76. Good report

January has started off nice and relaxed. Lots of sewing, slow stitching mostly, and finishing off the quilt I was making. I finished it on Jan 1st. It was a really fun project to make and the colours turned out of be favourites of Sarah. It was a gift for her for organising all the amazing things the community donated to me last year. I called it Star Creating Ripples. She is the star and the ripples are all the people she inspired to gift to me what they could. 

I’ve started a weekly slow stitch project, following a lady on YouTube at k3nclothtales. Every Monday night (she is in France so by the time they video is released it is closer to 10pm my time) she posts a video of her making her weekly project. It is going to be a relaxing project to do and I have decided to do 12 x 6 1/2 inch panels instead do 3 inch or so squares like she is doing. I’m going to use a quilt as you go method so by the end of the year my 52 panels will make a quilt. 

My abemaciclib side effects have calmed down a bit. I have had some poo attacks but nothing like what happened in the first two or three weeks. I had my 7th Zoladex injection last Monday and this week my hot flushes have been raging and more frequent. I have noticed that happens. Even though it’s a slow release 28 day pellet the first week everything gets a bit worse. 

Talking about the zoladex injection, my usual GP is on holidays and so I went to the back up medical centre I sometimes go to.  The doctor I got was quite young and I very quickly remembered why I like my usual GP so much.  She listens to me, validates what I have said and has a general calm demeanour.  This guy barely even looked at me when I arrived, told me to sit down and promptly grabbed the blood pressure cuff and was about to put it on my right arm. First off he should ask me if it’s ok to touch me and take my blood pressure and second I can’t have it taken on my right side anymore due to the lymph nodes being removed.  I set him right (tell him about my first operation) and he takes my blood pressure on the left side.  132/89.  He checks it when the machine stops and says in a surprised voice “Oh, you have good blood pressure.”  And that, my dear blog readers, is the main reason I usually distrust doctors. They always assume that because I am overweight that my blood pressure is high, my cholesterol is high, and that I’m pre diabetic.  The next words out of his mouth again remind me to be grateful for my usual GP.  “How was your latest blood test?”  When was it?”  I told him that it was on my health record and he could see for himself.  He looked it up and again the surprised “Oh, it’s all good”.  

I keep my calm even though I debate whether to tell him that I am feeling dehumanised by the way he is treating me.  I decide there isn’t much point to go there before he sticks a large gage needle in me.  When I tell him why I am there and give him the box with the needle in it he says “Have you had this before?”  “This is my 7th one” I tell him.  “This is used for breast cancer, have you had breast cancer?”  He asks.  I say yes (duh!) and start to give him a very brief medical history but he keeps interrupting me “So the chemo was to shrink the lump?”  No (you idiot) I just said I’d had a lumpectomy and auxiliary clearance (which was actually twice I had told him that in the space of about 5 mins).  Obviously this guy needed hearing aids!  When I got to the radiation and the bad side effects he again interrupted and said “It’s all worth it because the cancer is killed and all gone.”  Firstly, you troglodyte, you have no idea what the treatment and side effects did to me and how it is still effecting my daily life, mental health and emotional stability and second, you numpty, you have no idea if the cancer is killed and all gone.  I didn’t say that though cos he was poised over me with the needle ready to stick me in the guts (lower abdomen).  I decided I wasn’t going to use up any more breath and used one word answers for the rest of the visit.  Thank goodness I have found such a great GP for most of my visits! 

I got a 91 day extension for my medical certificate for Jobseeker. I have started to look online at what jobs are out there and will be updating my resume before the end of the month. I am hoping I might apply to some jobs next month. I don’t want to do more than 2 or 3 days a week, preferably Tues and Thur so that I could still do my exercises classes on Mon, Wed & Sat and keep Fri for appointments. Looking at the jobs and thinking about writing applications and job interviews has been giving me some heart palpitations again. Definitely anxiety driven. I have never been an anxious or stressed type person before my cancer diagnosis. It is something that has been quite difficult to deal with on top of everything that has happened since Nov 2022. It really didn’t start until end of August 2023 when everything pretty much went to shit for a few months.  Looking back at my blog posts I think that I was in shock and survival mode for the months before and then as I knew I was getting towards the end of the active treatments it all came crashing in.

Yesterday I dropped in to see Suzannah at her sewing shop to book in a private lesson so we can adjust some patterns and make me some clothes that will fit nicely.  I was there for a couple of hours, talking with her and we went through one of her drawers of patterns to see what I might like to make.  We pulled out maybe 12 or so of different ones.  Tops, shorts, skirts and dresses.  I chose a top and shorts to start with and my ‘homework’ is to cut out the pattern pieces I will need.  I have my class on Monday.  This is also part of getting ready to work as most of my clothes are years and years old and never really fit all that well cos of the big boobs.  Once I have some patterns that I like and that are adjusted to fit me then I can make a few different pieces in different fabrics. I would like to make some out of my own fabric designs too.  Very much looking forward to expanding my skills.

