Hey All, I was emailed a reminder that I haven't checked in in a while (Hi, dcp & Brenda! Thanks for checking up on me!), so here I am. Sorry for being the Lurkiest.

I believe my last update was no more chemo, starting drugs. The clinical trial my oncologist originally wanted to get me in won't accept me because my kidney numbers aren't good enough, but he had a second option ready to go. I started an oral med just over a month ago, paired with an infusion drug that I started on Nov 1. One of the known side effects of the infusion drug is an "acne-like rash" which I got. Good news - the rash tends to be an indicator that the drug is doing what it's supposed to be doing in my body (i.e., teaching the body how to fight the cancer), Bad news - I got such a VERY EXTREME rash that they've pressed pause on the drug until we can get the rash under control. I've met with the dermatologist who specializes in cancer reactions, and the rash is very much improved. But still not good enough to give me another infusion yet. My oncologist assures me that the pause won't hurt anything, the drug is still working in my system. But it's weird - the rash is really a problem, but cancer is a bigger problem, so I want to get back on track.

And IOhealthN, my hemoglobin is very low, so I'm going to get another blood transfusion on Friday (instead of the drug infusion I was originally scheduled for). I was hesitant to get another transfusion (just because everything is already SO MUCH, y'know?), but it should help with some of the fatigue I've been feeling, and apparently being as anemic as I've been is extra stress on the heart so I'm going for it in the hopes of improvement.

As I'd hoped, being off the chemo has really improved how I'm feeling. I'm still not myself, but I feel so much better than I did for a while there, I'm still calling it a win.