Heart to Heart

So last Friday Karen had her monthly oncology check-in. While I had managed to recover from the jet lag heaped on my head from my work week in Frankfurt, I had not recovered from the metric ton of insomnia that took its place. I'm all for staying up until the wee hours of the morning but when the wee hours have actual daylight in them even I feel I've gone too far. But Friday morning, ah, it was great, I was sleeping so well. Then Karen woke me up and said it was ten minutes until her appointment and did I want to come and why don't I just keep sleeping since nothing ever happens and I said Okay but call if there's news and I'll join you asap and I went back to sleep. But not really. She left, I woke up, I had some coffee, and there was news and she didn't call me. So I won't be stupidly sleeping through these monthly check-ups anymore.

These aren't the hearts you're looking for.

So the news wasn't huge but it was this: Karen seemed to have developed a heart murmur. And the tumor markers in her blood work had risen which would imply that the cancer was coming back. Or, actually, maybe not since she has seen these markers bump up a couple of times before and it was confirmed by PET scan that all was well. Or well enough, anyway.

The heart murmur apparently demanded immediate attention. Both the cancer and the meds she is taking could potentially have an adverse affect on her heart. Which is wonderful because if you're essentially a pinata stuffed with cancer you don't really feel complete without a damaged heart. An appointment was set for today (Monday the 6th) for an echo-cardiogram to see what was going on with her heart. Happily, Karen already had planned on taking the day off work since her step-sister, the delightful Bridget David, was visiting. The three of us squeezed into the small examination room as a delightful little man in need of a more delightful big shower conducted the test. We will have to wait for a cardiologist to weigh in officially within a week or so but the technician said he didn't see anything to worry about.

As for the cancer markers. The docs at Contra Costa Oncology aren't terribly concerned since Karen has a pattern of having them fluctuate. That being said, I'd feel better with a more definitive assessment and as luck would have it Karen is scheduled for another PET scan on the 21st. We've reached the theoretical mid-point of the crizotinib's efficacy so it's time to take a look and see how she's doing. Ideally, we'll hear back from the doctor within 24 hours of having the test done.

In the meantime, we will bid a sad adieu to Bridget when she leaves Wednesday morning and then bid a fond bonjour to my parents who'll be staying for the weekend in order to observe the fiasco that my birthday has become. And of course, my mother's birthday the same day. And Mother's Day. And probably some other holiday.

I'll post more news when it happens. Which, hopefully, won't be for a long long time.