Your labs are better than mine!

As part of the PRESENT trial today was my 21 month (holy crap we're getting close to two years!) follow up. It involved 4 tubes of blood, some urine and a physical exam. Easy peasy.

I was nervous about my blood draw today, only because the last time I ate salty foods I had some trouble with the blood draws. No such issue today. The woman in the lab recognized me and said, "Well, we haven't seen you in a while.". "I know, isn't it great?" "It's awesome". Got to love mini celebrations with staff that you've seen for 2.5 years.

Today was just a check up and to follow up on updates to the consent forms for the studies. One update I knew was coming down the pipeline because as we know I am a proud owner of a side effect. It was interesting to read that there have been 5 severe reactions (this was the update). An allergic reaction, chest pain, back pain (2) and syncope. Oops. So it really was just me who did that. Well I shall wear the honor proudly. Also, they updated the consent form to say that at least 300 people have had at least one dose of the vaccine. Up from the 100 when I originally enrolled. Progress! Yay science!

A separate update to the consent form to send my tumor tissue out for more testing. More testing, of course. I like to send my blood across the country let's send some tissue too. I didn't know this test existed so, it was interesting for me to learn. They were sending the tissue to have the HercepTest done. I asked the research NP if the name implied that they are checking for the amount of the HER2 protein that helps decide if the patient should get Herceptin the chemotherapy? She told me yes, and they give it a score. The same way they oncotyped my tumor that helped make the decision that chemotherapy was in my best interest. Again, another example of how smart cancer treatment is becoming. 

All the new paper work was signed. My side effects were reviewed with my Oncologist. We discussed the new ovarian cyst and  occasional joint aches and muscle pain, but overall no complaints. Knock on wood I have not had any hot flashes. She did a physical exam where we chatted about the upcoming implementation of our new electronic medical record. Then she pulled out my labs. Not a single, solitary value out of limits. Everything WNL (within normal limits). She said "Your labs look better than mine!". Always, always a nice thing for a cancer survivor to hear.

There was however one side effect I didn't review with her. Fatigue. This is because I know the cause of it. The New England Patriots are Super Bowl Champs again and it was too darn hard to sleep after that great of a game. It's important to watch everyone of Brady's touchdowns again. It's important to see Bellichick smile (sorta) while he raises the trophy. Too much fun.