Home again at about 9:30 tonight having returned from a ten day trip to Melbourne and surrounding districts.
Entries from June 2007
The shoulder blade episode
21, June 2007 · 1 Comment
I experienced some pain in the vicinity of my right shoulder blade which was particularly noticable on Saturday evening and Sunday. I was very disturbed by this and became deeply depressed for a time. The pain wasn’t very bad but any slight cough aggravated it and it was almost as though it was going to hurt to breathe.
Fortunately this pain has now subsided almost completely and coughing no longer aggravates it so I am not quite so dark about whether it is portentous of any relapse of the disease. I have had a few very quiet and relaxing days and overall feeling a little brighter. Very slight soreness continues from time to time in various parts of my torso but I am more optimistic that this may not necessarily be of too great a concern.
Cycle 6 – day 5
11, June 2007 · 1 Comment
This is the last cycle in the currently prescribed series of six chemotherapy cycles. I have continued to be quite well, painkiller free, and have enjoyed good appetite with some further weight gain (my weight is now a little over 70 kg). Generally I have been quite active but yesterday I slept most of the day and still had a long and deep sleep last night. The final infusion is scheduled for next Thursday and then therapy will cease until such time as further tumor growth may be detected. Another scan is planned for around June 29.
At this stage, should tumor regrowth be detected, it is likely that a new strategy of taking erlotinib orally will be recommended. As I understand it, this drug rather than being a cytotoxic strategy (as employed in chemotherapy), instead targets (in some way) something called the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR).
Although I have been generally quite well, I have been a little disturbed by some general slight soreness in parts of my torso and so I will be interested and hopeful to see whether this declines once the chemotherapy is completed and my body has a chance to recover from the cytotoxic onslaught. (more…)
Categories: Cancer · Chemotherapy
