Rattlin' Bones

One might think that I have been sitting around doing little of anything this past while. Wrong! In an upcoming post I'll dish on my most recent trip - to Paris and Barcelona. But first, an update re my ever-changing medical situation.

Regular readers of this post will no doubt remember how I hobbled around the UK with a broken foot. Which I didn't know was broken. When I returned home, a routine bone scan revealed that I had a stress fracture. Experts in the field concluded that earlier chemo and radiation treatments had severely reduced my bone density thus bringing on a sudden (to me at least) osteoporosis. To date, I have that one stress fracture in my right foot, a possible second one in my left (note to self: do NOT run for the ferry), a compression fracture of the T10 vertebrae, well-developed osteoporosis in the L1-4 vertebra, and osteoporina(?) in my left hip.

The fact that I'm on a drug trial has meant that Dr J and Dr Wadge have had a lot of conversations with the Cancer Agency team to ensure whatever treatment I am given for osteoporosis does not interfere with the study medications. The decision was made to put me on Pamidronate, a drug that is administered once a month via IV. I can have this treatment at St Mary's in Sechelt, so no need for an extra trip to Vancouver.

I had my first Pamidronate treatment on Wednesday. The treatment itself was a painless affair, thanks in large part of a well-functioning port-a-cath. I was warned that I might experience some side effects such as fever and flu-like symptoms and, sure enough, they kicked in about two or three hours after the treatment ended. I stayed in bed until late Friday morning. Didn't feel really good until about 6pm Friday night.

I have no idea if I'll feel like that each time I have a treatment nor do I know if the side effects are cumulative. What I do know is that, in cancer patients, this drug is suppose to not only address the issue of osteoporosis, but actually rebuild the bone mass. A few days of extra sleep are worth enduring for that result, me thinks.