Next up: Xeloda

It's back to the drawing board to determine the next step in my battle plan against this beast.  While the adriamycin has certainly done some great work (I'm no longer in pain and Dr C can no longer feel the tumors/liver),  the "personality of my tumor" and the fact that I become "symptomatic very quickly" makes Dr C reluctant to give my body a break from the chemo. 

It's pretty entertaining to hear Dr C talk about my cancer as if it was another person.  The chemo I had after my initial diagnosis left the cancer in hiding for many years (nearly 5!), which tends to be a sign of a slow-growing tumor.  Plus, "it" let us push it around with the Abraxane for quite a while (July '10 - Feb '11).  These two characteristics would make one believe that I have a wussy, sloth-like tumor. 

While that may have been the case initially, something has definitely happened to change the personality of this tumor (Dr Jekyll --> Mr Hyde?).  When it came back after the Abraxane, it came back with a vengeance.  The tumors in my liver were "too numerable to count" and my liver was swollen and causing me significant pain. 

Given this new "Mr Hyde" of a tumor, we plan to continue our attack.  There are a number of chemo regimens still in our armament:  Navelbine, Gemzar, Xeloda, CMF, Halaven, Carboplatin... 

The next one we plan to try is Xeloda.  Xeloda is actually an oral chemotherapy.  In the body, it changes into 5-FU, which is a very long-standing weapon in the fight against breast cancer.  Being an oral, it gives us a bit more flexibility to work, travel, etc... without having to be at the oncologists every week.

Most patients tolerate Xeloda fairly well and I know a number of women who have been on Xeloda for months and months, holding their cancer at bay.  I am excited and hopeful to see how Mr Hyde responds to Xeloda.