I'm Normal

At least in terms of my blood work, I am.  In other areas, not so much.

Here are this week's numbers, after chemo number 7.  For all three liver enzyme levels, I am solidly in the normal range.  Yeah, Beatrice! Yeah Taxol! And yeah Herceptin!

Alkaline Phosphatase, S    108 (started at 286 pre-chemo, high normal 150, 62% drop from start)
AST (SGOT)                    24  (started at 150, high normal is 40, 84% dr op from start)
ALT (SGPT)                     37 (started at 124, high normal is 40, 70% drop from start)

The next big measurement to be taken is the tumor marker level on April 6. Here's to more low numbers all around.

Today's Chemo Trippers are my sister Meg and her husband Bob, who flew in from Wisconsin last night to help for a week.  God bless them and thank you.

The other fact I've been finding is that when I am continuously exhausted, my morale goes way down.  The answer once again has been to get lots and lots of rest (stop feeling guilty about it, Susan, just sleep).   I've also discovered that when I listen in on online support groups for those suffering from metastatic cancer, I become even more dejected. Folks in these groups tend to talk about fearing results of future scans and say things like "The cancer is now in my brain - or spine, or lungs, etc.  As one of my Cancer Support Angels, Nancy, tells me, stop looking at those groups.  I cannot afford to spend my time thinking about if this cancer will recur and where, and instead need to focus on this cancer going away and staying away thanks to maintenance with Herceptin and other drugs.

So I've signed off those online groups and am instead concentrating on "Sticking with the winner4s" as they say in AA, other women with metastatic breast cancer who have been surviving for years without a recurrence. Those stories give me hope and that is who I want to be when I grow up, at least cancer wise.  I'll never grow up in other ways.