As expected the Taxol treatment from Wednesday is taking its toll on Mom this weekend. As anxious as she is to get out of the house she simply does not have the energy for it. Mom isn't one for sitting around so not being able to do the things she normally does is sometimes the hardest part of this treatment, at least mentally. Hopefully that will change in the coming days and she will get back to her normal routine or as mom would say, 'go out bumming'.
Some good news; on Tuesday her doctor gave her a routine breast exam and the lumps in her breast and lymph nodes are noticeably smaller, proving that the treatment is working. Another indicator that the chemo is working is her recent blood work results. Her cancer markers are down from 86.8 (July results) to 51.4 (August results).
Cancer markers, or 'tumor markers', can be found in the body when cancer is present. They are most often found in the blood or urine, but they can also be found in tumors and other tissue. They can be products of the cancer cells themselves, or made by the body in response to cancer. The fact that the level is going down is a good sign that the cancer is responding to treatment. A tumor marker that stayed at the same level as prior to chemotherapy would suggest that the therapy had no effect at all on the cancer.
Cancer markers are by no means fool proof but they are useful in determining the prognosis for the patient, to check how a patient is responding to treatment and to check to see if cancer has returned after remission. Mom's cancer marker is one number that we want to continue to see go down.
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