My cancer is back...

@naturegirl5 where do i even begin...
yes i was taking him to UVA for his pancreatic cancer care and actually got the phone call from my pc when i was in the office of one of his doctors there...i think it was his endocrinologist, and we drove across town to his oncologist appt where HIS oncologist asked what was going on, he told him and he asked to see the CT images.. i pulled them up on my phone, sent to his email and he looked at them on the computer and said "we need to get you in downstairs " his office was on 3rd floor and gyn oncology was on 2nd.. long story short, i applied for Tenncare in TN due to a clerical mistake i was denied However it was because of that, i was accepted at UVA for care with financial assistance really quickly probably due to his doc...which was a HUGE blessing...God at work no doubt. My mother was treated by UVA back in 88 so when they learned that, i had a geneticist put on my care team, was tested for BRCA and it came back positive for BRCA 1... so i was already going to UVA with him for his chemo, so instead of driving him we started having one of my kids most of the time driving us both.. his was on Wed mine on Thurs, but he was finishing his as i was starting mine...he had surgery, stayed up there for radiation, found out it had spread to his liver and nothing more they could do...so he essentially moved into our house for his last months on comfort care while my kids were still taking me for chemo...i was getting better while he was dying and that was hard...i went through a lot in 24...(his memorial video that i conducted is up on my channel on youtube bhale7904 is my user name for those who want to see it )

yes i'm tired of the "platitudes" especially the "you did this once you'll do it again, you're so strong, i couldn't go through what you've been through" etc while looking me dead in the face and often i look at them and say" yes you could, you don't know what you can do til you have to" or my favorite lately.. "at least i'm not Job" Yes i know i'll get through it, i'm not giving up and that is why i appreciate the comments here...because YALL understand...you've been there done that got the tshirt so to speak, so the encouragement from you all means a lot..

As for treatment, i get my port put in next thurs morning ( the crappy part is i JUST had it taken out in Dec) have to be at dr's office by 1:!5 (across the street from IR at the hospital) and then upstairs to chemo by 2:15... then we'll be coming home because my daughter who is driving this time has to be back to work Friday...i'm going Wed for acupuncture because i remember how much it helped before with the nausea etc when i got it day before chemo and then we're driving up to stay in the hotel Wed night...

i honestly believe if more people would advocate for themselves it might be a pain for the doctors but we'd get a lot better care. I did even meeting with the neuro on Monday, i told him i needed something done about the tremors, but if he felt like a different med would stop the tremors i was open to trying it and like he said, if i had a seizure while changing meds it would be better to have it in the next month or two than 3 or 4 months down the line when i was weaker from chemo...

one thing i would like everyone's opinion on is this...how can i keep my blood levels up? as some of you may remember i had to have nulesta or whatever it was called to build white blood cells quicker for the chemo...i often had to go 5 or 6 weeks between instead of 3 because i wasn't building blood fast enough and ended up having 7 units of blood from the red blood cells not reproducing quickly as well... any suggestions appreciated (as long as it doesn't involve eating things like broccoli, or any dark leafy vegetable, ain't never liked them and ain't about to start eating them at 60 lol)

@mommacandy Ah, the way to boost blood levels is a tricky thing. Do you have any dietary limits right now due to other health concerns? If not, here is a list of things to try, in moderation:
To increase blood levels (specifically hemoglobin and red blood cells), focus on consuming iron-rich foods (red meat, spinach, lentils), Vitamin C for absorption (citrus, peppers), and folate/B12 (eggs, fortified foods), stay hydrated, moderate exercise, dark chocolate, nuts, seeds. And even though you don't like 'em, dark leafy veggies are good for you at this point! Tell yourself it's for your own good!

