Hold the Herceptin

Before I went to my Herceptin appointment in Towson this morning, I decided to call first and see if the MUGA scan results would allow me to continue with my treatments. As it turns out, the answer was no, so I saved a trip. My oncologist told the receptionist to tell me that he wants to wait another month, and have another MUGA just before coming in again. Sigh ... For those who don't know what this is all about, a MUGA scan measures the efficiency of the ventricular heart valve as it pumps blood through the heart. It's called the EF or ejection fraction. A side effect of Herceptin is that it can cause a lowering of the EF, having the potential to cause congestive heart failure. Some people have no reaction to Herceptin, but I am one who does, so I've had a lot of these MUGA scans. My doctor took me off Herceptin for 3 months from December until February to allow the EF to rise again, which it did, but apparently it's now down again, therefore the month wait.

I spent the day instead working in my craft room. Things were going along swimmingly, until I managed to dump an entire organizer box of beads upside down. Thousands of beads - all mixed together in a mess on the carpeting. It took me an hour and a half to get them all picked up and resorted. Paddle helped. She watched me the whole time from her perch on the chair.

PHOTO: Pig racing at the Maryland State Fair last summer.