Finally, a new update.

Change of plans again. I will be continuing with the Avastin and Zometa every three weeks through the summer. The Zometa doesn't have any side effects but the Avastin has been causing really bad sinus pain and nose bleeds. I was really hoping to be done with it. More recently it has been causing extremely high blood pressure. My blood pressure has always been normal and now it's up to 195/ 115 some days! I've had to start blood pressure medication and hopefully that will bring it down.  I am done the iv chemotherapy but will be starting on the low dose oral chemo called Capecitabine (Xeloda) starting this week. I will take it everyday for two weeks and then have one week off. The cyle will be repeated for the next year.  Dr. Klimo said most people don't have any side effects. However, the package from the company lists many possible side effects so we'll have to see. I'm still waiting for my PET scan date. Dr. Klimo is going to try to get it done through the Cancer Agency so I won't have to pay for it. If so, it should be scheduled within the next few weeks. The PET scan results will determine if the chemo has continued to work and whether or not I will need radiation.

Dr. Klimo also informed me that the Parp Inhibitors are now available here. These were the drugs in Clinical Trials  (the ones that I was looking into in Seattle). They are available here but only with Gemcitibine and Cisplatin - they have to be taken together. Dr. Klimo doesn't want to put me back on the Gem/Cis so I can't get the Parp but it is nice to know that it is available if I ever do need it. Parp Inhibititors are suppose to be especially helpful in treating Triple Negative breast cancer (my type) so if you know anyone with this rare, aggressive form of breast cancer please let them know that this is now available.


It is official. Dr. Klimo is retiring at the end of June. It's very stressful to think about but I do have another doctor whose name has come up several times during the past year. I will try to arrange a meeting with her soon and I will also be looking into to Dr. Klimo's partner, who he has been working with for the past four years.


This past week I attended a week long "Healing Retreat" through the Callanish Society.  I put in an application to attend the retreat shortly after I received the good PET scan results but as it got closer to the date I was getting really anxious and wasn't sure if I wanted to go. I'm not really a "support group" type of person and hadn't really done much to support my emotional health throughout this past year. It just seemed exhausting to really deal with all the feelings and emotions and to be doing it will a group of people who all had cancer. I basically just forced myself to go. Within the first 24 hours I knew that I had made the right choice. The team of facilitators were like nothing I have ever experienced or heard about; I have never met a group of people so genuinely dedicated to what they do. The eight of us participating were all so different from each other but quickly developed bonds and friendships that would normally take years to develop. I am really proud of myself and grateful for the Callanish Society. Also, thank you to Shannon (whom I've never met) for passing along the information and helping me to get off my ass and take care of myself.

New info

I thought that after this past Monday I was only going to have one chemo left; after seeing Dr. Klimo he explained that I will need 3 more so that they can "wean" me off the three drugs. Very disappointing!! Anyway, I guess I have three more chemos left and then I will go on a pill - two weeks on, two weeks off - for how long? not sure. I'm pretty sure we are making it up as we go along ;) 

I will have another PET scan after the chemo is done and that will determine if radiation is necessary. Dr. Klimo thinks that if the scan comes back clear, then there's no point in radiation ~ "what is there to radiate?". My last oncologist felt that radiation should be done just to be sure there weren't any cancer cells left behind. It's a big decision because radiation can have a lot of serious side effects: damage my heart, damage my skin, cause bad swelling in my arm that may not ever go away and could even limit movement.

Whatever, we decide to do PET scans will need to be done on a regular basis ~ probably every three months ~ to keep on top of it. I am hoping that Dr. Klimo can get every second one covered by medical.

Clinical Trial Starting Soon

In many ways, Kelly helped me to get to where I am today. Without talking with her I wouldn't have ever realized the importance in getting a PET scan; I would have went along with my oncologist and believed what the other scans had reported. If I had not had a PET so early I believe my cancer metastases would have progressed much further and would have been much more difficult to treat.

I would really appreciate it if you would check out Kelly's website. She is now working with the B.C. Cancer Agency to start a clinical trial using Professor Pachmann's Circulating Tumors Test and Chemosensitivity Testing. The clinical trial will be starting soon and is open to breast cancer patients whose cancer has metastasized. If you know anyone who might be interested in this trial please pass along her website. If you have any feedback about her website ~ what you found helpful or perhaps, unclear, I would like to pass it along to her and she would appreciate your comments.

http://kellysclinic.ca/