The Beginning of the End... Sort of

By -
This Monday and Tuesday marks the beginning of the end of my scheduled IV/IP Chemo treatments.  After Tuesday, I have a week to recover then I go in for my last scheduled outpatient IP treatment.  We won't know for sure that I will not require anymore IV/IP treatments until we do scans towards the end of May to make sure there are no more visible tumors that require additional treatments.  We do know that my CA 125 (the blood work that the doctors use as my tumor marker) is very low >5.5 , which is good news.  However, even when my abdomen was full of tumors and cancer, my number wasn't very high.  So, the CA 125 isn't the best predictor of disease in my case.



I ended the title of the post with "sort of" because Ovarian Cancer is a lifelong diagnosis.  When my doctor and I decide that I can be finished with this chemo treatment, I will begin a daily regimen of drugs to help keep my cancer from reoccurring.  I will go to the doctors for regular scans and blood work to keep a close eye on things.  The statistics are alarming - 80% of people diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer will experience a recurrence.  Both my doctor and I are expecting good scans based on my previous surgery and scans.  Our hopes and prayers are obviously that this chemo has wiped all cancer cells out of my body and that I will be one of the lucky 20% that does not have a recurrence.  However, I am still cautiously optimistic.  Ending this Chemo treatment does not guarantee that additional chemo, radiation, surgery, or other types of treatment will not be required down the road.

The end of this Chemo treatment is something I've looked forward to since before it got started.  Part of me wants to jump up and down and celebrate.  Another part of me is still terrified that the next appointment, or the appointment three years from now, will bring us bad news.  Every doctors visit from now on has the potential to turn our lives upside down again.

For now, will will focus on today.  Getting back on track with our lives and plans.  Today is the beginning of the end of chemo and the beginning of returning to life as usual.  Returning to our hopes and dreams that were so abruptly put on hold.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pathologies

By -
Image
Just a housekeeping update.  We received the pathology results back from my partial nephrectomy (removing a piece of my kidney) and they were exactly what my doctors expected.  The spot on my kidney was a malignant tumor.  Specifically, it was Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma. CCRCC is one of the most common types of kindey cancer.   This is exactly what my urologist was expecting, so no surprises for us.  He was able to get all of the tumor with clear margins so I was officially diagnosed and officially declared cured simultaneously. He will still continue to follow up with me and my CT scans that I get every six months through my gynecologist oncologist, although I statistically have little to no risk of developing kidney cancer again.  (But let be real, slim odds have kinda been my thing recently.  I told someone that I didn't win the billion dollar powerball because the odds weren't slim enough on this one) I met with my geneticist and she decided to run a full cancer panel
Read more

IV/IP Chemo Logistics

By -
Image
After months of waiting I was finally healthy enough to begin the chemotherapy regimen that my doctor recommended.  This regimen is known as IV/IP (intravenous/intraperitoneal).  The chemo drugs are delivered two ways, one through my veins in my IV port and one directly into my belly (aka - peritoneal cavity) through my IP port.  This regimen is on a 21 day cycle, and every 21 days the cycle is supposed to start over for four total rounds of treatment. On the first and second day of the cycle I am admitted to the hospital and stay over night to receive my medications.  To the best of my understanding, the only reason I am admitted to the hospital is because I receive a 24 hour continuous IV treatment of chemo called Taxol (which I received a lower dose of during "chemo lite").  An outpatient center would not be able to accommodate this treatment for the simple fact that it takes so long.  Once the IV treatment is over they switch to the IP treatment.  They load me up wi
Read more

HUGE Changes for the Virgin's

By -
I quit my job on December 31 to grow a business with Stephanie.   Sixteen months ago Stephanie and 1 were moving forward in our lives trying to start a family, grow careers, and take the next step in live together.  Things did not go as planned and the last 16 months have been a roller coaster of surgeries, treatments, and recovery.  I like to believe the events over the last year would cause any rational person to question their lives and whether they are on the right path.   When I asked Stephanie to marry me I would never have imagined that so soon in our marriage I would be acting on the “…in sickness…” vow.  A serious illness like cancer in your wife forces you to think about precious time and how limited it could be.  It is precious time that has motivated me to do something drastic.  To do something that will allow me to savor every precious moment I have with Stephanie.  We have decided to grow a Real Estate business together! This was not an easy decision to make.
Read more