Cancer Marker CA15.3

Our greatest glory is not in never falling,

but in rising every time we fall.

~ Confucius







My visit to the oncologist was much better than expected.  My cancer marker C15.3 has come down from 78 to 49.  Hooray!!!  Cancer markers are tricky things and individual.  Mine have been quite good in terms of reflecting where my cancer is at.  At it's highest it was 80 and the lowest was 29.  Some people have it in thousands.  My understanding is that it is not the amount per se that is relevant but the trend for the individual person, whether it is going up or down.  Some people don't have the marker and for some it is not a reliable indicator.

There does not seem to be a test that is completely reliable.  PET , MRI, CT scans all have their flaws and usually you need more than one test to check what is going on.  If you have a relatively reliable cancer marker that seems to be very lucky as it is easily checked with a simple blood test.  The scans all contribute more radiation to your body and they are more expensive.  The laboratory in Greece that I sometimes use does do circulating cancer cell counts from a blood sample.  It is controversial as to it's accuracy but in conjunction with other assessments can be quite useful.

Everything else in the blood screen was good.  Liver and kidney function all ok and red and white blood cell counts all good.  The new anti estrogen drug, Fareston, is causing mild problems with skin reactions.  Lots of itchy little blisters with red lumps all over my body.  Mostly arms and legs.  Oncologist thinks it is an allergy reaction so I have started taking antihistamines.  Will see how that goes.  Hopefully some improvement.  At least I am not getting as much pain in my hands and feet although hips and knees are just as sore.  Muscle cramping is about the same, as are the hot flushes, head aches, nausea and constipation.

Generally I am feeling quite good.  Still getting tired enough to need a lie down most afternoons but better than when I was first diagnosed.  Walking the dogs in the park across the road is a highlight in the morning especially when it is sunny.  It is a lovely park with a couple of creeks running through it with little cascades and plenty of trees and shrubs.  It has about a 1 km circuit with some undulations so I also feel like I am getting some exercise.  When I am having a really good day I manage to get around twice.  The dogs love it too.

I have also taken up cross stitch.  When I was visiting my mother I found one in a shop in Hawks Nest with 4 green budgies that appealed and thought I would give it a go.  My mother has been doing cross stitch for 50 years and does some beautiful work.  She has recently made one for me with a buddha on it.  Beautiful.  Never thought I would have the patience for it.  My older sister has done some and enjoyed it but it never appealed to me before.  I am really enjoying it, finding it very soothing.  It requires enough concentration so that other thoughts don't get a chance but not enough to be taxing.  Having cancer really does teach patience and I have had to slow down so much it is now a pleasant hobby.


Surviving and thriving.
Linda

Radiation....

Patience is the ability to let your light shine

after your fuse has blown.

~ Bob Levey

Radiation was daily for 10 days with a weekend off in between.  The treatments were short and not much of a problem other than issues with muscle cramps.  For the treatment I had to lie face down with my head slightly up in a foam support which arched my back slightly.  I then had to put my arms above my head which exaggerated the arch.  I have had problems with muscle cramping in my legs, feet, hands and back (side effect of something I am taking?) and there were a few days when I was having trouble staying in position for the radiation.  The idea is to lie perfectly still once you are in position as the radiation beams are aligned to hit the right spot.  Some days it took a few goes before I could manage that.

Side effects were not what I expected.  No skin burning but my eosophagus was obviously damaged and it became very painful to get food through into my stomach for about two weeks or so after treatment.  Nausea was also a problem from early on in the treatment and now is intermittent, some days are fine other days are not so good.  Not sure now if it is still the after effects of the radiation or if the new anti estrogen drug (Fareston) that I started immediately after radiation finished.

The one side effect I did expect and got was tiredness.  The nausea and tiredness are in any case ongoing problems that I have really had for about 18 months or so, well actually the tiredness has been a problems for about 2 1/2 years.  I am taking so much stuff and it is difficult to know what the cancer is actually doing so that it I can't really pin point the cause of either the nausea or the tiredness.  Is it from treatment I have had or from treatment I am on now or the cancer itself???  I think that more than half the issue with cancer treatment is dealing with side effects rather than the actual cancer symptoms, but who knows.  Oncologists don't seem to want to discuss side effects much other than prescribing more drugs that cause more side effects.  For example, the treatment for nausea causes constipation.  If I then take something for constipation I get cramps and/or diarrhoea.  So I just cope with low grade nausea (no vomiting) so I don't have to deal with constipation etc.  Same with most of the stronger analgesics, they too cause constipation.  Anyone who has had really bad constipation will know how bad that experience can be, and although I am able to give myself enemas, it is a pretty unpleasant experience all round.  So  I manage with just paracetamol which does not have that unpleasant side effect but takes the edge off the pain.

One of the main reasons for radiation to bone metastases, especially in the spine, is for pain control.  In my case it was also necessary to preserve the vertebra as the tumour in T9 was so extensive.  In respect to the pain the treatment has worked.  During the treatment I had reduced pain which returned soon after.  Since then however there has been further reduction in pain.  I am not getting any radiating pain going around the rib cage to the sides and front and the back pain has definitely lessened.  Hopefully that is a sign that the radiation is working.  Half way through the treatment I found out that the treatment is only effective in 70% of cases.  Why can't the oncologists fully inform you prior to treatment.  I would have still gone ahead but the lack of information is frustrating.  It is like getting blood from a stone.  Very little information is volunteered.  If you don't ask the right questions you just don't find things out that may be pertinent.  The problem is I don't always know what the right questions are even though I do a lot of research and participate in breast cancer forums.

Today I had a blood test to check my red & white blood cells, kidney and liver function and to see what the cancer marker CA15.3 is doing.  If it has gone down that would be a really good sign.  If it goes up it doesn't really clarify anything much.  It may mean the cancer is progressing or it may just be that the cancer that was radiated is breaking down and releasing the proteins.  So it makes it difficult to decide on the course of treatment.  I am feeling relatively ok, some days are even quite good and I feel almost 'normal'.  So do I then continue just with what I am on now and risk that the cancer is progessing or do I start chemotherapy and feel like shit for the next 6 months?  Even then that might not work either and then I have lost six months of quality.

Meantime we are planning a little holiday.  On the 3rd April we are renting a campervan and spending 2 weeks on the road.  We are going north along the NSW coast to Byron Bay and then heading inland a bit and coming back down.  Intending to keep a very leisurely pace and look at everything that interests us.  We also have a few friends on the way we will visit and we plan to just chill out.  Never traveled that way before but we both like camping and I imagine this will be a more comfortable camping trip.

Went to visit my mother again in Tea Gardens last weekend and the weather was stunning.  Glorious sunny days and lovely and warm.  Had a picnic lunch by the river, a swim in the bay (someone got bitten by a shark there a few days later - yikes), and iced coffee at our favourite cafe on the water - the Boatshed.  All in all a lovely relaxing time spent.  It was also the first anniversary of my fathers death so it was good to spend that time with my mother.  We had dinner at a restaurant on the river that dad loved going to, nice to remember him enjoying himself.

Now will wait and see what next week at the oncologist brings.

Surviving and thriving

Linda