What do the Following Have in Common: Telly Savalas, an Eagle, Curley from the 3 Stooges & Me

After 1 year and 10 months, my hair finally called it quits.  When I started this newer cocktail ("the other secret weapon") I was told that one of the drugs, Taxotere, could very well be the drug that takes my hair.  After 2 weeks of my first infusion my hair definitely started thinning.  I thought, eh, no biggie!  My hair thinned quite a bit last year, but never completely fell out.  Thankfully my hair has always been so thick.  Well, when I hit the 3rd week after my first infusion, I took a shower and lost pretty much half of my hair.  I can't even begin to describe how horrible of an experience this was.  It was disgusting, gross and flat out disturbing.  I decided then that I couldn't bare the thought of attempting to wash my hair again.  So what did I do... I pulled a Britney Spears and shaved my head!  I went to a salon here in Austin called Top This Salon who specializes in Shave Parties for chemo patients.  I mean if I'm going to lose my hair I might as well have a few laughs and the support from a few family members and friends.  I wish I could have put a little more planning into my Shave Party, but I was leaving the next day on vacation.  I spent a week in British Columbia, Canada with a few of my besties and had the time of my life!  I'm not going to lie, it's been weird getting used to my bald head.  I would catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and think, "oh my god, I'm bald!"  But it is what it is!  If I have to lose my hair to kick some cancer ass, then so be it!  Yesterday I had my 2nd infusion and I'll continue to have my infusions every 3 weeks.  Right now we're looking to have my next PET scan in about 6 weeks or so.  Until then and when I get a chance, I'll try to post some of my vacation pictures.  In the meantime, here are a few sneak peak pics of me and my bald head (and maybe a couple w/ my mohawk)... 

Casey's Cancer Kickin' Krewe - We're #1

Hi, my name is Casey and I'm the BIGGEST procrastinator EVER!!  I know, I know, I'm sorry!  I've always been a procrastinator and probably always will be!  Now that we've got that established, I have some great news...

 

Last November Casey's Cancer Kickin' Krewe not only had a blast participating in the Komen walk, but we were the top fundraising team!  BOOM!!  That's what I'm talking about! 

 Not only have I been wanting to officially announce that on my blog, but I have some pretty amazing thank you cards that if you haven't gotten one already, should be getting one soon (shout out to Courtney Mitchell Photography).  Anyway, I can't thank everyone enough who participated and who donated!  Another big thanks goes out to the Krewe's team captain... thanks Elizabeth!! 

 

So in April, Elizabeth and I attended a luncheon (hosted by Komen) that not only recognized us as the top fundraising team, but also announced the local organizations in the Austin area who will receive funds raised.  Let me tell you, being able to meet representatives from these organizations and also hear stories from woman who have benefited from these organizations and the funds raised... WOW!  It truly was inspiring to see how much our fundraising efforts helped members in our community!  WAY TO GO KREWE!

 

I'll be walking again in the this year's race and will also be participating in one way or another in the Texas Mamma Jamma Ride.  I'll be posting more details about this soon, but "The Texas Mamma Jamma Ride is a recreational bike ride to raise much needed funds for our central Texas neighbors coping with breast cancer. This festive event saves and improves lives by supporting 10 local nonprofit organizations providing diagnosis, counseling, medication, and support for thousands of our neighbors coping with breast cancer. Since our inaugural year in 2009, the Mamma Jamma Ride has raised an astounding $1,000,000!."

 

Stayed tuned for more details, but until then I'd like to share Komen's April 2012 announcement of the local healthcare organizations community grants...

KOMEN AUSTIN AWARDS LOCAL HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS COMMUNITY GRANTS

April 12, 2012

The Austin Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced it will grant over $1.4 million this year, providing more than one $1 million in funds to local organizations in the Austin area and more than $400,000 to national research efforts.

Local non-profit healthcare organizations will implement breast cancer prevention, treatment and education programs for the uninsured and underinsured men and women in Travis, Williamson, Caldwell, Hays and Bastrop counties.

"This year 1,068 individuals in our five counties are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer," said Christy Casey-Moore, executive director of the Komen Austin Affiliate. "We must continue to do everything in our power to make sure our community has access to care and resources related to breast health and breast cancer, especially those that live in the margins with limited means "

All applicants that are legally operating providers are thoroughly reviewed by an anonymous grant review panel and selected based on the service gaps identified in our Community Profile, a research study published every two years. Local grants are distributed by the organization’s ability to implement projects that specifically address evidence-based strategies and programs to reduce breast cancer morbidity and mortality for those disproportionately affected by the disease in the Austin Affiliate's 5-county service area.

The 2012-2013 Austin Affiliate local grantees include:

• Alliance for African American Health in Central Texas
• CommuniCare Health Centers
• Community Action Inc. of Hays, Caldwell, and Blanco Counties
• Helping the Aging, Needy and Disabled
• National Center for Farmworker Health
• Planned Parenthood of the Texas Capital Region
• Samaritan Health Ministries
• The Breast Cancer Resource Centers of Texas
• The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing
• Women Involved in Nurturing, Giving, Sharing

About the Austin Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®
We live here. We race here. We save lives here.

