My CA 125 Came Back

          It was normal...yeah!!!  It's sad though, my doctor's office never called the results to me. Sure glad I could access the results on line. Something so important you would think his nurse would have
called. Who knows, maybe they knew I could access the results or expected me to call for the results.
Or...maybe Dr. Orr has lost another nurse. He's on his third one since I started seeing him.

           Went to work last week. It was very busy & I was exhausted by the time I did 5 night shifts and I flew home.  I think in the future I will not work more than 4 shifts. I am currently scheduled for 7 & I hope to get rid of the 3 shifts on the end but if not I will do them but never again. Well, getting ready for Christmas.  Our son Tye is home for the holiday so everyone will be here. Got lots to do to get ready. Will write again after Bruce's follow up.

3 Month Check-up

                       
       It's been 3 months since my last chemo.  Bruce & I have been doing quite well. I seem to have some neuropathy but it is very very minimal and I also have short term memory problems especially if I'm not getting enough sleep. It's frustrating at times for me & Bruce.  I finally asked him not to remind me that I already said the same thing at least once before.   I can't help but worry since I have a strong history of dementia as well in my family.  I also worry every time that I have a little dizziness which most likely is due to low blood pressure but I always wonder, I worry every time I get a pain in my abdomen, have loose stools, and worsening vision. I know these all are probably nothing but....it could be something...it's sooo frustrating.

       I was to see Dr. Orr but he was called out-of-town emergently & so I saw his PA, Denyse Mahoney. She was very thorough. I should have had my blood drawn prior to my appointment but Dr. Orr seems to be going through nurses (on his 3rd since I first saw him) & it never got ordered even though I called several times & even stopped in to ask about ordering it.  Yesterday I got  my CA 125 (cancer antigen for ovarian cancer) drawn. Hopefully when that comes back the results will be normal & then I can stop worrying quite so much...but I doubt it. I will probably continue to worry some until I either relapse or 2 years have passed. Well, not much else to say about me...it could be a week before I get my results...hopefully not.

      As I said above, Bruce is doing quite well.  He sleeps in a nice reclining lawn chair in our bedroom until I come to bed or it's midnight then he moves to his recliner in the family room & sleeps there til I get up & go out to the barn then he gets up & moves to our bed for a short time. He has a wedge pillow that he uses there but will probably never be able to sleep in bed all night. He also has some problem with "dumping syndrome" but he's figuring out what he can & cannot eat or when he can & cannot drink fluids.

      His next follow-up is January 6th. If he's worrying he doesn't show it & he doesn't seem to have any problems related to chemo or radiation. His hair has grown in nicely & is a little darker than it was. My hair is also coming along...thickness & length wise but certainly has a mind of it's own.

      I guess I should also mention that I went back to work. It was good to be there & I don't think I had any memory problems while there...but got plenty of rest and it was for only 1 shift. Will not work again until January & then will be working at least 4 nights & possibly 7. Well, will write more when I get my CA 125 results.

A busy week but all good news

I did finally get my CA 125. It was normal. I don't need to see Dr. Orr again until December.  This has been a busy week. We saw our lawyer & have our living wills & durable power of attorneys done & almost have our last will & testaments done as well as our trust. We didn't like some of the wording in the trust so we will have to go back one more time. