I’m on my second month of taking Arimidex, an aromatase inhibitor, after a few months on Tamoxifen which quit doing its job. I just had my CA27.29 blood test and my numbers went up by 800 in the past two months. I didn’t have the test in November because I had just started taking Arimidex and knew it wouldn’t have had an effect yet. Now I am wishing I would have had the blood test; it would have given me more information on what happened in October and November. What if my numbers increased by 1200 in October and actually went down by 400 in November?

Even if the numbers went up by 400 each month, that’s still a slower increase than the previous month when they went up by 600 (hind sight is 20-20). I need to wait till January’s blood test to see what is happening with Arimidex. My intention is to stay calm and centered, embrace the unknown, and not label anything as good or bad. What is, IS.

In the meantime, another situation is developing. I have tested high for cobalt and chromium. This is not unusual for someone with metal-on-metal hip replacements. I have two of them – one done in 2007 and one in 2008. My recent PET scan indicated inflammation in my left hip, and I have been experiencing pain in my left hip for months. An x-ray showed that the hip replacement is stable, so my orthopedic surgeon says he may have to only replace the “ball” with something that isn’t metal. Better than redoing the total hip replacement, but it’s still surgery. I have an MRI of my hips scheduled for Dec. 23rd to see more clearly what is going on there. Cobalt toxicity can cause some serious problems, including cancer. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this toxicity is what is causing the cancer progression, and it can be eliminated? More will be revealed soon.