Adrenal Courage

My next scan came about 2 weeks later. I am not a big crier, especially not in front of other people. I started bawling my eyes out during my CT scan, terrified of what it would show. The CT tech and nurse were so incredibly kind to me. There truly are some great people still out there and I am glad they were the ones to take care of me.  

The next morning, Nick and I woke up and ran (literally) to the hospital to get my labs done. We ran back. Got some breakfast and coffee and had a beautiful morning. We drove to Dr. Hammer’s office. We were both very optimistic that we would be getting amazing news. I was feeling great, my appetite and early satiety was improved. My supraclavicular lymph node felt smaller. Everything seemed to be pointing in the right direction. Someone from his team broke the news to me…the treatment was not working. Yet again, I was devastated. My symptoms felt better, my gut was telling me treatment was working. But, alas, I was wrong. The tumor continued to grow and is now invading my inferior vena cava, which is the large vein that returns blood from your body back to your heart.  

Being the prepper that I am, I had brought the TKI inhibitor with me to begin taking just in case. Here is another example of our broken healthcare system. This potentially lifesaving treatment was denied by my insurance company. I applied for a manufacturer coupon and thank God they agreed to pay for my refills for the next year. I am now taking a pill that costs $1,000 a day, in addition to my Keytruda infusions that cost about $30k every 3 weeks. Makes you really think about those conspiracy theories saying there is a cure for cancer but it isn’t a multi-billion dollar treatment. More on this some other time… 

I have been experiencing some intermittent symptoms while taking cabozantinib: random explosive diarrhea, nausea, fatigue, body aches, painful rash on hands/feet, random sore throats and mouth sores. My hair color is beginning to change as well. All in all, I have good days and bad days. I can nap at the drop of a hat but continue to work out and do the things I want to do.