My heart is good. The herceptin drip can continue to eliminate any stray cancer cells. YEAH! I can have my port removed next June after my herceptin treatments are finished. YEAH! This means I can start wearing 45 pound backpacks to start training for the "big" climb in summer of 2011. Hip, Hip, Hooray!
On a more humorous note, when I said I had experienced rage and wanted to hurl my shoe against the wall, she chalked it up to "menopause." She said my exhaustion is probably a side effect of radiation. She suggested I wait until I feel better before taking the hormone pill I am to take for the next five years. More humor... a side effect of this pill is hot flashes. I might as well carry around an air conditioner.
Happy Thanksgiving! As I wade through this disease I give thanks every day for so many things. Some things I took for granted, but not too many. I know how lucky I am to be surrounded by such incredible people (I LOVE YOU), a job that pays more than $7.50 an hour, a roof over my head, and health insurance (as ridiculously expensive as it is). Sometimes we focus on what we don't have, and fail to appreciate what we do have.
We have so much to give thanks for every day.
There are no guarantees. We give thanks for what we have TODAY.
Keep Pink Tough and Expect Great Things.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The "New " Study
How am I you ask? I won't know about my MUGA (heart) scan until Tuesday when I meet with the oncologist and have another dose of chemo. Three weeks goes awfully fast when you're not looking forward to something. I put up a good front, but I am tired and often feel ill. There are days when I wake up and feel great, like a "normal" human. Days that I use to take for granted. I mowed the front and back lawn last week. First time since the fall of 2008. It was a joyous event for me! Silly me...I was sure once I'd finished the worst of the chemo and radiation I'd be back to my ol' self. There are days I wish I didn't need to work, but I also know sitting home doing nothing won't make me feel any better. Might make me feel worse. Yikes!
Women don't need mammograms until they're fifty. All that radiation and fear may cause more damage. False positives make women endure things that they might not have had to. I am not fifty. My mammogram showed a spidery mass. The nurse didn't even wait till the biopsy was done to tell me I had breast cancer. She knew by the shape. There is not a history of breast cancer in my family. My last mammogram was billed at $863.00. Would I have payed out that amount if insurance didn't pay? I doubt it. It would never have occurred to me that I was at risk. This "team's" reasoning for waiting until fifty was that it saves only one life out of 1,904 women. That would be my life!
How am I you ask? I whine. I miss my hair and less porky body. I miss waking up and feeling good more days than not. I am glad I had a mammogram. I am angry about the "team's" recommendation and can only hope that insurance companies won't change covering mammograms before a woman is fifty.
Keep Pink Tough and Expect Great Things
Women don't need mammograms until they're fifty. All that radiation and fear may cause more damage. False positives make women endure things that they might not have had to. I am not fifty. My mammogram showed a spidery mass. The nurse didn't even wait till the biopsy was done to tell me I had breast cancer. She knew by the shape. There is not a history of breast cancer in my family. My last mammogram was billed at $863.00. Would I have payed out that amount if insurance didn't pay? I doubt it. It would never have occurred to me that I was at risk. This "team's" reasoning for waiting until fifty was that it saves only one life out of 1,904 women. That would be my life!
How am I you ask? I whine. I miss my hair and less porky body. I miss waking up and feeling good more days than not. I am glad I had a mammogram. I am angry about the "team's" recommendation and can only hope that insurance companies won't change covering mammograms before a woman is fifty.
Keep Pink Tough and Expect Great Things
Thursday, November 12, 2009
The $1,000,000 Plan
I continue to be amazed by the medical community. My mother's doctor said it is "sick," and she worries about catastrophic illness.
Syndicated Columnist Nicholas Kristof states that U.S ranks 31st in life expectancy. 37th in infant mortality. Americans take 10% fewer drugs than citizens in other countries but pay 118% more per pill that they do take. We say we're the best, but we are behind Europe. Citizens in other countries get longer hospital stays and more medication than Americans do, because our insurance companies evict people from hospitals as soon as they stagger of bed.
I e-mailed my doctor and asked about getting my MUGA scan scheduled for the end of the month. "Could I please schedule it on the same day I see you and have chemo so I only have to take one day off of work?" All of a sudden it became imperative for them that I have it ASAP. What would have happened if I hadn't e-mailed? My chemo would be canceled until I could have it. Group Health confirmed that there are no appointment slots open in Tacoma until mid December. So I am now scheduled in Bellevue for this Monday.
