The Next Chapter - Thank God for Insurance!

We are heading into a new phase in my treatment to prolong my life while maintaining quality of life with MBC.

This week has turned out to be a busy one, appointment wise. After meeting with Dr. Kocs on Monday, I had to go back Tuesday for what is termed a "chemo teach". This is when I find out that Ibrance is a form of chemo, even though the chemo is targeting specific cell characteristics. I had a PET scan Thursday morning, then my first shot of Faslodex on Friday.

The first few appointments were pretty routine and describing them would probably bore you to tears. But my first dip into my new treatment was an eye opener.

First, I get to the office, check in, and wait to be called back. The Infusion nurses give me the shot. Huh - that's a surprise. So back to the infusion room I go, sit in one of the familiar recliners so they can take my vitals and draw three vials of blood for lab work. While waiting on the labs to come back, I get a visit from the financial people. Got to discuss the money. Geez! Turns out the shot cost for 6 treatments (I think I will actually have more than that) is $21, 980; my portion would be $971 per shot. Fortunately, this shot comes out of the $2000 max out of pocket that I've already hit. Amazing how that works with 5 rounds of chemo and a CT, all within the month of January.

Once the lab results come back, I am invited to the "shot" room. I am accompanied into the shot room by not one but TWO nurses. WHAT?! Turns out the Faslodex shot is actually two shots, one in each side of my hips. I am not a fan of shots so my anxiety level was pretty high. I was invited to partially drop my drawers and bend over. The ladies were masterful at injecting the shots at the same time, same pace. It's like they've done this before. Actually, it really didn't hurt. More like a pinch.

After the shots, they had to massage the area to help avoid hardness. I was also told that I needed to keep moving for a while once I got home ..... do not sit down and start watching TV. Walk around the house, take a hot bath, etc. I did both. It still didn't stop one side from stinging like crazy when I finally sat down on the couch about 90 minutes post shot. After massaging my hip for a bit, the pain and stinging went away. This is going to be fun every two weeks.

Now that I'm done with the shots, off to the in-house pharmacy to pick up my Ibrance prescription. My out of pocket every month is only $70. Texas Oncology offered co-pay assistance if I needed it. Some day I may, but I'm okay for now. The actual cost billed by the drug company? $15,088 for a 21-day supply. Mind blowing! Thank God I have insurance!

I thought I would begin Ibrance on Monday. Nope! I started it tonight. Patients get the shot, then need to start the Ibrance the same day as the shot. Since I was in the office late in the day, I will need to take the pill every night at dinner (you must take with food).

Actually, I am not disappointed that I started today. This gives me the three day weekend to see how I am going to react to this new medication. I am told that some of the more common systems will be experience fairly soon, like nausea, vomiting, fatigue, etc. It is encouraging to read "if you vomit after taking the medication, do not take another dose of the medication that day". Oh my! What am I in for?

I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do ....