Onco Visit - Cancer marker up

I saw my oncologist today. The last time I saw her was in August.

I had had my blood test done on 30 Oct, Thursday, when I went for my physiotherapy.

My cancer marker has gone up a little - it is now 13.4 up from 12.7 in August. I hadn't expected this, and was expecting it to go down further or remain stable. Anyway, my onco didn't seem worried. To be honest, I was a little stressed out recently and feeling tired, so this should not come as a surprise. Now that my marker has gone up a little, I ought to seriously consider the trigger factors. Old habits die hard, but I guess it boils down to discipline.

Other than the marker going up slightly, the physical examination seemed okay.

Sometimes, I contradict myself. Sometimes, I wish that when I wake up the next morning, how wonderful it would be to find that everything was just a nightmare. Unfortunately, I have to be realistic - this is one nightmare that I will never get away from, and that like it or not, it will be with me.

I live with the knowledge that no matter what precautions I take, there is no guarantee that I can keep the big C away forever. And that if it comes back, there is a probability that it will hit harder. Well, I am just happy that I am still living today, and tomorrow is another story. There are so many things that I want to do, and right now, I have to hurry it up with the junking.

I have stopped herceptin but still continuing with aredia (to protect my bones). The aredia iv lasted two hours. I should be expecting bone pain for the next few days.

I am scheduled for another aredia iv in mid December and will be seeing my onco next in Jan 09. Time really flies, it's more than one year since my relapse and I have been fighting all this time and still not out of the woods yet. Again, my onco has advised that should anything come up, I should call and she will fit me in right away.

I have also managed to persuade my onco to have my central line taken out. Wow, from the point of entry, the tube went at least some 6 inches into my blood vessel in my chest. At least it came out clean and the nurse had put a pressure plaster there. I was told not to carry heavy stuff for now and not to sleep on that side (left) tonight, as any pressure may causing bleeding.

That's going to be tough. I can't lie on my right because I have lymphedema on my right arm and I can't sleep the whole night through on my back because by about 4 plus in the morning, my back will ache. Fortunately, it's only for one night and I guess I should be alright.