Honestly, I just haven’t been feeling like writing a lot lately. I still want to keep everyone updated, but I may be posting a little less until I’m feeling more inspired. Thank you all for reading and your love vibes.
We met with my doctors yesterday and went over all of the next steps in my treatment plan. Since the Cometriq is working, we are just going to stay on this until it stops working. Most people can get about a year before it loses effectiveness. When it stops working we’ll just try to another drug and hope it works.
Also, remember how I mentioned that the suspicious spots in my lungs disappeared? Well, at face value, that’s a good thing. But it is also further confirmation that the cancer has spread to other parts of my body. The Cometriq wouldn’t have shrunk the spots if they weren’t cancerous.
So this means that surgery on my neck and thyroid would not have been effective. It also means that surgery will most likely never be an option. It’s too widespread.
They have prescribed me Oxycodone to help with the pain. I’ve been worried about getting addicted to opioids, so I’ve avoided them as long as I can. But now I realize that I’ll probably be on them the rest of my life anyway – so does it even matter if I’m addicted? Also – most people don’t get addicted to opioids if you are actually using it to treat severe pain.
Good news
Amongst all the terrible side-effects of the Comtriq there are a few benefits.
Since the tumors are smaller they are putting less pressure on the blood vessels leading to my head. I am now no longer a risk for passing out. So now I can drive again! This is a big deal for sure. Since I’m on so many pain medications, I still need to be really careful about when I’m taking meds and when I’m driving, but it at least gives me options. Yay!
Even better news! My facial hair has turned blonde. Yep. So now I can go a couple of days without shaving and no 5 o’clock shadow. Also, I’ve been told blondes have more fun. So I’m waiting for that to kick in. 😀
I still have cancer
There seems to be a little confusion amongst my friends and family about what I mean when I said “the Cometriq is working.” This does not mean I’m in remission and it does not mean that in a few months I’ll be cancer-free and feeling great again. What this means is that I’m extending my life a little longer. The hard truth is that I probably have a couple of years left, and I’ll be lucky to make it 10 more years, and that is with a lot of different medication and a lot of things going well.
And if I haven’t made it clear enough. Here is a nice chart to show you how much I love being on this medication. 😛
Cancer with Cometriq
Less Dizzy
Can’t drive on pain killers
Facial hair turned blonde
Throat hurts
Upset stomach
Poor Sleep
Tired ALL the time
Unbearably Itchy head
Daily headaches
Iritated skin and acne
Severe Chronic Pain
Dying Slowly of Cancer
Cancer without Cometriq
Dizzy / Light Headedness
Can’t drive at all
Facial hair is brown
Throat Hurts
Different upset stomach
Poor Sleep
Tired Most of the Time
Head is fine
Head is fine
Skin is fine
Moderate Chronic Pain
Dying of Cancer
Next Steps
Keep grinding on. Follow-ups with doctors every two weeks. Sleeping all day. Applying for SS disability. I’m still VERY WORRIED about paying my bills, so I’ve been trying to figure out how to keep performing since I don’t have enough time to start a whole new career.
