Yesterday, I had an update from Megan--she's still fighting, but the news is not good. Her radiation oncologist, the doctor who had recommended stereotactic radiation to treat her brain mets, has what is called a "peer-to-peer" review with the local California Blue Shield m...

Well, today I gave up my credit card and booked my tickets to go and see Debutaunt in Houston. There's no turning back, as these are non-refundable tickets.  The only thing that I was hesitating over is that I am scheduled to get another gemcitabine treatment on Friday, and if it was anyth...

I just saw a story on Bloomberg about Tykerb. The story said that the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has rejected Tykerb to treat women with advanced breast cancer because it is too expensive.  The story gives the cost of a year's worth of Tykerb as about $3...

Yvonne, one of my readers, sent me encouraging messages about my sore mouth after just one dose of gemcitabine.  She wrote: "I feel your pain!!! ...In fact, I am rinsing along with you this week!!" Now, it is really true that misery loves company, and I felt better knowing that I was...

I had a question from a reader about my chemo schedule, and I agree, it's hard to understand. So I thought I'd try to outline it here, briefly. (Well, maybe not so briefly...) I'm not on any kind of standard regimen--Tykerb is normally given with xeloda, for example, but I can't tole...

I'm never going to remember all the people I told that my interview with 20/20 was airing Friday night, and now the interview has been bumped.  No word yet on when it will air.  A bit bummed here ... ...

I stuck out my tongue in front of the mirror yesterday morning, and what did I see? Red sore patches, with whitish borders. My tongue looks like someone beat it up, and that's how it feels, too.  So, being no dummy, I called my oncologist's office and talked to one of his nurses. She a...

Last night I watched the 1997 documentary "Rachel's Daughters: Searching for the Causes of Breast Cancer," with a group of women, all but one of us cancer survivors or living with cancer. Our connection was Team Survivor Northwest, a nonprofit that offers a wide range of exercise and f...

Three days after getting my first treatment with gemcitabine, my new poison, and I feel like crap. My head hurts and I feel lethargic. My face is also puffy around the eyes. The infamous "flu-like symptoms" of so many chemo drugs. But the real question is, is this the gemcitabine causing i...

On Friday, I'm scheduled to get my first treatment with the new regimen, which will include gemcitabine (brand name: Gemzar). That is, if I decide to do this new plan, which will be my old friends Herceptin, zometa, and Tykerb, plus the gemcitabine in place of cytoxan. (It's a wonder I don&#...