Health Update from Toni

Hi friends and family,

    I know it's been a long time since I've sent an update and I've been getting lots of inquiries, so here goes. To cut to the chase.... I'm fine.  Just like always but with a couple of extra pains.  The only ones I can probably attribute to the cancer is the tips of my shoulder bones ache sometimes, and the side and back of my right rib cage feels like somebody kicked me there.  It hurts a little when I reach with my right arm around the front to my left side.  Like when reaching for my seatbelt..... or turning on my electric blanket... that sort of thing.

    It's been over 6 months since my diagnosis, so it's time to repeat all my original scans and tests to see who is winning this fight against stage IV breast cancer.  So far, so good.  The nuclear bone scan & the full body CT scans I had recently show things to be about the same, as far as the spots on my bones go.  I still have it all over my bones, most vertebrae, most ribs, including a possible rib fracture or 2 .... need to ask about that. I have a copy of my test results but have not seen the doc yet to go over it.  I see him once a month at the time of my monthly infusion of Zometa (the bone strengthening agent), which, BTW, is hard enough on my kidneys that they have been giving me TWO bags of saline first, plus a reduced dose of Zometa. Same goes if I have iodine in test.

    I had some heart tests too... mostly just because I've never had my heart checked.  Everything came back normal on those tests.  Also had a CT scan of my head, also normal they say (????)

    My main "tumor marker" is my CEA blood count which started at 183 and it's now down to 13 (yes, THIRTEEN) YAY!!!! and that's a good sign that my treatments are working well.  If the number starts going up, it's time for new treatment.

    I found a website called CancerCompass.com which is sort of like facebook for cancer related issues and people.  I asked if there was anyone else out there like me, with Stage IV lobular breast cancer and NO symptoms.  So far I've heard from 3 other women who are like me, with basically no sickness & no symptoms. One was diagnosed 3 years ago, others more recently.

    OK, I'm gonna go fix dinner now.  It's been so pretty here all day... I keep being distracted by the beauty of the outdoors here in the Spring... won't be long, daylight savings starts in another week.  I'm so thankful to be able to BE HERE for another Spring!  I know it's just the luck of the draw that I got the 'good' stage 4 cancer...... others I know were not so lucky & are already gone.  None of us knows how long we'll be here, so enjoy what time you have... life is too short!

    So remember my new favorite saying.... Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain!

Hugs to all,  Toni  (if you're on facebook, check out my new photo albums.... just learned that!)