Chronicle - Month 3 and 4 of Tafinlar and Mekinist

After 2 months of taking Tafinlar and Mekinist, I had to do new CT scans. I believe we do them every 2 to 3 months. . 

Like anyone dealing with cancer, I had "scanxiety" where you get nervous. 

Will you learn it didn't work? Did it spread? Was the last few months on this new chemo (targeted therapy) worth it? Will it be bad news or good? 

I got good news! My liver tumors had shrunk by 15 to 50%! Thank you, God. 

What a relief. It is working. 

As far as side effects go for months 3 and 4, which are Oct and November.... the rash (panniculitis) continued until early November, so for 2.5 months in total. 

And fevers began for the first time in early October. For a more detailed look at my fevers, I did a separate post on that side effect. 

The fevers started out low and would recover when we paused the chemo for a few days. But soon got worse and more frequent. 

We tried lowering the chemo dose. It did not help. In the end, my doctors added steroids. That has seemed to do the trick so far. 

I also experienced swollen ankles and joint pain. The joint pain started in my ankles but would jump around to other locations such as my wrist, elbow, knee, and hips.

I continued to need naps on most days. And had some body aches and chills with the fevers. 

In addition, I had minor side effects such as bloating at times, sore mouth at times, and so on. 

Overall, nothing too bad. The fevers were the most concerning. We continued to try to manage them during these months.