This week I am glad to be back on my Crizotinib chemo pills.

I started taking one-a-day on Monday and continued through Thursday. Today (Friday) I’m increasing the dose to the full strength amount of two-a-day. I’m learning how to balance the nausea, a must in order for me to return to work (scheduled for January 2). I’ve yet to have the strange vision tracers but they started after a week last time, I’m expecting to have them soon. They usually only take place early in the am. I’m not too concerned about them.

Tuesday I talked to a Kaiser representative who is going to try to get me connected to the one other person on my same daily drug. With the new privacy laws it is very difficult to get connected with other patients with similar medical conditions. It is difficult to find out if someone else like you exists and still hard to get connected to them when you find out they do exist. What I know about this person is he is/was involved in the Crizotinib drug trial, has a medical oncologist who is a colleague of Dr L my medical oncologist, and his drug trial oncologist is Dr S the lung cancer specialist I went to see on Thursday.

I had a lovely foot massage + pedicure on Wednesday. My feet now look as loved as the rest of my body. At the salon two full figured women were discussing how “these days a small figured women is just advertising to men that she can’t cook”. I took full advantage of this opportunity to explain to them that “the slim gal might just be advertising she’s on chemo”. That made it a fun am for me.

Thursday I went to see Dr S the lung cancer specialist. My $533.80 bought me some reassurance that Dr L is doing the same treatment that Dr S would recommend. I was very pleased to hear this and a tad annoyed that it cost me that much to hear the same thing twice. I also learned some history on Crizotinib and how it was discovered to be beneficial for ALK mutation persons. I gathered that Dr S is the regional oncologist reporting to the program director on all Crizotinib trials. What I really gained from this appointment is a contact. Dr S encouraged me to email him instead of booking an office visit if I had any questions. He also recommended that I contact him when the Crizotinib becomes ineffective and before I begin medicine #3. I’ll be sure to do this when it happens.

Today, Friday, is a lazy day for me. I had lunch with my friend Christa and that’s about it. I’m pretty tired from not sleeping the night before. Talking life expectancy at my Dr S appointment earlier that day pretty much killed my ability to sleep. Ugh.

Tonight I’m looking forward to nice evening with SW. Right now, it’s time for a bubble bath.