Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog

OK...so it's been six months since I last stepped foot into the gym, but today I did it!   I've been thinking that I needed to get back into a workout routine before my fatigue totally took over and I would never go back.   This morning when I decided that today was the day, I, as usual, felt exhausted.  I could have easily talked myself into putting it off for another day.  Before my diagnosis, I'd often go for a workout then come home and take a short nap.  Today I decided to try something different.  I took the nap before going to workout.   It felt great to be there again.  Although I saw familiar faces,  there were some machines, etc. that have been moved around since I was last there, so I had to search for my favorites.     Surprisingly, I got teary-eyed as I started my workout.  I was so grateful to be able to be there.  I have been consistently hopeful that I would get strong enough to return to the gym...

It's a strange thing...at this time in my cancer journey, I feel like I may be having more symptoms from withdrawing from OxyContin/oxycodone than from my cancer.  As of this week, I�m down to 10 mg of OxyContin/oxycodone, (oxy). About 10 days ago my friend, Debbie, said to me, �You know a lot of people�don�t you know someone that can help you with getting off of it?�   I then remembered that I have a childhood friend, W.H., who is a Pharm.D. at a large medical center in St. Louis.   W.H. and I have been dear friends since grade school and I don�t know why I didn�t think of him sooner.   I kept thinking I needed to consult someone in the detox or pain management fields.   Since I contacted W.H., he has given me his professional advice and a weaning schedule, all wrapped up in friendship.   I, once again, am so grateful for the support I have around me and have learned a few things: OxyContin is the extended release version of oxycodone. The dosing for...

     If you've never been to Charleston, SC, put it on your bucket list. Wynn and I had a wedding to go to in Savannah, GA so we went a week earlier and spent five days in Charleston first.  The city is rich with early American history, (slavery, Civil War), beautifully preserved buildings , (homes and plantations), art galleries and amazing food.  Wynn's brothers, (Michael and Bruce) and their wife (Debbie) and significant other (Tracey) joined us there. We didn't enjoy a lot of sunny days, but we did enjoy spending time together. I'm the one all bundled up...cancer often makes me cold.      For some reason, I naively thought that native Southerners would be somewhat sheepish, or even embarrassed, about their history of slavery.  Although I wouldn't characterize the feeling as "pride", I definitely got the sense that Southerners certainly aren't ashamed of their slavery past. They're very matter of fact about it.  This was my ...

Earlier today I had a series of CT scans, (chest, abdomen, and pelvis) to see if the oral chemotherapy, (Xalkori), I've been taking for the past 8 weeks is working.  I am thrilled to write that my oncologist called me tonight to let me know that the tumor in my lung is about half the size it used to be and the tumors in my liver are all shrinking.  The mets to my bones are about the same, and certainly are not worse.  My oncologist said that it is not unusual for bone mets to take a little longer to respond to chemotherapies.  He is very optimistic...and I am too!    Since there is little data about Xalkori use with ROS1 mutation patients, we have no idea how long it will work for me, but for now, things are all going in the right direction.  My liver enzymes are back to normal and other labs are also headed in the right directions.   Wynn and I traveled to Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA last week. Despite cloudy skies and some rain, we had a won...