New Chemo and Dealing with Pain

Been a while since I've updated, mostly because it's a long story that I haven't felt like spending the time on, so I thought I would just start with where things are out now and maybe fill in as I go along so I don't have to do it all at once. I'm back doing chemo again, this time Avastin by itself. My CA125 had gotten up to 192 before they decided to bring me back in. Just before starting it was up to 217, which is a smaller rise per month than I had been having. I get infusions every 2 weeks. The nice thing is that there are no real side effects. It only takes about an hour, with no pre-Meds and no need for nausea Meds at all. There are very serious, but rare side effects, like bowel perforations or strokes. Too soon to tell if it's working.

The hard part is dealing with the pain from the tumor in my hip. I did get referred back to the radiologist but he said you can't do Avastin and radiation at the same time. But more concerning, he didnt think more radiation would help with the pain. He said they would hold it in reserve and possibly go to it to preserve the bone in my hip. If my hip breaks and can no longer support weight, I'm screwed. So the pain has gotten worse since early September. Some days are better than others, but no days are good, except the day I took steroids to prep for CT scan.

So I'm trying various methods that might help some. I've done massage, which feels good in the moment, but lasts for only a short term and doesn't make walking any easier. I also started acupuncture which I think has helped a little bit, but it is early in the treatment. I finally saw a physical therapist this week and she recommended I use a walker instead of a cane. I tried one out and sure enough, it made walking considerably easier. Not that it doesn't hurt, but it's much better than using a cane. Insurance will pay for 1/2 and there was supposedly a 2 day turn around for them to get me one. I was desperate enough I didn't want to wait so I went out Thursday and got what would be a second one. Getting it up and down the stairs at home on my own did not seem practical so I plan to leave one in the house and one in the car to use when I'm out and about. My insurance one should have been here Friday and of course I have not even gotten a CALL from them to set up delivery so I'm glad I took the time the go out and get one on my own. it's going to take some getting used to and will make my arm sore until I get used to it, I'm sure.

I also discussed other methods of working around the pain and will plan to put up grab bars in the bathroom, get a "sock assist" that will help me put my socks on myself, and a tub bench and a couple other things. She gave me some very basic excersises to strengthen other muscles in my leg that are having to compensate for my worthless adductor muscles. Hopefully all this will help in time, but it will likely really come down to whether the Avastin is effective in stopping or reducing the tumors.