Today it was my oncologist check up.  I had a blood test yesterday. The nurse was really nice and she had taken my bloods a few times over the last year or so. She commented on how nice my skin colour looked and she loved my pixie hair cut.  She asked how I was doing and I said better and she remembered my radiation skin episode. She was empathetic, validating and kind.  That GP from Monday could use a few lessons from her.  I mentioned my blog and she was keen to read it so I gave her one of the little business cards I had made up with my web address and QR code on it.  

Back to today, I was a few minutes late but got a nice close car park. I sent a prayer to the parking fairy for a quick park and as usual she came through.  Someone years ago somone said they always ask the parking fairy to help and it works.  I can agree, it does work.  Anyway, I digress.  I was thinking seeing as I was a few minutes late that would mean Dr Julia was going to be on time.  She wasn’t though so I did get about 10 mins of slow stitching in.  I’m working on my Week Two k3n panel.  I am really liking how this one is turning out.  Dr Amanda called me in, she is Dr Julia’s assistant.  She commented on how good my skin looked, ‘glowing’ was her words.  She also said she loved my pixie hair cut.  I guess it does look good.  Super easy to do with the buzz cut clippers.  She said that my blood test results were perfect and she was also happy to hear that my poo explosions, (she said diarrhoea episodes) were much less and that I haven’t had to take the gastro stop as often.  I told her about the boswellia complex Jon Gamble put me on and she looked it up to make sure there wasn’t anything in it that might interact with my cancer meds.  She said it should be fine.  We talked about my knee MRI and the knee surgeon visit.  We also discussed the metaplastic mention in the MRI report and she looked up the PET scan and said that the imaging for that had stopped just before the knees.  Usually for breast cancer they don’t do the whole body unless it’s been requested.  She was pretty sure that the abnormal tissue was from old injuries and the new injury but has made a note of it to keep track of how things go.  I asked her about the body mass theory of me being tall and my friend being much shorter as to the dosage amount for abemaciclib and how I am coping with a higher dose.  She wasn’t sure but said we could check with Dr Julia when she came in.

Dr Julia said she had asked that question at a forum for the abemaciclib drug but it isn’t something that was measured in the trials.  It’s a hard one to track and measure as people are so different.  She did think it was an interesting question to ask and maybe with more data coming in it is something they may be able to track.  She said she was very happy with how well I was doing with the side effects and that also I’m the only one of her patients on the drug that hasn’t had to drop the dose.  She was interested in what I was doing, diet, exercise and also the complementary medicines I am taking from Jon Gamble.  She was hoping to see if things I was doing would help other patients cope better.  She thought that the low inflammation die (basically the paleo diet) is definitely something that has been so beneficial.  I asked her about the zoladex injection and how a few days before it is due I get a bit of the lower back and uterus ache I used to get before I would be getting my period. I also said the week after I got it that the hot flushes were more frequent and much more raging fire type ones.  She said that can happen and again said that if it becomes so much that if really impacts my sleep and daily life that I could get my ovaries removed. Then I wouldn’t have to take the zoladex injection again.  The letrozole tablet would keep going though.  I wouldn’t want to have another operation but it is something to keep in mind. I asked would that create other side effects and she said not really as it’s just the ovaries taken and not the whole uterus, however all surgery has it’s own risks.  She said that it would be a year or two before it would be something to think about.  Just to see how the body settles down or not.  As an aside, I noticed on Monday that the full price for the injection is $208.08!  I get it for $7.70 as I have a health care card with my Jobseeker payment.  Letrozole is $27.80 full price.  Again I get it for $7.70.  That is something to think of when I do start working enough that I stop the Jobseeker payments and would lose my health care card.  I do have some benefit on my private health insurance extras that would pay $50.00 per claim but I might have to ring them up and double check that the zoladex injection would be covered.  

Next week I have an ultrasound on my chest wall and under my arms.  Thank goodness I don’t have to have mammograms anymore.  The week after I will be seeing my breast surgeon for the results and a check up.  My scars look good, my mobility is good.  My right side slightly tighter and a bit hotter still than the left.  The radiation effects is still hanging around.  I have one tighter bit above the scar on the right in the upper peck muscle section.  That happened with the radiation.  I’m sure Dr Inder will have a poke and prod when I see her and give me a nice clear and concise report.