One out of eight women here in the Austin area will have to fight breast cancer in her lifetime. That’s why, since 1999, the Austin Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure has been hard at work here in the Austin area raising money to provide breast cancer screening, education and medical services as well as financial and emotional support. In fact, up to 75 percent of the money we raise each year is put to work right here in Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties to improve the lives of everyone affected by this deadly disease. The remaining funds go to national research to find a cure for breast cancer once and for all. For more information about the organization, please visit www.komenaustin.org.

The "Other" Secret Weapon

Okay, I'm scheduled to get my new chemo cocktail tomorrow.  From there I'll be getting it every 21 days.  I'll still have to make trips to Tx Oncology for office visits (follow up apts) and lab work, but thankfully I won't be in the infusion room on a weekly basis.  Hopefully this secret weapon is "the one!"  

And please stay tuned for fundraising news and upcoming fundraising opportunities!  ;)

Chemo Cocktail #... What # Are We On Again??

The plan today was to start a new chemo cocktail... keeping with Tykerb, Herceptin, Zometa & Femara (a combo that I've been on the last 7 months), however we've taken Navelbine out of the cocktail and replaced it with Cisplatin.  Now, I've said this a million times, I LOVE having options, but I'm not going to lie... this new chemo cocktail was not one of our top 3 options.  Do you know how frustrating that is?!  The top 3 drugs that Dr. H recommended for me were quickly taken off the table due to various reasons... an unexplained spike in my lab work disqualified me from a trial, my insurance was unable to approve a drug b/c it had not been FDA approved, etc.  So over the last week I have convinced myself that maybe this new chemo cocktail is "the one" for me.  Everyone responds and reacts differently to each drug... maybe Cisplatin is "my drug."  Regardless if it's Dr. H's first pick or last, it could be "THE drug" that kicks this cancer's ass!  On top of my "convincing" myself of this being the one, I've also been preparing for what this new drug has in store for me.  How will I deal with the side effects?  Will I finally lose my hair?  I tell ya, after this last week, I'm emotionally and mentally drained.  And after all that, I walked into the infusion room today ready to start kickin' cancer's ass with my new secret weapon... Cisplatin!

(insert record scratching)

I'm sitting in the infusion room getting my Zometa when my Nurse Prac strolls in.  Before they even brought out my "secret weapon" Cisplatin, I'm being informed that the FDA approved one of our top 3 drug options AND my insurance covers it AND that's what Dr. H is wanting me to start.  Buuuuuuuut, what about the secret weapon I've been preparing myself for?  What does this mean?  Well, surely we're not limited to just one secret weapon, right?!  Ya, I didn't think so either!  So Cisplatin is being put on the back burner for some other time and now I need to get ready for another secret weapon.  Seriously, all this convincing and preparing myself for these new drugs is exhausting!!

So my new chemo cocktail will consist of Pertuzumab, Herceptin & Taxotere (in continuation w/ my Zometa & Femara).  I received my Zometa infusion today and now I'm waiting to hear when I'll start my other infusions (we're basically waiting for the pharmacy to order and receive the new drugs).  Until then I'm sure I'll be repeating exactly the same thing I did leading up to today... convincing myself this is "my drug," "THE drug" that kicks this cancer's ass and of course preparing for what this new drug has in store for me.  Oooooh, the viscous circle that is my life!

Here's to Chemo Cocktail #... Oh hell, I've lost track!  But this one could be "the one!"

Back to the Drawing Board... Again

Ugh!  We were SO close!  The ablation didn't get everything we were hoping it would.  Which really isn't a big deal... we knew there was a big possibility that they weren't able to get everything.  It appears that they annihilated the smaller lesion... yes, meaning it's no longer there.  Woohoo!  However they were only able to get a portion of the larger lesion.  So this is where the problem is... there are a couple of new lesions.  Granted they are pretty small lesions, but the fact is, the lesions are no longer "contained" like they were.  Which of course means that my chemo cocktail must have lost it's momentum (insert Debbie Downer music).  So back to the drawing board!  

Now I've said this in the past, but what's great about my cancer and my diagnosis, is that I have lots of options!  There are some amazing new drugs out there and Dr. H has 3 in particular in mind that she'd like me to consider.  There are of course the usual hoops and hurdles we need to jump through and over... for example, one of the drugs needs a certain Drs approval for me to start taking.  The reason for this is because it's no longer in a trial phase, but it's still not FDA approved.  And then one of the drugs needs approval from my insurance company.  So basically this week Dr. H has some wheeling and dealing to do.  I'll meet with her next week to discuss what she found out and which drug will be my best option.  

I'll keep you posted when I find out what my next chemo adventure will be.  The only question I have now is... how big is this drawing board?!? 

And We Wait... In the Meantime, We're Krewesin' for a Brewsin'

I am finally feeling better after my radiofrequency ablation (rfa).  As soon as I broke free from my antibiotics and pain pills last week, I surprisingly felt like a new person!  It's amazing how difficult it was to jump back into reality... the littlest things were just exhausting.  I made myself get out of the house as much as I could without overdoing it (believe me, I've heard the lecture and now preach it) and this week I'm feeling great! 

