How is Lou Doing? It’s a question I get asked many times a day. Unfortunately for months now I haven’t been able to give a positive response. In most instances I find myself adding to the answer; “she is doing well considering…”
While her physical condition obviously isn’t good, I feel it’s a little more constant than the mental. The mental is burdened with so many factors that make it hard for her to have psychological control.
Even though breast cancer is one of the most common carcinomas and one of the main causes of cancer-related death worldwide. The vast majority (like 85%) of breast cancer patients, will live for more than ten years. And this number seems to be constantly improving, especially for breast cancer patients with a hormone or ‘human epidermal growth factor’ receptor.
The type of breast cancer bringing the median statistics down is triple-negative. Triple-negative (TNBC) accounts for approximately 15% of breast cancer cases. The absence of estrogen, progesterone and human epidermal receptor 2 (HER2) in malignant cells reduces treatment options and increases the risk of recurrence and death, especially in the first 3–5 years.
TNBC is super crazy aggressive, especially in young patients like Louise. For many TNBC patients, chemotherapy will treat the disease, which is great because chemo is the “only possible treatment option.”
If your TNBC turns up somewhere else in the body, i.e. it becomes metastatic (MTNBC), Google online sources will tell you that you have a year or less left on this earth i.e you’re fucked. And if you’re classified as chemorefractory, i.e your cancer doesn’t respond to chemotherapy, well then guess what? your double fucked.
Louise is young, she’s MTNBC and she’s chemorefractory. If you think about this alone, you might be able to grasp the enormity of Lou’s mental strain. You combine this with the punishment I detailed in her fundraiser video and you are living in a nightmare, a nightmare with no dawn to wake you from the terror.
Louise’s cancer is so aggressive that her tumours have had their biggest growth during treatment, especially treatment that affects her holistic health. Louise’s primary liver tumour doubled in size during her IO trial and then grew another 18% under a very toxic systemic chemotherapy session, that was intended to stop its growth. I truly believe it wasn’t the treatment but the debilitating effects of the treatment and the inability to exercise during these periods that saw such devastating regression. There are publications that back this theory up.
So where are we at right now with the liver? You can’t live a day without a liver so this is obviously our biggest concern.
The good news is that her liver is still functioning well. The bad news is that her left lobe has many metastatic lesions on it, rendering about 30% of it affected by cancer. The bad-bad news is that her right lobe is 80% covered in tumours. One of those tumours alone is 14.5 cm’s long. The mass of these tumours combined with inflammation has almost doubled the size of her liver. This is the source of much physical pain.
These tumours pilfer blood supply and nutrients too.
How does this current condition and its subsequent side effects play out? To be frank, Lou hasn’t been happy for several months. The kids are the only remedy that put the occasional smile on her face. She’s physically and mentally exhausted and she’s incredibly scared. She is still fighting though.
The last two rounds of TACE have been incredibly taxing on her body and mind. It’s painful and heartwrenching to watch. She’s still being extremely brave.
We do need to keep treating the liver however we can’t schedule any more treatments until her platelets increase. Once the platelets rise we will do another MRI which will help determine our next move. Our next move currently consists of two primary options. A big decision weighing on her mind as I type this post.
In regards to liver cancer improvements. Louise had a 7% reduction in tumour volume after the first TACE. The two consecutive TACE sessions have also reduced chest fluid activity along with her tumour tissue “stabilising” and tumour cell “activity becoming less.” It’s a positive that the tumour hasn’t grown in Germany, especially after non-stop growth since early September. It’s still not enough, way too much pain for little gain.
We do have some bigger gains around the corner, I can feel it.
If we talk about the liver exclusively, let alone all the other issues and ailments, how is Lou doing? Well, she’s doing bloody well considering.
Hi Dom I’m a class mum friend of Elysia’s- my boy Hugo is friends with Josh.
I’ve been reading your blog for a few weeks. Hugo’s paternal grandfather died in July from prostate cancer which had metastised to the liver so this journey feels all too fresh and familiar. My father in law was given 3-6 months at a point when chemo and radiation had failed him…he passed exactly 6 weeks later. I’m sure that his accelerated decline was because he knew – and had accepted – there was nothing further that could be done medically. Hope at this stage was defined as accepting he was as comfortable as could be. The decline in the last couple of weeks particularly was literally unbelievable. Emaciated more than a Holocaust survivor, unconscious, more morphine than could be thought possible.
Lou is fighting so hard. As are you. I imagine one of the primary options you refer to is whether to continue the fight. Only she can make the decision which way to go. If she decides to stop fighting, she may need your blessing – explicit or otherwise.
I and we wish all of you the very best.
Thinking of you all with so much love and telepathic hugs ❤️X from the Townsville mob
Thanks for the update Dommy. Thinking of Lou. Love from us all x