. This procedure takes about 20 minutes and once they get past my head I can actually see the scan results in real time on a monitor. It's pretty wild actually.

The CT scan was done from my chest/shoulders to my thighs. It requires me to not eat for 4 hours prior to the scan. The entire procedure takes only ~10 minutes. They put an IV in my arm before doing 2 base-line scans. After that they inject a contrast and do a final scan. The contrast helps them see my soft tissue and organs better. Other than the bones, the most common places for breast cancer cells to migrate to are the lungs, liver and brain. The CT scan doesn't image the brain. An MRI images the brain. I had one in July and it was clear. They won't do another unless I have symptoms such as seizures, vision problems, balance, etc.

Glen and I walk everyday, outside if the weather is decent. This is the path around our local “lake” (large pond). I’m excited that the warmer weather is on the horizon!