Xeloda Update and All that Goes with It....

A week ago I had another "check-in" appointment with my oncologist. He looked at my latest blood tests: CBC and tumor markers (CA15-3 and CEA) and said they were great, as in my grade would be an A+ if were in a school for cancer patients. My tumor markers are continuing to decrease at a very good rate. In three months my CA15-3 has gone down from 1005 to 440. Normal would be close to zero. And my CEA has gone down from around 100 to 35'ish. Again, normal would be close to zero. (However, it's good to keep in mind that there are very healthy people whose numbers are much higher than zero, and there are very sick people whose numbers are in the normal range. So....as I said in an earlier post, tumor markers are best used mainly as a way to see how your disease is "trending." Nothing more.

I haven't posted much lately because I've been working especially hard at my job running the Writing Salon - just went through a wildly busy month that is now finally slowing down - and I am ready to rest. The low-dose chemo that I am on (Xeloda pills) makes me anemic, not from iron deficiency but another kind of anemic that is caused specifically by Xeloda. The Xeloda-induced anemia, however, causes the same symptoms as iron deficiency anemia: I get very tired, much more quickly than I used to. If I don't sleep well (and usually I don't), then by afternoon I am operating at quarter-mast. Half-mast if I am lucky. But I keep reminding myself that being really tired and without energy is better than a whole lot of other chemo side-effects that I am fortunately not experiencing.

At the moment I am ecstatic because I slept well last night and at 1:30 p.m. am not yet exhausted. I'm half-watching the movie Benjamin Button as I work on the computer. I just ate spaghetti for "brunch." And I am thinking of taking time out to go lie on my "bio-mat" for an hour or two. I did this yesterday and I think it helped my now-chronic, also Xeloda-caused lower back pain (and also left sciatica nerve irritation/aches). The bio-mat is interesting and supposedly helps to improve many different physical ailments. You can google it for specific information on what they say it's good for. If used in a very specific way (highest temperatures of 160 degrees, on a regular schedule - you can induce a heavy sweat that is not particularly pleasant but supposedly kills cancer cells). I think it's really important that I don't put all my eggs in one basket, ie. Xeloda. I intend to continue doing a variety of "alternative" healing stuff, forever. I think it's super important to be vigilant and never let down your guard with breast cancer, esp. bc that has metasticized. 

So... Brad Pitt is rejecting Cate Blanchett's attempt to seduce him. And I must get back to work. I got really behind on my business tax receipt-filing, on my Quicken accounting, etc., while I was going through my fractured ribs and Tamoxifen hell, etc. As in: I am about five or six months behind. I can't even remember most of those months, now. It's like a big gray blurry blank of time, during which I let oh so many things slide into oblivion. I still have no idea how I kept the business going! I really don't. It's weird. When and how did I do the work? All I can remember is immobility and pain. But here I am, body and business still intact, still moving forward, and feeling better, little by little, every day

Comments

[Lisa]

I appreciate your news on Xeloda as my doctor has recommended it as a course of treatment if hormone therapy fails. ( he is first recommending Lupron and Arimedix as I am pre-menopause and tamox is not working). I am happy to hear the upturn for you!

[Harlan Lewps]

Sorry, you're delusional. Nobody turns down Cait Blanchett.

[Julie]

Better we should ace cancer school, eh? You go Jane!

[linda]

Thanks for this great post.

[Claudia]

So glad to hear of the positive results, Jane!

[julie minoff]

Such wonderful news!

[Jeff Kennedy]

Sounds good, Jane. Here's to the trend!