Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Another clear CT scan!  I feel like my Huntsman team is super relieved every time I have a clear scan - almost like they are expecting each time to have to give me bad news.  So I will keep praying and crossing my fingers that something I am doing is working and that the cancer won't come back.  We had a talk about the radiation from the CT scans and they keep saying that the radiologists agree that the amount that I am receiving is acceptable.  My doctor said that she has yet to see anyone present themselves with cancer that was caused by radiation - although how she would know that it was not radiation that caused it, I'm not sure...  She also said though that in the field of radiology they are constantly improving their methods and the technology so that the amount of radiation that the body is exposed to is significantly less than it was even a few years ago.  She also said that any studies that she could pull up on radiation exposure would most likely be out of date already.  I guess that part of it makes me feel better.  Also, since Huntsman specializes in cancer treatments, they use the absolute minimum amount of radiation needed for each scan.  Apparently other facilities that don't specialize in cancer may use more.  I asked if they would have me doing this many scans if I was not on the study and she said that we would probably do them twice a year because of the advanced stage of my cancer when I was diagnosed.  She also said that she had talked with my surgeon about her concerns for the number of scans.  My doctor is hesitant to have me quit the study that I am on because then I would lose the Avastin which appears to be doing what they want it to - keeping the cancer away.  They said that they have other patients in similar situations that they can't get the Avastin for because it is not approved by the FDA for ovarian cancer.

After my appointment was over I went to the infusion room for my Avastin infusion.  While I was there the counselor that works with my doctor's group came over and had a talk with me to see how I am doing.  We talked some about my Avastin treatments and my concerns over the study that I am on.  I think that my biggest concern is that we really don't know if the Avastin is really doing any good or if it is maybe causing some other problems that will present themselves later on in my life.  I am still young and want to be as healthy as I can for as long as I can be!