One more chemo cycle to go (for now)!

  While I do love this quote, I can't help but be excited that I only have one more chemo cycle to go (for now). I say (for now) due to the need to see the pathology results from my tumor after surgery to determine if I have a pathologic complete response (pCR).

 I received a great newsletter from Genentech who is the manufacturer of Perjeta and Herceptin in relation to pCR. 

Understanding the outcome of treatment before surgery

At this point in your treatment journey, you may be almost ready for surgery, and your pre-surgery treatment cycles should be nearly done. You might be wondering what comes next.

Remember, your doctor and healthcare team are your primary sources of information. Only they can give you medical advice about your disease and treatment.

Let’s talk about pCR

Pathological complete response, or pCR, is a measure your doctor uses to see how well your pre-surgery treatment worked. That’s what they’ll use to plan your next step.

After surgery, a doctor checks to see if any cancer cells are present in the breast tissue or lymph nodes removed during surgery. If there are no cancer cells present, that’s a pCR.

A pCR is not the same as a cure. Whether you get a pCR or not, it’s important to continue treatment after surgery. There are options for either outcome, and you and your doctor will decide what’s best for you.

 Based on my most recent MRI results, my chance of a pCR is very high; however, we will not know until after my tumor goes to pathology. So, my next steps are to await pathology results after my surgery in late June/early July to know if I will just continue Herceptin and Perjeta for one year, or if I will change my regimen completely or just add in another chemotherapy therapeutic.

 For now, May 13th is my next date to look forward to which will be my last chemotherapy/targeted therapy session until after surgery. Hopeful and anticipating being able to have that cycle on time as my body has been rebounding well enough with my red and white blood cells to not cause a delay! Way to go gran team!

 Thank you to everyone who is checking in on me. I truly appreciate it. But don't forget to:

They need it too!

 The yoga that brought me joy today! I love what she says at time 12:47 - "Notice what it feels like to be alive today, enjoy, enjoy, enjoy". Such a good message.

TL;DR

• You get the smorgasbord above. I'm on my dexamethasone steroid high so enjoy the chaos!