Good morning everyone~ Chris and I saw the cardiologist yesterday. They did an EKG and I assume it was ok, they didn't say it wasn't. The doctor has however decided that I need to be on a low dose blood pressure medication which I started last night. My pressure was coming down some on it's own since I stopped the Herceptin treatments but still too high on a regular basis. He wants me at 120/70 all the time. I usually have to lie down and rest to get it there.

So, the next step is more tests. He said there are a few reasons why someone my age would have high blood pressure. One of course being damage from the chemo and herceptin treatments. However, he wants to check some other things so I am having a CT scan of my kidneys (something about blood flow from the kidneys) and a stress test on the treadmill. He also mentioned there could be some tissue damage around the heart from the radiation. Guess we have to rule some things in or out to help determine if taking Herceptin anymore is an option for my treaments.

OK, good news~ the echo that they did is not showing any damage to the heart caused by the elevated blood pressure. So, getting it under control now is important. Also, my tumor markers are down again! They are now at the low end of "normal" range, this is good.

Many of you sent me an e-mail requesting an e-mail reminder when the blog is updated. I will send you that each time there is an update, I will also be posting "other" information that will hopefully be of help to others going through this or for their family & friends. Please feel free to leave comments on those particular posts as I know many of you have been through this based on the poll we all did with the highest ratings being family at 75%. Your words of wisdom and encouragement will be helpful to others as well. So, be sure to check the comments to see what others may have to say about their own personal experiences with fighting this battle in their own families.

Prayer request~ we are praying that being on the BP meds will be temporary and that there is not another issue with the heart. Please pray that the next 2 tests are ok and that I do not have side effects with the BP med. I am now on. I will let you know when the tests are scheduled.
Thanks everyone! ~ Elayne