Skipped Herceptin

   Now that I only have regular appointments every three weeks, I'm probably going to be lazy and update a lot less. I had a MUGA scan last week, but Dr. C called the next day to tell me the number was lower than he wanted, so I didn't get the Herceptin today. It was only 52, and my first two were 65 and 55. He said it's still normal, but I'm at a certain threshold where they want to wait and see if it gets better before giving me any more Herceptin. I have another MUGA scan scheduled for April 4th and see the doctor again April 11th.  I asked for a copy of my counts as I was leaving and apparently they still had me in the system as male. My hemoglobin was 8.7, my platelets went down to 112, but my white counts are good. Hopefully that won't mess up my surgery date next Tuesday. I'm also supposed to start the Tamoxifen when I get home from the hospital. The hot flashes stopped a few weeks ago thankfully, but this medication will probably start them up again. And I'm supposed to be on it for the next five years. Oh what fun. Besides the typical menopausal symptoms, it also has rare side effects of blood clots and uterine cancer (just can't win).

   My chest still hurts (four weeks now?). He said it's a good thing that it hurts when I push on my ribs because it sounds like a cartilage issue and not something to order a bone scan for. He even said it sounded like costochondritis, which I thought I had told him before? But either way, at least he's familiar with it. I realized I've been dealing with this on and off for almost seven years now. The only thing I can do for it is pop ibuprofen and slap a heating pad on my chest. I just hope it gets better before surgery next week.

   I saw Dr. K for a pre-op appointment last Thursday for the list of questions I've been making. She said the surgery might make my chest pain worse because it'll feel tight, but that it's fine to keep taking the ibuprofen, as long as I don't drink anything the night before surgery. And yes that crazy thing in my chest IS a power port, that's all they use apparently. I was supposed to get a booklet and a card when I was in the hospital, but she's going to try to get me another one. I should only be in the hospital for one night and the surgery should take less than three hours. I asked her not to leave any extra skin, and she said it'll be completely flat with the scars slanted with the way the muscles underneath naturally stretch. I'll have drains again, but I won't have that terrible nerve pain since they're not messing with any more lymph nodes. She said I could drive once the drains are out and I'm not drugged up on painkillers. 

   I tried to make an appointment with the radiation oncologist, but they told me to call back after my surgery. Dr. K said they can start radiation two to four weeks after surgery, but that seems too soon and I don't see how my skin would have time to heal before then? We're going to SC for a week in May so they're going to have to work around that anyway. I'm more concerned about what the heck radiation is going to do to my chest in the long run, especially with this ongoing chest pain and my swollen arm. The radiation oncologist was unsure at first whether to do it or not (September and October entries). Maybe whatever they find during surgery will influence it. Either way I'm screwed.