Ok. Here’s the deal.

Tuesday. October 28, 2025. I know it’s been a few weeks. But a lot has happened since my last post.

On October 14 I went to UCSF for CT scans of the chest and abdomen/pelvis, a full body bone scan, and met with Dr. Huppert in person for the first time since the retirement of Dr. Rugo. The bone scan was clean. The abdomen/pelvis CT scan revealed no evidence of metastatic disease. The chest CT scan displayed no new sites of metastatic disease in the chest, however there is continued enlargement of a right middle lobe pulmonary nodule. It’s small. Tiny, in fact. About 3/10 of an inch in size. But it is growing.

When I met with Dr. Huppert it was our main topic of conversation. But before I get into that, let me just say I like her. She had me at the first hug. I am a sucker for a good hug. So, there was that. I also liked that she sat face-to-face with me and looked me straight in the eye the entire time. I felt heard. We dove right into the scan results. She was quick to suggest there was a possibility for additional focal radiation to the lung lesion if it was one that hadn’t been treated previously and immediately sent a message to Dr. Braunstein for a consult. I felt a sense of urgency. We also discussed the Dato-DxD side effects I’m experiencing…fatigue, eye dryness, running nose, skin dryness and worst of all a super-sensitive mouth including mouth sores, sore tongue, compromised sense of taste, sensitivity to the slightest amount of spiciness and constant watering. I do rinse with a prescription steroid mouthwash throughout the day, and she suggested adding magic mouthwash to the mix which I can make myself. It was also suggested that a reduced treatment dose may alleviate some of the discomfort. I felt taken care of. All-in-all it was a good meeting, and it ended with another big, warm hug. What can I say?

Then on October 20 I met with Dr. Wang sharing all that was learned during my time at UCSF. Dr. Wang is with Adventist Health, and he had not received the notes or test results yet. We discussed a reduced dose of the Dato-DxD, and he agreed. I told him I would go full dose this time, and get a reduced dose on my November 10 visit. I also asked if Benadryl could be substituted with Clarintin or Zyrtec. It is one of the things they give me as a pre-med to the infusion. I am so sensitive to it that I have a hard time staying awake for hours afterward. Again, he agreed and switched it out that day. What a difference. Wow! I wish I had asked way, way earlier. Chemo brain. (Why not use that excuse if you can?)

The infusion (number 8) went well except they have been having a hell of a time getting a good blood return from my port. We have tried all sorts of pretzel twists, coughing, arm over the head, head to the side, hanging with my head between my legs, laughing…the only thing we haven’t tried is farting. Anyway, after a couple of unsuccessful attempts they gave me a clot buster. It had to percolate in my port for about half-an-hour. Then they gave it a try. Drum roll…It worked! It worked great! That is definitely the way to go in the future, if I continue to have issues.

Today I had a video meeting with radiation oncologist Dr. Braunstein. He confirmed that the lesion in my right lung is treatable with focal radiation since it is not the same one that was zapped previously. There will be a treatment a day for 3-5 days. You might remember I posted about the SBRT therapy on a lesion in that lung in November 2023. It is quite a process. If you are curious or want a refresher, here’s a link to that post (https://lanahascancer.com/2023/11/29).

Finally, as you all know it is Breast Cancer Awareness month (BCAM). I’m not on social media, so I haven’t been slammed by all the commercialization of a disease that, as someone with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer (MBC), will likely kill me. I follow the No Half Measures blog by Abigail Johnson who is a great voice and advocate for all of us with MBC. Abigail is a young wife and mother who has been living with Stage 4 MBC for 8 years. She has strong feelings about, among other things, the Pink Month of October. I deeply appreciate her insight and wisdom. I invite you to read her posts from October 6 as well as October 13. The information she shares is eye-opening.

Catching up on some MBC BCAM awareness!

MBC BCAM awareness #2

It is impossible to see the exact nature of a box when you are inside it. —Wes Nicker