Moving Forward...Always Dragging My Cancer Baggage Behind Me

As we stood next to each other in church, she looked over at me and said, "Mom, your hair." 
I leaned towards her and whispered, "What about it?"
With a smile, she whispered back, "You look like you did before you got cancer."
     That was over 4 1/2 years ago when she was only 8 years old.  I have lost my hair twice...once when diagnosed Stage 2 in 2012 and once when diagnosed Stage 4 in 2014. I fought tears as it broke my heart thinking about all that she has been through at such a young age. When you have Stage 4 cancer, the journey continues...whether you want it to or not...and you just keep dragging the cancer baggage behind you...trying to never let it get ahead of you. I was reminded in that moment that I am not only one in my family dragging the baggage.  My husband and five children are too. 
     And so my path changed again this week.  I was on a phase 1 clinical trial for a new HER2+ targeted treatment. Unfortunately, after two treatments, my scans showed no improvement, only progression.  This was a devastating blow because being a part of a clinical trial involves a lot extras...keeping track of side effects, trips to Indy for bloodwork, ECHOS, EKGs, etc.  I had put a lot of time and hope into this drug that failed me.
     While this was quite a blow, we always need to remember to look for the blessings in disguise.  Technically, the drug should have worked because it targets HER2, and that was what my cancer had always been, HER2+.  Now we have found that something has changed and my oncologist is wasting no time to get to the bottom of it.
     This coming Wednesday, I am going to have a new biopsy of the progressed area behind my sternum...not easy tissue to get to!! This will give us the HER2 status we are wondering about.  In addition, I am now going to be a new patient in the IU Health Precision Genomics Program, and have cancer diagnostic genomic testing done of my new biopsy samples. What in the world is that, you ask. Genomic technology is new within the last several years, and is now cutting edge testing, allowing data from DNA to be sequenced.  By doing this, my genetic doctors can look for mutations and changes within my cancer cells allowing the cancer to be precisely targeted with FDA approved drugs as well as many clinical trials. The doctors will also be able to better predict the effectiveness of future treatments for me, as well as possible toxicity reactions to those drugs.
     The downside to this is that I am going to have to wait for the genetic sequencing to be done which could take up to six weeks...hopefully less!!! 
      As always...thanks to all of you who are here for me, you who follow me, and for all of you that keep me and my family in your prayers.  Our hopes and prayers are that the biopsy goes well, they are able to get good samples, and that my cancer takes chill on growing while we wait for results and a new targeted treatment.
     Have a Blessed Easter!


Comments

  1. Linda McKiernan-AllenApril 15, 2017 at 2:02 PM

    Lori, thank you for sharing your news, and your willingness to look ahead for what positive possibilities are on the horizon. I'm so sorry this last treatment wasn't showing itself to be effective...but am grateful for what you've described as the new treatment. We'll continue praying for you, for your family, for your doctors, and for the ever-increasing research which WILL find answers.

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  2. Clara david April 2, 2020 at 9:51 AM

    WHAT A GREAT MIRACLE THAT I HAVE EVER SEE IN MY LIFE. My names are Clara David I’m a citizen of USA, My younger sister was sicking of breast cancer and her name is Sandra David I and my family have taking her to all kind of hospital in USA still yet no good result. I decided to go to the internet and search for cancer cure so that was how I find a ladycalled peter Lizzy she was testifies to the world about the goodness of a herbal man who has the roots and herbs to cure all kind of disease and the herbal man email was there. So I decided to contact the herbal man @herbalist_sakura for my younger sister help to cure her breast cancer. I contacted him and told him my problem he told me that I should not worry that my sister cancer will be cure, he told me that there is a medicine that he is going to give me that I will cook it and give it to my sister to drink for one week, so I ask how can I receive the cure that I am in USA, he told me That I will pay for the delivery service. The courier service can transport it to me so he told me the amount I will pay, so my dad paid for the delivery fee. two days later I receive the cure from the courier service so I used it as the herbal man instructed me to, before the week complete my sister cancer was healed and it was like a dream to me not knowing that it was physical I and my family were very happy about the miracle of Doctor so my dad wanted to pay him 5 million us dollars the herbal man did not accept the offer from my dad, but I don't know why he didn't accept the offer, he only say that I should tell the world about him and his miracle he perform so am now here to tell the world about him if you or your relative is having any kind of disease that you can't get from the hospital please contact dr.sakuraspellalter@gmail.com or whats app him +2348110114739  you can follow him up on Instagram @herbalist_sakura for the cure, he will help you out with the problem. And if you need more information about the doctor you can mail me davidclara223@gmail.com 

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