Since the results of my recent PET scan were not as good as they have been I armed myself before my appointment with my own research into new drug regimens that work with metastatic breast cancer. I also had my own idea of what I wanted to happen. One of the worst parts of dealing with this disease for me is the changing from a drug regime that I’ve been on for a long period of time (1 year) to a drug that I absolutely know nothing about with regard to side effects. I have been able to accept all of the side effects I get with my present drugs, Abraxane and Avastin. Consequently, I really did not want to change my drugs. I looked back to when I first started these drugs and at that point I was having Abraxane every week for 3 weeks and Avastin every other week in 3 weeks and then 1 week of rest. We got an unbelievable positive result from that regimen, tumor markers dramatically falling and great PET scans. My Onc ultimately reduced the drugs and took off the middle infusion of Abraxane because I complained about fatigue. 

At today’s meeting I posed the possibility of returning to the original protocal to see whether or not that might work. He actually agreed with me that it would be worth a try. I am so fortunate to have an open minded Oncologist that hears his patients. So, that is what we are doing. I will be receiving 3 doses of Abraxane in 4 weeks and 2 doses of Avastin in the same time frame. It is possible, I know, that I won’t be able to tolerate this regimen as well as I have with less Abraxane but I think it’s worth a try. By the way, one of the drugs I had researched was the drug my doctor was going to next.

The moral of this blog is – try to stay ahead of your Cancer by reading about the research. Always remember that it is your body and your life that is on the line. Make sure you have a doctor that will listen to your needs so that he can put that in the equation when he determines the various steps necessary to keep your disease managed.