Slow growing cancer ... Yay?!?

A couple of weeks ago, I visited MD Anderson for my 3 month check.  Good news and bad news.  CT scans showed minimal growth of tumors.  However, the radiologist also looked back to 6 months ago and 9 months ago and even a year ago, and discovered that over the course of a year's time, the cancer in my lung, bones and liver is slowly but steadily progressing and growing.  That's the bad news!  The good news, which I have become pretty good at identifying and placing my hope in, no matter how small, is that I'm being taken off of Xeloda!   If you've followed my blog, you know that I've been taking Xeloda for the past year and a half and I've absolutely HATED it!!  I've been wishing to get off ... well part of me has been wishing that.  Obviously the reason is not a good thing!  I am fully aware that for Dr. Green to discontinue it, it's only because it's no longer working on my cancer.  Still, Xeloda has really limited me in many ways.  Such mixed feelings!  Should I BE this happy??  How twisted is this?

So what's next??  Dr. Green has said in the past that after Xeloda, the next move would be to a harsher chemo drug, Abraxane (think hair loss, nausea, etc.)  However, she is now recommending I move back to (anti)hormone therapy instead.  The way she described it, since chemo usually works best on fast-growing cells, perhaps that's not the best treatment for my cancer at this time, since it appears to be growing very slowly.  I had good results from anti-hormone tx in the past, and for long periods of time (6 years on Tamoxifen, 3 years on Femara.)  She mentioned previously that revisiting those kinds of drugs may be an option at some point.  Now is the time!  She is putting me back on Tamoxifen and Zolodex.  Yayyyy, no more Xeloda!  No more sore/tender hands and feet!  No more kids toothpaste and bland-tasting food!  No more needing assistance/tools to open cans and jars!  Perhaps I can start exercising again!  Hoping for quick and complete end to Xeloda's side effects!  And there's more ... not sure if I mentioned the nasty, heavy, & long-lasting periods I've been having since my cycles returned after stopping Zolodex 1 1/2 years ago.  Now I'm back on Zolodex, so hello menopause (again!)

Seriously, I am one messed up girl!!!  Who gets excited about menopause??

Also hoping that menopause doesn't bring with it the issues with "intimacy" that plagued me and Danny's relationship for over a year ... sighhhhh..........

Here's some actual good news on my cancer front:  my genetic testing (BRCA-1 & 2) came back NEGATIVE!  Good news for my sister, mom, & 3 girls!

So much going on here ... the ups and downs ... the rollercoaster that is being a stage IV breast cancer fighter!  Please people, support research efforts and find a cure for breast cancer!  Soon!!!