Does this sound doable for you?
Ginger

Hi lovely, thank you for sharing, I am sitting here in Australia with stage IV endometrial cancer. I commenced IV chemo in Sept 2023 after full hysterectomy. Due to mets I was given 12-24 months, I wasn’t having any of it and told my oncologist I will be one of the anomalies that beats this POS. Anyway I had chemo for 5 months NED then reoccurrence within 1 month. 7 month trial chemo by mouth (did nothing but lower white blood cells). Currently on second trial immuno (Keytruda) and SKB264 since March. Took me off K due to licer damage but still on SKB264 and tumours in pelvis shrunk to 4mm. Back to you sorry to vent steroids make me rant :). I take a zinc and vitamin D tablet every day. For white and red bloods I have increased fish intake especially salmon, nuts (when I don’t have mucositis) yogurt, banana smoothies, cranberry/orange juices, strawberries, eggs and daily fermented papaya (3 caps full)). My team said it is quite incredible I am still going strong, I swear at it alot and stay positive (90% of the time). I have lost hair twice but I find having no eyelashes is my main sadness x keep strong, sending fighting vibes you got this the POS is going to be sorry 💪🤗🌈❤️

@marina22 consider adding essiac into your regimen...i swear i am beginning to think mine got a foothold back during January when i had ran out for 3 weeks...its the ONLY thing that makes sense to me ...my ca125 had stayed below 12 when i was diligently taking it every day...i ran out and we didn't have money to get more for about 3 weeks and when i had a blood draw AFTER that low and behold it was up to 18.. so i seriously am blaming it on that...whether or not it was idk...but i had taken it EVERY single day til then and my numbers stayed below 12....so to my way of thinking that was the reason...oh yea docs don't agree with my logic...but it doesn't hurt....even my doc agreed with that...and he said it was possible...he didn't think so but he couldn't rule it out since i had obviously been NED for that long with what i was doing...

i'll be honest, i'm way more scared this time than i remember being the first time ,,, i may not be as i don't remember a ton from that time because i was more worried about my friend and his cancer i think... i don't remember having these thoughts i've been having the last time ... maybe its my impatience, idk but i'd have much rather started the treatment as soon as they found it...not give it another week to grow in my body... i understand some things take a bit to get scheduled etc...but i'm quite impatient to just get it going...i keep thinking "ok what could i do to speed up this fight" so to speak.. i'm having all kinds of weird thoughts, like i should be doing things to prepare to die (ie getting property distributed etc)" but at the same time its like " heck no, i'm going to beat it this time too, i'm done with this crap" but these started before i even was diagnosed this time...was i subconsciously realizing this was happening? idk..
i know this board was highly supportive last time and sooo i guess thats why i came here when i realized it was back... i knew i could come here, talk about my fears, nerves, etc and be ok...yall wouldn't judge me...

@mommacandy Don't let your thoughts interfere with moving ahead. You beat this before you can do it again. We all have that same fear even before we actually get it. For me every unfamiliar twitch brings it back, push those thoughts away. I will be praying that you can overcome those negative thoughts and replace them with clear thinking. You are so very strong. You are still here embrace that.

I'm just chiming in to say that here is one more person sorry to hear that you are facing this again, @mommacandy, and holding faith that your knowing your body and speaking up clearly on behalf of your needs is one of those skills that is already helping you to get to a plan sooner, and will continue to serve you. I will be keeping you in my thoughts and hoping that all of the wisdom that you are bringing to this round will get you through it as well as before.

As far as "building" your blood for chemo, is iron a component that needs to be boosted? If so, I have an iron storage disorder, so have to AVOID foods that "build blood," so encourage you to consider these, which for me, are discouraged:
- red meat (5.2mg of heme-iron, which is the most easily absorbed by the body, or 30% of daily requirement in 6 ounce burger),
-blackstrap molasses (think homemade gingerbread cookies 4.9mg or 27% of daily requirement of non-heme iron per tablespoon)
-lamb (2.3mg per 3 ounces of lamb) 13%
-oysters (4.5mg of iron, or 25% of daily requirement in 3.5 ounces of oysters)
-a baked potato contains 2mg or 11% of non-heme iron in a medium potato (with skin)

While researching iron content of various foods, I did see at least one supplement designed for "blood building,"
-MegaFood Blood Builder contains 26mg of iron (144% of daily requirement) in a formula that they claim is gentle, without causing nausea or constipation and comes in "mini-tablets" for those with trouble swallowing

I don't know whether your healthcare team would support you to build your iron status early, but thought I'd offer this in case it might help.

Sending my warm and very best wishes for a prompt start to your treatment now so that your hope rises, @mommacandy.