Thursday, 6 September

Karen and I met with the PA (physician assistant) who did what has become a routine exam. The PA recommended Karen have another PET scan to determine if this treatment is working and if so to what degree. The tumor markers indicate it isn’t working as the levels have continued to rise with the last test showing them now at 509. This usually means they will want to change treatments again. Karen has told the doctors; that she can’t wrap her mind around another change at this time and always reserves the right to stop altogether. Those can be heavy words if you believe that only medicine will bring changes to Karen’s health. Unless you’ve walked through the “medicine menagerie” as I call the drugs used to fight cancer, it’s hard to describe how hard it is to hear the medicine you’ve been taking that has made you as sick as you’ve ever been in your life isn’t working and now we’d like to “try” something else.

Her blood counts (white, red, platelets, etc.) were up enough for her to receive a full dose of the chemotherapy drug Gemzar that she has been taking. She also received an infusion of Herceptin.

Friday, 7 September

The day after treatment began with a low grade fever, flu like aches and pains, nausea and severe fatigue. All of which have become the weekly norm with the drugs she is now taking which the rising tumor markers indicate aren’t working.

We did receive encouraging news from the radiation oncologist about the follow up scan done after the Gamma Knife surgery. At this time it appears the only two active spots of cancer in the brain are the ones they targeted with radiation which should be successful in killing the cancer there. She will be scheduled for another follow up MRI of the brain after three months.

That’s all the medical news for now, thanks for stopping by to check on Karen and for praying for our family. Until next time…