Skip to main content

iBrance

Looks like things are all starting to come together. I had my Zometa infusion along with my first two Faslodex shots on Friday. The shot is the biggest needle I have ever seen, except for the epidural needle. Interestingly enough though, it didn't hurt at all. It was just the tiniest little pinch in each butt cheek.

Friday afternoon I got a call from the specialty prescription drug company. The iBrance has been approved and I will get my first shipment on Tuesday! The lady explained that every month I will get a phone call about 8-10 days before my drugs are shipped. They need to have a verbal confirmation from me that I am expecting the delivery. It's shipped via FedEx and I will have to be home to sign for it. It seems SO big time. Then, she says "After insurance the co pay is $2,000 a month," at which point my knees literally buckled and I had to catch myself from falling. She continued "so I already submitted you for financial aid from Pfizer and it has been approved, which brings your co pay down to $0 per month." Oh MY GOD. WHO can afford that?! My first thought was "Pfizer is so great! They are so nice!" But then it dawned on me that they are making enough money off of the insurance anyway... they aren't "nice" because they approved me for financial help. I mean, they are AMAZING for coming up with this drug. But as far as the finances are concerned, I'm positive they are getting their money from somewhere. 

So things are just rolling along. I am back to being positive and convinced that this new treatment is going to work. And I'm going to do my best to stay positive until I have a reason to be anything otherwise.

We went to a mass today for World Day of the Sick at the cathedral in SF. The Order of Malta invited me, and since they are making their decision this month about our trip to Lourdes, I figured it would be good to put in some face time. I'm so glad we went. It was a beautiful mass. I was given the Sacrament of Annointing of the Sick, and Matt and the girls received special blessings as my caregivers also. The girls felt really important, and I was so proud of them. It was so nice to share this with them. With all of the bad that comes with cancer, so much good is coming too. My girls are seeing how important my faith is to me, and I hope it provides them as much comfort as it gives Matt and I. 


Comments

  1. So proud of you and your family. Stay positive. And remember, it took Pfizer many years to develop this drug and others that are being developed. I am so glad you went to that mass and have a strong faith. It does give you a lot of peace to know God is good and God is in charge.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Beauty in Life and Death

This is Matt unfortunately Melissa did not get finish her last entry so I will take it from here.  I will try not to have any typos or grammatical errors.  Melissa would really not like that, but she was my official proof reader for all important documents. Melissa and I always strived to look for beauty even in the darkest of times.  It is not always easy but it is always there when you look hard enough.  Our situation the last year and half have not been ideal there were lots of tears and dark times, but the beauty was overwhelming. Whether it was a note, meal, flowers, or text a a low point or just the love we felt from family or friends.  The beauty was there.  We had so many people praying for us and for Melissa to beat cancer once and for all, but I also prayed that Melissa would be pain free and if it was God's will that she passed peacefully.  Melissa was in so much pain last year.  She did not let her slow her down but she was hurting.  She packed more into a year with

Sigourney Weaver

Years ago (okay, fine...decades ago) in high school some boy jokingly called me Sigourney Weaver. I don't remember all of the details of how or why that nickname came about, but it's sort of funny that she and I do have a lot in common now. Well, the Sigourney Weaver of 1997 or whenever "Aliens" came out. Bald, badass, and with an alien growing inside of us!! My alien will be removed tomorrow morning though, Thank GOD! I'm SO over having this gross bump that hurts more and more every day. The other day I couldn't even put my jeans on without it pinching my little alien baby. It turns out I'm developing a "day before surgery" routine. I go shopping. Today it was the first ever "Back to School" shopping for Reagan! She starts Kindergarten next month, so I figured we should get her some new clothes before the full effects of radiation kick in and I'm too tired. (Wait.... I don't think anything will ever make me "too tired&qu

It's Baaaaaaccccckkkkk.......

6 years.... that's how long it's been since I finished with active treatment. However, I took Tamoxifen for 5 years to squash any estrogen left in my body. I recently switched over to a "tougher" aromatase inhibitor call arimidex. These drugs provided comfort and faith that I was doing everything in my power to prevent a recurrence. Guess what?! They failed me. Big time. It's back, and it's back all over. After months of hip pain that my NP chalked up repeatedly to muscle pain, she finally sent me to an orthopedist. He took X-rays and did NOT like what he saw. Additional blood work and bone scans have led to the diagnosis of cancer pretty much throughout my skeletal system. Metastases were found in the skull, scapula, multiple ribs, pelvis, both hips, and spine. Definitely NOT the news I was expecting nor wanting to hear. After an afternoon of crying and occasionally feeling like I was going to throw up, Matt and I met with Dr. Adler, my oncologist. He was