We had the scans done last Wednesday. Becky was up in the air about them but ultimately it was a common sense decision to do them. With the sale of her company clearing the final hurdles the state of her health insurance is a question without an answer. Therefore we elected to proceed with the scans while we still have good coverage. Her blood tests cost $1350. The CAT scan and bone scans run roughly 10 times that much. Tough "pocket change" to come up with.
Anyway.... we got the results from the Dr. on Monday, the 27th, and here, in her own words, are Becky's thoughts on those results. Since this is a letter to a dear friend it will be edited slightly but not changed in content.
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Anyway.... we got the results from the Dr. on Monday, the 27th, and here, in her own words, are Becky's thoughts on those results. Since this is a letter to a dear friend it will be edited slightly but not changed in content.
...........................................................................................................................................................................
Went to the oncologist today to get the results of the scans they did last week. I almost didn't have them done because I really feel like the radiation does more harm than the benefit from the info they get from them, but if I do lose my job there's no way we could afford them without insurance so I went ahead.
The CT scan showed no increased activity in the lungs, the spots that were there last year still are and about the same size, so I conclude no worries there. Absolutely no indication of mets to the liver, bladder, pancreas or stomach. The main breast mass is now actually a bunch of different smaller masses but he couldn’t answer our question as to which ones are actually active and which might be mostly dead tissue, except he said the “really black places indicate little or no blood supply” which to me says “dead”.
The bone scan showed about the same size and location of the T4/T5 vertebrae and ribs but there is now a lesion showing up on the T8. Also a lot of dye showed in the left shoulder and left hip which he reads as cancer. But those were the places I had treated this summer for bursitis and I think it may be the scar tissue from that picking up the dye. Also something in the right hip…but cancer? Don’t know.
He’s wanting to do more aggressive chemo and then radiation. Well, this is where I parted ways with the last doctor who said I wouldn’t live six months without that treatment and hmmmm, guess what?...that was almost a year ago and things don’t look much different. Still have breast cancer with bone mets, but unlike her dire prediction, my lungs and liver are NOT involved and I just don’t see the benefit of wrecking my immune system (basically for them to collect $12,000 a treatment for the chemo and who knows how much for the radiation?).
So, we have to weigh whatever possible advantages there might be to shrink the remaining breast mass with chemo then blast what’s left after surgery with radiation versus doing something I believe in and that will keep the rest of my body relatively healthy. The Dr.’s comfortable with what he knows and my basic point of view hasn’t moved much so Joe may be stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea on this one. I really think if he’d been with me with either of my parents there’d be no question.
For now, we’re going to continue the program we’ve been on the last 3 months since there is definitely nothing of a critical nature to deal with right now and we are seeing improvement.
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While that devil thing might be a bit scary..... I'm pretty darn comfortable in the deep blue sea so it's only half scary. While there have been many gains in cancer treatment since the struggle of her parents it's *still* the same big three. Poison, cut and burn. And there is a great deal to be said for the famous "placebo effect" too.
To used Becky's own words: "So, we have to weigh whatever possible advantages there might be to shrink the remaining breast mass with chemo then blast what's left after surgery with radiation versus doing something I believe in that will keep the rest of my body relatively healthy."
[emphasis added]
It matters little how effective any therapy is if the person receiving it has no faith in it's effectiveness. Conversely even in highly controlled medical studies a sugar pill often gives the same or better results than the test medication. If the person taking the treatment *believes* in the treatment then the odds of a successful outcome improve greatly.
For example..... my first wife had twisted her ankle and was in considerable pain. The V.A. had prescribed some rather powerful pain pills for me so I figured giving her one would be okay. Got to the medicine cabinet and discovered that I'd used them all. I finally found a regular unmarked aspirin and took that to her with a glass of water. I cautioned that it was a *very* powerful pain killer and that I was supposed to take 2..... but since she was much smaller than me 1 should do the job. She took the pill and lay down. 15 minutes later she was sound asleep and when she woke up 4 hours later said it barely hurt at all. She *believed* that I was trying to take care of her and *that* mattered more than anything she took.
This is the case here as well. Because there is only anecdotal evidence of the effectiveness of any of the alternatives we're using we can't point to clinical studies and trials or study definitive empirical evidence of effectiveness. SO based upon what people say about method X or therapy Y we form an opinion or a belief in the efficacy of the treatment. And once we form a belief that something *will* work for us then we dramatically increase the likelihood that it will. This belief component is actually a benefit to therapy that too many doctors of all stripe fail to put to full utilization.
Becky is improving and that's obvious even without the scans. She's typically upbeat and positive, has a great appetite, and is enjoying life day at a time. Her weight is down to about 172 due, in part, to dietary changes and a healthier life style. She looks great! (Something I tell her several times a day too!) As long as she's happy, positive and actively fighting the cancer then her wishes and desires lead the way. Marriage is a two way street..... and right now it's my job to support her any way I can.
Y'all take care of each other out there........
...........................................................................................................................................................................
While that devil thing might be a bit scary..... I'm pretty darn comfortable in the deep blue sea so it's only half scary. While there have been many gains in cancer treatment since the struggle of her parents it's *still* the same big three. Poison, cut and burn. And there is a great deal to be said for the famous "placebo effect" too.
To used Becky's own words: "So, we have to weigh whatever possible advantages there might be to shrink the remaining breast mass with chemo then blast what's left after surgery with radiation versus doing something I believe in that will keep the rest of my body relatively healthy."
[emphasis added]
It matters little how effective any therapy is if the person receiving it has no faith in it's effectiveness. Conversely even in highly controlled medical studies a sugar pill often gives the same or better results than the test medication. If the person taking the treatment *believes* in the treatment then the odds of a successful outcome improve greatly.
For example..... my first wife had twisted her ankle and was in considerable pain. The V.A. had prescribed some rather powerful pain pills for me so I figured giving her one would be okay. Got to the medicine cabinet and discovered that I'd used them all. I finally found a regular unmarked aspirin and took that to her with a glass of water. I cautioned that it was a *very* powerful pain killer and that I was supposed to take 2..... but since she was much smaller than me 1 should do the job. She took the pill and lay down. 15 minutes later she was sound asleep and when she woke up 4 hours later said it barely hurt at all. She *believed* that I was trying to take care of her and *that* mattered more than anything she took.
This is the case here as well. Because there is only anecdotal evidence of the effectiveness of any of the alternatives we're using we can't point to clinical studies and trials or study definitive empirical evidence of effectiveness. SO based upon what people say about method X or therapy Y we form an opinion or a belief in the efficacy of the treatment. And once we form a belief that something *will* work for us then we dramatically increase the likelihood that it will. This belief component is actually a benefit to therapy that too many doctors of all stripe fail to put to full utilization.
Becky is improving and that's obvious even without the scans. She's typically upbeat and positive, has a great appetite, and is enjoying life day at a time. Her weight is down to about 172 due, in part, to dietary changes and a healthier life style. She looks great! (Something I tell her several times a day too!) As long as she's happy, positive and actively fighting the cancer then her wishes and desires lead the way. Marriage is a two way street..... and right now it's my job to support her any way I can.
Y'all take care of each other out there........
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