CA15.3 and more

If there is no wind, row.

~ Latin Proverb









Cancer marker CA15.3 has continued to rise and is now up to 60.  This has been rather disconcerting so I had a CT and bone scan to get a better picture of what is going on.  The good news is that there is no cancer in the liver and lungs.  The bad news is that there may be new tumours in the sternum and sacrum.  Both of these are at the joints i.e. at the join of the right clavicle with the sternum joint and right sacroiliac joint.  This makes it hard to differentiate it from arthritis which is showing up on both sides at these joints.  No pain in these areas at this stage.  No change in treatment either.  This is good as I am feeling reasonably well and chemo would have made me feel sick for quite some time.  There is also a limit to how much chemo is given over a lifetime and this means it can be held in reserve if it is needed later.

On recommendation of one of my doctors I had a break from most of my tablets (10 instead of 84) for a few days.  I actually had more energy on those days.  Not sure if that is coincidence or not.  Will have another break in a few weeks and see if I get the same result.  I have contemplated and have discussed reducing my tablet intake with the doctor but it is hard to know which ones to stop.  It is impossible to know which are helping and which aren't.  Maybe they all help but maybe I don't need them to stay healthy.  I have actually increased the tablet intake by adding alpha lipoic acid which is supposed to help with the peripheral neuropathy.  There does seem to be some slight improvement but I will see how it goes over the next few weeks.  It does seem to be a side effect of the thalidomide and basically means the sensory nerves to my feet, and occasionally my fingers, are firing off.  This gives a combination of numbness and hypersensitivity, which seems contradictory but occurs nonetheless.  I am reluctant to reduce the dose of thalidomide at this stage.

I am managing to do my yoga and meditation each morning and walk the dogs, weather permitting.  I have improved my diet a bit again with increased vegetable juice and raw vegetables.  I am hoping that will increase my energy levels.  Weight gain continues to be a problem with it being a side effect of two of the drugs I am taking even though I have reduced my food intake.  Just when I had discarded all my 'fat clothes'.  

Went to Melbourne and saw the Tutankhamun exhibition, it was fantastic.  The craftmanship of the statues and jewellery was amazing.  Beautiful.

So it is steady as she goes, monitoring continuing with CA15.3 over the next couple of months and enjoying life as much as possible.

Surviving and thriving

Linda