Hi friends! It’s been a while since I last posted and I hope you haven’t missed me too much 😉 Since April, not a ton has happened on the cancer front, and with that, I stepped back a bit and just focused on life. So what have I been up to you ask?

We went to the mountains of Maine for April vacation (thank you to friends for letting us borrow your condo). That was a very welcome vacation. Sometimes just a lazy few days away from home is what I need to recharge. No laundry, no major cleaning, no plan…just a few days to sit in front of the fire to read, play games, go bowling, and venture out to grab a bite to eat. It was forced relaxation at it’s finest!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both kids started up with spring sports. It has been so fun to see them practice new skills and work on sportsmanship. Four (nope five) out of seven days are sprinkled with sports practices and games. Spring is always a busy time for us, but it is an enjoyable time as we emerge from our winter hibernation to play in the sunshine.

I went to a breast cancer camp a couple of weekends ago. I went with three of my best NH cancer buddies. We road tripped down to the Poconos on a Friday and home again on Sunday. It was a quick trip, but we talked about everything under the sun, listened to a bunch of true crime podcasts, and danced our butts off at a radical flower power party on Saturday night.

In cancerland things have been going pretty well. Today I got my 10th (TENTH!!!) infusion of pembrolizumab, and I am starting my 10th cycle of abemaciclib and anastrozole. I have been on (this) my first line of treatment now for seven months. That feels really amazing and exciting to say out loud. The great news is that with every scan there is less and less tumor to measure.

This last Sunday I had scans, and per the usual, I was an anxious mess. When I started this chapter of my story, I put this arbitrary timeline on my experience that I wanted to reach one year on this line of treatment (I mean I want much longer, but not a minute shorter). So with each cycle, I am crossing fingers, toes, legs, positive vibing as best as I can, and praying that I won’t hear the word ‘progression’ from my oncology team. This week I got good results again: a teeny tiny bit more shrinkage! YESSSSSS!! **Insert major sigh of relief**

There continues to be sclerosis in my bones. Which if you remember, with all things considered, since things are shrinking elsewhere we are assuming sclerosis means healing. Sometimes healing can be painful; sometimes, it feels like nothing. I have been experiencing pretty awful lower back pain for a week or so in my left iliac crest, and this is one place that my CT shows increased sclerosis. My NP spoke with the radiologist, and they said, for now, they are ruling the pain as sclerosis due to healing. If the pain doesn’t clear up or it gets worse in the next few weeks, I will need to go back in for more imaging, but for now, we celebrate what is likely healing.

At each appointment, we go through my side effects of the medication. As always, gastrointestinal issues still plague me. Cycle eight was actually really well tolerated, and I felt decent for that cycle, but quickly that changed with cycle nine. Without going into significant detail, let’s just say I was in the bathroom a lot. My team monitors my output very closely, and if things get too severe, I have to take a dose reduction of my abemaciclib. Today my NP and research nurse (under the guidance of my oncologist) decided that instead of dose reducing (which I REALLY don’t want to do), they want me to take a half dose of Imodium, every other or every day. I hate taking Imodium, but if that means being able to remain on the highest dose of abema, I’ll do it. **Grumble grumble**

That’s about it for now folks! Andrew and I are taking a short trip to NYC this weekend and leaving the kids behind with my mother in law ❤ And then at the end of June all four of us will be departing on a trip for the PNW to visit family.

Wishing you all the very best final weeks of Spring!