Not only am I feeling great, but my lab work is great and my tumor marker is coming back down.  After the procedure, my lab numbers were all over the place which is typical and expected after having something like that done to your body.  But anyway, last week my tumor marker went down from 131 to 111... not quite as low as we were earlier this year, but not surprising after the procedure.  Of course don't get me started again with my love/hate relationship with this tumor marker!  At least we're heading in the right direction!  And as for my lab work, the nurse not only said all my numbers were looking good, but that my liver was happy.  And who doesn't like a happy liver?! 

So I'm continuing on with my chemo cocktail and then on Monday, July 9th, I'm scheduled to have another PET scan.  The results from this scan will help us determine what our next step is.  We could do another rfa procedure to burn off what was left behind.  We could do a chemo embolization which I had described in a previous post where they actually inject chemo into the tumor site.  OR it is possible that they got everything the first time and I won't need another procedure.  How cool would that be?!  Yep, that's what I'm rooting for!  ;)  From there we would begin to transfer into the maintenance phase.  Oooooh, that sounds good! 

So you might be asking, what does one do with a happy liver?!?  My answer... celebrate with a few good friends and libations!

Yes, I know it sounds a little crazy that I would consider having a drink after what my liver has gone through, not just with this procedure, but over this entire last year.  This is something that I've discussed with my doctor on numerous occasions and the fact is, there is nothing wrong with my liver (remember, it's happy).  It's what's on my liver that we're fighting.  So when the time comes for a celebratory drink... I'm there!

So this weekend, 12 of us participated in a pub crawl, Austin's Crawl For Cancer™!

Here's a little background info taken from their website:

Our purpose and mission: 

Crawl for Cancer is a fundraising organization driven to plan and host events that support lifesaving research and those affected by cancer while having a little fun doing it!  Though not a charity, we are a for-profit company that donates 100% of our profits to the charities we serve.

What is Crawl For Cancer? 

Crawl for Cancer is an event where hundreds of volunteers, businesses and participants come together to help raise money to fight cancer.  Participants go to 5 bars and/or restaurants in a pre-planned order to partake in social networking and ice-cold, frothy beverages.  No actual crawling is required.  :)  What is required is to have a good time, be respectful and understand that all teams are here to help raise money for a great cause.

Oddly enough, it wasn't too difficult to convince a few of my "Casey's Cancer Kickin' Krewe" members to participate in this with me.

And now, I present to you our 2012 Crawl for Cancer team... "Krewesin' for a Brewsin'"

I had a blast... and all for a good cause!  ;)

And so we have some waiting to do before the next PET scan and the results... but that's no surprise!  As frustrating as it is, I'm actually getting pretty good at it!  

The Aftermath: Die Tumor Die

I mentioned in my "Operation: Die Tumor Die" blog post that I would be in and out of the hospital the same day of the procedure (put under local anesthesia) and I would be back to my daily routine after a few days of rest.  Well, that just sounds too easy.  And we should know by now that I don't like making things easy on anyone!  


So with this radiofrequency ablation (RFA), Dr. K and his partner, Dr. Vasan, were targeting 2 lesions that remained on my liver that the chemo was unable to reach.  One of these lesions happened to be in close proximity to my small intestine and the other one up against my lung.  Because of this, they were concerned that the heat from the ablation would heat up or cause harm to the small intestine and/or lung.  My "easy peasy procedure" wasn't sounding so easy peasy after all.  So to avoid complications with any other organ in my body, they put fluid into my abdominal cavity to be able to move things around, out of harms way.  By doing this, they were able to completely burn off 1 of the lesions on my liver and about 85% of the other lesion.  After being put under general anesthesia (breathing tube and all), the procedure took about 4 hours and I was required to stay in the hospital overnight to be monitored.  Thankfully they weren't serving fava beans and chianti!

I've been resting up the last few days and I'm slowly but surely feeling better each day.  I actually tried to cut back on my pain meds yesterday, but I quickly realized that was a BIG mistake.  I need to keep reminding myself that the procedure wasn't as easy peasy as I was expecting, never mind the golf ball size burns on my liver and the jostling around of my organs.  But hey, this has added a few more freckle sized scars to my right side.  Maybe when this is all said and done I'll have a tattoo artist connect the dots and see what we come up with.

So yes, this was a successful surgery.  Dr. K and Dr. V were very pleased with the amount of the lesions they were able to burn (considering their locations and their sizes).  But where does that leave us now?!  We still have 15% of one of the lesions still remaining.  I'm meeting w/ Dr. H this week (who has been consulting w/ Dr. K & Dr. V) to discuss the next step.  Anyone heard of chemoembolization?  This is where they inject a concentrated amount of chemo directly into the tumor.  Until then, I'll continue on with the chemo cocktail I've been on (every Wednesday for 3 weeks, then off a week).

I can't say this enough, but thanks again for your prayers, thoughts and good vibes throughout all of this.  We are just SO close to where we need to be!