What a Whammy

I went in for Herceptin yesterday and thought it would be my typical 30 minute procedure. I was wrong. Since it had been 3 months since my last treatment they had to give me a bolus drip (3 times the amount) to restart me again and that was scheduled to last 1.5 hours. I went into convulsions and chills about 1 hour into the procedure (just like the first time I received the drug) and we had to stop for 45 minutes and then start up again at a much slower drip rate. Once it was all said and done they held me 30 minutes for observations (I went alone - next time I know to bring someone with me). All in all I was there 4.5 hours. Needless to say I was exhausted when I came home. It felt great to sleep and in and I feel Ok this morning. On a good note, they scheduled 3 more Hercpetin treatments for me before I get another MUGA...

Finally some good news

I know long time no post. There was just so little to say except lots of doctor visits. Per a friend's suggestion, I canceled my appointment with my plastic surgeon last month and am going with a different surgeon, but he can not see me until May. This means I may not get my August surgery date. This friend is a doctor at Hopkins so I trust her recommendation. I figured it is worth the wait. On Tuesday I went in for another MUGA. This time I insisted they used my port instead of my arm as I have only one good vein and one good arm and they need to last me another 40 years (I hope). Well they did accommodate me, but it added another hour to the test. It was worth the wait, as this test showed a 12% improvement in heart function. YEAH. I am now at 57% (well above the 50% I need to continue treatment). So today I am heading into John Hopkins for my Herceptin. Who knew I could be so excited about receiving chemo. Hopefully, I can get in a few more treatments until they order another MUGA and then we may have to wait 3 months again. In my mind, it is worth the wait and hassle. I refuse to give up and will fight this battle with all I have.

Cardiologist Update

I saw the cardiologist last Wednesday. While he did concur that I may have permanent heart damage, he made me feel better when he said I was his healthiest patient. OK he is a transplant doctor so I guess he sees some pretty sick patients. He put me on an ACE Inhibitor to help heal the heart damage and lower my blood pressure (although it was never very high). It sure is effective at lowing the pressure. I normally was running about 128/86. On the medicine it runs about 96/76. Needless to say I am very light headed. If it helps me heal it will be worth it. He is hoping that we can get my ejection fraction rate up to 52%. It is at 45% right now and then we can resume Herceptin treatments. In addition, he gave me the green light for all future surgeries. Yeah... I was very concerned that the heart damage would prevent me from having my reconstruction surgery this summer. I am working on setting up a consultation and surgery date with a plastic surgeon this month.

The picture to the right is me with my second wig on manning a conference in LA last month. Mark calls this look 'wife#2'.

PS. Still a little sore an d bloated from surgery. I am having difficulties finding pants to fit as I appear 5 months pregnant right now. It should go away soon though.