Roxanne's Cancer Journey

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple weeks. It's been a rough couple of weeks. I had to disontinue KISQALI for 2 weeks due to very low white blood cells. Then Dan drove me to BOSTON for an FES PET Scan which is a special PET for ER+ cancer as it uses an estrogen-based tracer (instead of a glucose one). It lit up like crazy which is good in that my treatment is well matched. It is not so good in that the cancer is pretty widespread. It is bascially in ALL my bones and all my lymph nodes as well as my chest wall. It didn't light up in any organs, which is a celebration! If the cancer didn't spread to organs, the prognosis is better because my organs can stay working and handle the current and future medications. Then, upon return, I fell and broke a tendon in my right foot. It turned black and blue and I couldn't walk for a couple days but now I am hobbling around. It is a reminder I am still healing and need to be extremely careful. On aoother note, I made a delicious...

The concept is not new. We can use food as medicine to create a terrain that makes it hard for cancer to grow and thrive. It is also possible that some foods could kill some types of cancer cells. I belive this, anyway. So this week's post it to share what I have been doing in terms of diet to help my body, my terrain. Clearly, something was way off for the cancer to grow and take root. So I made changes. I never really ate processed foods or even gluten as I'm gluten sensitive. But now I am taking it to a whole new level. Every day I intermittent fast 20:4. I eat from 12 noon to 4pm and I don't eat anything the rest of the time. There is some research to support that fasting supports the organs and is a great anti-cancer too. It really isn't that hard. I am not so hungry anyway. And it is so much easier to plan and cook only one meal a day. In additon, I have a pretty strict diet that has ingredients that are very anti-cancer. Here is the list: Cruciferous veggies dai...

After I completed round 1 of KISQALI I asked the oncologists to reduce my dose from 600mg daily to 400mg daily because I watched my immune system numbers drop and was scared of what that meant for my ability to fight infections. However, both convinced me to remain on the higher dose, so I did. Well, now after round 2, my neutrophil count is in the dangerously low levels and both oncologists want me to take a total break from the KISQALI! My WBC is 1.5 and I am Grade 3 neutropenic at .74. I am fighting infections. I am totally exhausted. I nap three hours a day. I feel like I have mono. I have oral and throat thrush. I am being tested for a possible kidney infection. I have a bizare cyst or enlarged lymph node they want to do an ultrasound on. I have mouth sores. The medicine sometimes is worse than the disease. I knew early on the huge dose was too much for my body and finally I am being listened to, better late than after a potentially life threatening event. I read that Stage 4 is ...

I am officially weaned off my steroid DEXAMTHASONE!!! I have been on it for about 7 weeks for pain. I started at 2mg and tried to wean off twice in last few weeks, but today marks 48 hours off of it with no increase in pain. I am now on Tylenol only. I will take this as a minor win. I gained 14 pounds on DEXA and it totally disrupted my sleep and made me wired all day and all night. But I needed it to decrease bad bone pain and cancer soft tissue pain. My cancer numbers must be low enough now that I don't need it anymore and I am very happy to not be on it!!! DEXA is pretty strong and they use it for cancer often. The conversion to the more known steroid of prednisone is 0.75 mg Dexamethasone = 5 mg Prednisone so my starting dose was kinda high. Plus, the KISQALI increases the amount in circulation two fold. My face was getting really puffy and I am now trying to get rid of oral thrush as a result of the steroid (it lowers immune system). I'll take this little win!!! Bye, Bye, ...

My eldest daughter is back at college. I was well enough to drive there (only 10 minutes away) to bring her a few things. She wanted me there to help her make her bed and I wanted that memory for her. It's funny now I think about making memories a lot now that time has a different value to me. I will be spending time with my other daughter this weekend- maybe going for a walk and out to breakfast. People who I love matter so much to me; they did before and it is just amplified now. I feel like time is so undervalued- I definately took it for granted before this diagnosis. And now that I am grieving what might be lost- in terms of days I have here- I want to be sure that I spend every day doing something that I love or spending some time each day with someone I love.

Finally some good news, because the ZOMETA gave me the worst flu of my life. Here is the news: After three weeks on Kisqali (round 1) and 6 weeks of Anastrozole there is a downward trend in my CA 27-29 tumor marker which is a highly encouraging early sign. YIPPPEEE! In the context of cancer treatment, a rapid drop indicates that the medication is actively working against the cancer cells. However, oncologists generally view this as a positive first step rather than a definitive final result, as tumor markers can fluctuate early on. Why a drop is a great start: The combination of Kisqali (a CDK4/6 inhibitor) and anastrozole (an aromatase inhibitor) is designed to halt the growth of hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer. Seeing your numbers fall so quickly suggests the tumors are sensitive to this combination. Markers are only one piece of the puzzle: While a declining CA 27-29 is a great indicator, oncologists do not rely on blood tests alone. I am working hard with my medical team...