Here's to the First Day of the Rest of My Life

It's so hard, mentally, to switch my targeted therapy, chemo pill.  I know the first pill is what helped shrink my tumors and nodules to nothing.  But physically, I have been uncomfortable and in pain.  Physically, that old pill can go away and never return.

Leave it to me to be the only person on record to have the muscle aches, tightness, fatigue and pains that have occurred as a side effect of Tarceva.

This is my current alternative.  Iressa. My new pills arrived last night.  It came with this file box with a very inspirational quote and a pretty decent looking cancer cookbook.

My oncologist described the change like going from Pepsi to Coke.  It's more than likely if I don't have GI issues with Tarceva, I may not with Iressa.  I took my first dose before bed. Let's just say, I'm noticing a slight side effect this morning.  But I would think that's expected anyway when switching meds. All in all, so far, so good.

On the plus side(s), I can take it with or without food.  No more waiting 2+ hours after eating to take my pill.  I don't have to to avoid the sun, which has been a challenge with an outdoor job. No more staying covered and out of the sun. I'm going to give it a couple days to get the Tarceva out of my system.  But I can't wait to be outside in shorts and short sleeves again.

Side Effects or Something Else?

With a higher dose of my targeted treatment pill, Tarceva, I experienced all over muscle aches and pains.  The dose was lowered.  Most of those pains went away.

Lately, I've been concerned with some muscle tightness.  I started doing morning stretches after my last back pain issue. Since I was going to stretch my back every day, I thought I would be good to stretch the rest of my body too.

I realized I'm having issues with more than just my lower back.  Most all my body is tight. There has been no improvement in flexibility after several weeks of daily stretches.  I contacted my oncologist last Friday.  He suggested I hold off on my chemo pill for a few days to see if things improve.  Today is Monday.  I haven't taken a pill since Thursday.

I didn't think it would be too scary to not take my chemo pill for the last few days. I knew I would still have some in my system. I didn't think the cancer would return within a couple days.  But my energy levels were down.  I was also reluctant to carry on with normal activities for a couple days.

I called the oncologist today with my update.  Three days with no pill.  Three days with very little to no change.  So the plan is to go back to my regular dosage tonight.

Maybe I'm just that out of shape.  Maybe the stress on my body has effected me more than I realized.  Maybe this isn't lung cancer or treatment related.