Since my last entry I’ve been doing well on my Xeloda treatment. The dreaded hand and foot syndrome is annoying and hard to control but I am familiar with it so I just cream myself and hope for the best. Stomach problems occur at the end of the pill regimen and that is hard to take. Xeloda is what I consider a kinder drug but of course that is relative.. When on this drug one can actually feel good enough to forget that they are battling a life threatening disease, but when the side effects become too severe you must back off of the drug. So I zig zag around my meds each day in the hopes that tomorrow the sides will subside. And they do. That’s the good news.

I like to blog but the question always rises whether my blogging helps others deal with Breast Cancer.. I very rarely get comments so I don’t know who’s watching or if anyone is watching. I try to convey helpful discussion about how to deal with this disease in order to help others have some semblance of a normal “abnormal” life. For those of you who might read my blog I would so appreciate hearing your stories and comparing notes. I’ve been dealing with metastatic breast cancer for 5 years and am deeply involved in keeping my ear to the ground to get whatever information there is available and there is plenty. I suggest to anyone fighting breast cancer to learn all about the options for your care. I suggest you go into partnership with your oncologist instead of being the good girl patient who just follows orders. I have a unique relationship with my oncologist because we’ve known each other for 12 years and because my husband is working with him to fund a clinical trial. As much as we feel our doctors are GOD, they are not, and some actually want your input. I am always looking for the next drug that looks promising and relay that to my oncologist. They cannot possibly keep up with all the literature. Breast Cancer can be a lonely disease but if you surround yourselves with people who care about you and will listen to you and are involved you will feel much less lonely.

I have had a unique problem since discovering my disease. I express the Cancer on my scalp. At present there are at least 20 small lesions. I’ve desparately been looking for someone else struggling with the same problem and have come up empty. I’ve said before in my blog that my Cancer was discovered on the skin. The skin is your largest organ and you must be vigilant about going to a Dermatologist to be checked regularly. I would never been blessed with 5 years life had they not discovered the recurrence of my disease had they not biopsied a lesion on my skin.

KNOWLEDGE IS STRENGTH!