Tomorrow I will begin all of the pretesting necessary for the clinical trial that I will begin next week. I am both excited and nervous. Tomorrow I will have a full body CT scan, full body bone scan, EKG, and blood work. These will be used as a baseline for comparison reasons during the clinical trial. I'm excited because they have had great results on this trial thus far with other patients and are optimistic for me as well- plus little to no side effects. I'm nervous because I haven't been on any medication to fight the cancer for the past month- there has to be a time period of no treatment before beginning a new clinical trial- so I am a little nervous about what the scans will show. Hopefully it will still be contained in my bones and not have spread.
After all of the testing tomorrow, I will begin the trial next week. The trial is through the Sara Cannon Research Institute and consist of combining 2 pills that are already being used in cancer treatment to prove they fight cancer more aggressively in combination. Every 6-8 weeks I will have a scan to see how well it is working. At any point that it is determined it is not working, I immediately stop and go to another treatment, which they already have discussed with me (it includes chemo- so hopefully we won't get to that point). If the treatment is working and they are able to see positive results, I can continue it as long as it works.
Along with the clinial trial, I am also going to have a needle biopsy of some of the lesions in my spine- to see how that cancer compares in all areas with my original breast cancer. Knowing everything they can about the cancer in my spine, will help them determine why previous treatments haven't worked and what treatments may be better options. They are determining right now what point in time I need to have that bone biopsy completed. I may find that out tomorrow at the appointment.
Good news- so far the reconstruction recovery is going well! Things are healing well and so far my body hasn't rejected anything. It will be a few months before this process is complete, but so far, so good. Things are going great. I feel wonderful and am loving life! Thank you for your continued prayers.
A huge thank you to all of you who have given money to our family- either by the benefit, donations, in the mail, or being a part of one of our events. I have no idea how to thank each of your without spending all day everyday writing thank you notes. Please know how thankful we are for each of you. We now have a medical account set up that will help with my monthly medical bills, tests, and any surgeries that may be needed in the future. It also gives us the option for me to travel different places if needed for more trials, without worrying about putting our family into a financial burden. This medical account allows us to breathe easier as we look toward the future- with all the unknowns, it at least is comforting to know there are funds set aside to help pay for whatever treatment plan is needed to help me fight this beast of a cancer.
For now, Keep Praying, Keep fighting, Keep living!!
