Step-on-me vs. Ovarian Cancer

Wild Wednesday Last Wednesday Stephanie was admitted to the hospital because there was a suspicion that she had an infection.  My mother was also hospitalized last Wednesday for stomach issues.  It was a stressful day.  Fortunately, my mother is now doing well and is at home getting better each day.  Stephanie however, is still in the hospital. Infection After being admitted, her physician team ordered a number of blood and urine cultures in an attempt to identify where an infection could be.  For those that do not know, a culture (used in this context) is a form of medical test that takes fluid of some sort from the body and in a lab they nurture the fluid in an environment conducive of bacteria growth.  After a couple of days, if there is bacteria present in the fluid it will grow and they lab will be able to identify exactly what time of infection is present.  Steph had cultures of her urine and blood.  Each drain was tested and blood was tested from her arm and from her port.  

It is dinner time and we would normally be anxiously anticipating my Aunt Brenda's feast that could feed the entire block of her neighborhood.  Her, my mother, and my aunt Beverly would be running around the kitchen laughing and carrying on.  Stephanie would be chit-chatting with someone in my family who is considering a home purchase, sale, or renovation. I remember the days when my grandfather, Cecil, would be cutting jokes and messing with all of the grand kids all before he said a heartfelt pre-feast prayer.  It is times like today I really miss him and wish he was here now to crack some jokes and help us always to stay on the bright side of things. Unfortunately, this is the first Thanksgiving in many years that I will not be participating in the Underwood family gathering.  Yesterday we had two big events happen that set us back a bit. One landed Stephanie in the hospital and the other landed my mom on the couch and fighting nausea and pain. I had to take my mother to the

We are back from MD Anderson.  In fact, we have been back since Wednesday night.  When people have asked how it went all I say is that it was a whirlwind.  Air travel with masks, amazing accommodations by my brother-in-laws family, and one of the most impressive medical operations I have seen. Many don't realize that MD Anderson is situated on the largest medical campus in the world.  It is literally as big as the City of Louisville.  (traffic is much worse there than in Louisville even with the bridge project).  This hospital has managed to retain some of the best cancer physicians in the world and literally people from all over the world come to see them.  I mentioned in a previous post that cancer doesn't discriminate and while sitting in the waiting room at the hospital, this point was made even more evident as we heard several different languages and saw many people that were from all corners of the earth. We met with both an OBGYN Oncologist and a Urologist Oncologist

I think that Greg and I have done a really good job of making the best of our situation.  We always try to find the fun side of what's going on and keep a positive outlook.  But, don't be fooled, he and I have cried too.   I cried when I found out I had to get two more tubes, I cried when I was told that I was not yet ready for the life-saving chemo I desperately need.  I cried when my hair fell out.  These moments were met with a few tears and sniffles, then quickly wiping my face, taking a deep breath, and getting on with life.  There are people who do not have the resources or the support that I have and are in worse situations than me.  I need to suck it up and keep moving forward. There is one aspect of what's happened to me that I haven't figured out how to get over yet.  I usually find myself crying about it when I'm in bed late at night or early in the morning and everyone is asleep.  Sometimes, in the middle of the afternoon I'll see someth

We are currently in Houston, Texas to visit the renowned medical center of MD Anderson.  This is where many of the greatest minds in cancer research and treatment work.  This hospital is known throughout the world to be one the best treatment centers for those who have been diagnosed with cancer.  We will be meeting with two doctors there.  One is a Gynecology Oncologist (Gyn-Onc) and the other is a Urologic Oncologist.  The Gyn-Onc doctor is a known expert in the field of Serous Adenocarcinoma (Stephanie’s cancer) and he is the mentor of our current doctor at the University of Louisville.   When the idea to visit MD Anderson was first posed to me, I wasn't sure why we would need to travel across the country to a hospital to see a doctor who does the same thing as our current doctor  Again, this was another example of my ignorance of how the healthcare system works.  Stephanie’s family was insistent that we go to MD Anderson and we decided to proceed to schedule an appoi

There are probably a few things that come to mind first when you think of someone with cancer.  I am willing to bet that one of them is hair-loss and the so called “cancer patient look.”  The hair loss thing is real for patients on specific types of chemotherapy drug.  Stephanie is on two drugs that can cause hair-loss. ************************** CANCER EDUCATION SIDE NOTE Why Does Chemotherapy Cause Hair-Loss?  Although I highlighted this in a previous post, I thought I would quickly review because Stephanie has been experiencing what it is like to lose her hair over the last two weeks.  Cancer is a disease that grows through cell replication.  Often, cancer cells grow very rapidly.  Chemotherapy (at least the once I know about now) are designed to attached cells that are replicating quickly.  How cool is it that a chemical can be introduced into your body and attack cancer cells because of how fast they are replicating?  (I think it is freaking amazing.)  Unfortunatel

This is a picture from a few weeks ago before a  procedure.  Her eyes are beautiful. Today was a very big day for Stephanie.  This evening we are celebrating one of the few wins we have had in the last few months.  Her urologist team was able to remove two of her tubes today. She had a simple radiology exam where they fill her bladder with contrast and monitor where the contrast goes; effectively, seeing if there are any leaks in the bladder.  Her exam showed that they previous leak that did exist, is no longer there and it has healed. As a result, she no longer needed to relieve her bladder of urine from her left kidney and she no longer needs to relieve her bladder of urine.  The urologist removed the left nephrostomy tube (kidney drain in her back) and the Foley catheter (the drain in her bladder).  It has been great to see Stephanie with a pep in her step this afternoon.  If you didn't know, you would think she lost all of her tubes.  It was a much needed confidence boo

This morning I sat at our dining room table within eyeshot of the one restroom in our house.  The door was open and I watched Stephanie wash her hair in the sink (because it is too much work to get all the way in the shower every day with the bandages.)  She asked me to come into the bathroom to see something so I walked in and she proceeded to show me handfuls of hair she was brushing from her head.  The time has come.  The chemo is causing her hair to fall out.   I stood there in the bathroom rubbing her back as she continued to take more and more hair from her head and I fell back to earth quickly.  Over the last few days, as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, we have worked to get back to normal.  I guess what we were trying to do was keep our minds off of reality.  As I stood there with her watching the sad process of my beautiful wife strip her hair from her head, I lost it.  I could no longer be the strong stoic husband I had tried to be.  Seeing her hair fall out so quickly re

Post op Steph with 4 tubes I apologize for my lapse in posts but Stephanie and I have tried to find some long lost normalcy in our lives and we have filled our schedules with busy errands, work around the house, and other things.  However, today she had a very important appointment with her Urologist to discuss the plan of care for her plumbing issues.   We have learned to arrive at the doctors’ appointments with a long list of questions, a detailed description of what has changed since the last correspondence, and a sturdy notebook to write as many details down as possible.  I like to think that Steph and I are pretty good at this.  In our first appointment with her first oncologist we actually made him sweat a bit because we bombarded him with questions about not only Stephanie’s cancer but also his credentials and experience.  Needless to say, we were very prepared today for this appointment.   Her doctor is what I would describe as a jolly guy.  He has a commanding pre