Group Health has medical records on line. I'm actually getting freaked out about my $1,000,000 life time limit. The port put in was $10,000, the breast surgery $10,000, each big chemo $6,500, radiation $30,000...and so on. All the costs for physicals and colds, etc. that I've had for the last ten years are adding up.Once in awhile I check my record online for costs. My "little" chemos have ranged from $2,450 to $2,700. I wrote and asked, "Why the difference? They are the same chemical and same amount." They were quite quick to respond. "Our error. They should all be $2,700, but we'll be nice and keep our error at that cost and not change it on your billing."
My question is, if we become to ill to look after ourselves and be our own advocate, who will? Will the government plan stop covering people when they've used a $1,000,000? Will it cover pre-existing conditions? Will the new government health plan cure the system? Will it cure me? Will it cure you? Your loved ones?
Make Pink Tough and Expect Great Things
Syndicated Columnist Nicholas Kristof states that U.S ranks 31st in life expectancy. 37th in infant mortality. Americans take 10% fewer drugs than citizens in other countries but pay 118% more per pill that they do take. We say we're the best, but we are behind Europe. Citizens in other countries get longer hospital stays and more medication than Americans do, because our insurance companies evict people from hospitals as soon as they stagger of bed.
I e-mailed my doctor and asked about getting my MUGA scan scheduled for the end of the month. "Could I please schedule it on the same day I see you and have chemo so I only have to take one day off of work?" All of a sudden it became imperative for them that I have it ASAP. What would have happened if I hadn't e-mailed? My chemo would be canceled until I could have it. Group Health confirmed that there are no appointment slots open in Tacoma until mid December. So I am now scheduled in Bellevue for this Monday.
Group Health has medical records on line. I'm actually getting freaked out about my $1,000,000 life time limit. The port put in was $10,000, the breast surgery $10,000, each big chemo $6,500, radiation $30,000...and so on. All the costs for physicals and colds, etc. that I've had for the last ten years are adding up.Once in awhile I check my record online for costs. My "little" chemos have ranged from $2,450 to $2,700. I wrote and asked, "Why the difference? They are the same chemical and same amount." They were quite quick to respond. "Our error. They should all be $2,700, but we'll be nice and keep our error at that cost and not change it on your billing."
My question is, if we become to ill to look after ourselves and be our own advocate, who will? Will the government plan stop covering people when they've used a $1,000,000? Will it cover pre-existing conditions? Will the new government health plan cure the system? Will it cure me? Will it cure you? Your loved ones?
Make Pink Tough and Expect Great Things
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Herceptin
You're done with radiation. What next? People thought I was done with the "whole program" once I finished radiation. WRONG! I continue to have Herceptin. I have had it with my other chemotherapy since June 2009.
Herceptin
What is it? A drug for breast cancer patients. What does it do? The drug attaches to cancer cells and tells the body's defense mechanism to target and destroy cancer cells. What are side effects? "Herceptin treatment can result in heart problems, including those without symptoms (reduced heart function) and those with symptoms (congestive heart failure). The most common side effects associated with Herceptin are fever, nausea, vomiting, infusion reactions, diarrhea, infections, increased cough, headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, rash, low white and red blood cells, and muscle pain." How often do I have it administered? Every three weeks.
Side effects of this have been minimal compared to the summer chemotherapy, but it comes with risks and does discombobulate me physically and emotionally(fatigue). I have compared the after effects to being hormonal. I cry easily right after a treatment. If someone looks at me kindly or does an act of kindness I cry. A few weeks ago I tripped over a shoe and wanted to hurl it against a wall. I hope no one flips me off when I'm driving. They don't say anything about being emotional in the literature. After losing a step father, sister, and two dogs within a six month period of time I stopped crying.
Is Herceptin alone to blame, or am I starting to feel again?
Make Pink Tough and Expect Great Things
Herceptin
What is it? A drug for breast cancer patients. What does it do? The drug attaches to cancer cells and tells the body's defense mechanism to target and destroy cancer cells. What are side effects? "Herceptin treatment can result in heart problems, including those without symptoms (reduced heart function) and those with symptoms (congestive heart failure). The most common side effects associated with Herceptin are fever, nausea, vomiting, infusion reactions, diarrhea, infections, increased cough, headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, rash, low white and red blood cells, and muscle pain." How often do I have it administered? Every three weeks.
Side effects of this have been minimal compared to the summer chemotherapy, but it comes with risks and does discombobulate me physically and emotionally(fatigue). I have compared the after effects to being hormonal. I cry easily right after a treatment. If someone looks at me kindly or does an act of kindness I cry. A few weeks ago I tripped over a shoe and wanted to hurl it against a wall. I hope no one flips me off when I'm driving. They don't say anything about being emotional in the literature. After losing a step father, sister, and two dogs within a six month period of time I stopped crying.
Is Herceptin alone to blame, or am I starting to feel again?
Make Pink Tough and Expect Great Things
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