The Pain of Waiting

Ohmygoodness!! As I'm writing this, I'm experiencing a monsterous cramp, in the back of my right hip! OWWW! This is what I've been dealing with for the last 5 weeks!

It all started during "Atlanta Weekend" (last weekend of June). I thought it was just a temporary thing, because during my flight from Akron to Knoxville (meeting up with my oldest daughter), my plane lost altitude, suddenly. I'm not kidding...we literally fell out of the sky! Scared all the passengers, and of course, I tensed up. Who wouldn't, right??

So, I hobbled through the weekend, expecting to get back to normal, once I returned home. I was wrong. The entire month of July, whatever this is that's happening, got progressively worse! And, I don't even know what caused it!!

What happens is like this...I feel tightness in my lower back, buttocks, hips, and thighs (kind of like a charlie horse) and while these muscles are tight, they spasm! Sometimes the spasms come first, but not always; and recently, my calves, and feet, have been twitchy, as well....so, it's spreading. At first, it only happened at night, then it began happening right around lunch time...now, I'm in the pain zone all day. I've even been woke up by charlie horse sensations, in the middle of the night! Not nice!!

I've asked my Surgeon to call in a prescription for Skelaxin, after clearing it with my Oncologist. My sister uses it, and she gave me one, one afternoon; it felt so good to move without being in pain!! And, my Oncologist said it wouldn't interfere with the chemo pill. But, I'm still waiting for my insurance company to approve the prescription! I've been waiting for about a week, now...I didn't have to wait THIS long for my Xeloda to be approved!!

This whatever it is has significantly limited my activities. It takes me twice as long as normal to get from the recliner to the bathroom, now; and traveling anywhere is agony!! I've even had to spend the night in the recliner (now I sleep there, every night), because laying down in my bed is impossible, without dealing with excruciating pain! And, until I can get some relief, I won't be very active...which, consequently, will make my condition worse...and/or cause more problems.

I've been trying to get in to see my Surgeon, so he can run some tests to see if we can (hopefully) discover what's gone wrong, but his schedule has been totally screwy, lately; he's had to reschedule me five times! Hopefully, I'll be able to see him, next week! It's been a year, since my surgery....I shouldn't be having this issue!!

Something is very wrong...and I hope it can be fixed!!

On a brighter note, I think I've found my "magic number" with my chemo pill, Xeloda! I can tolerate four pills a day, as long as they're spaced apart. So, I take two pills in the morning, and two in the evening; I just hope my Oncologist is ok with this! LOL! I'm feeling good, other than the muscle thing! And, I'm looking forward to him telling me, "it's gone!"

Have a great weekend, my loves! I'll keep you updated, as soon as I know anything!

God bless you! oxoxox

Oncology Update

As many of you know, I had another CAT Scan, last week; and my Oncologist suggested I call him this week, to discuss the results. Well, I called him yesterday, but didn't get to talk to him, because he wasn't in the office...so, he called me, this evening. I thought you'd want to get an update on my progress.

Some of the lymph nodes on my left side are getting bigger, as are a few tumors in my spine. The good news is, that's all the bad news he had...the rest of the tumors are insignificant, now; and the other nodes are normal. And it isn't spreading to any of my vital organs!

I'm going to call in, next week, and schedule an appointment to see him next month, so we can discuss further treatment options. He had suggested doing another round of chemo, and I told him I'd think about it. I really don't want to go that route, though!

But, I will not be defeated...I will not give in, or give up!! God said this disease will not end in death, and I'm holding Him to it!! LOL!

Update on Progress

I've had a couple "update" appointments with my Oncologist, recently...things are progressing quite well!

My first update was a full-body bone scan; had to do that, because my spine was full of tumors, so he wanted to see if any of them were gone, yet. The second update was a CT Scan, to see if any vital organs were affected, and to check the size of the mass in my left breast, as well as the size of my lymph nodes in my left armpit.

Results of the bone scan - I have a touch of arthritis in my knees, hips and shoulders; and most of the tumors down my spine are either gone, or significantly reduced in size. One of them has become larger, but my Oncologist doesn't seem too concerned about that, just yet.

Results of the CT Scan - I have a few cysts in my woman parts and my liver (not to worry, he says), and I have a few gallstones (also no worries, at this time). None of my vital organs were damaged, nor are they showing any signs of tumors! Yay!! And, my lymph nodes in my left armpit have significantly reduced in size, and so has the mass in my left breast!! Praise God, it's ALMOST gone!! I am continuing to stand on Scripture for my healing!!

So...what's the game plan now?? Continue taking Tamoxifen (once a day), eating properly (loads of fresh veggies and fruit, not so much processed stuff...and NO soy!!), and exercising (Physical Therapy - 3 times a week).

I love my life!!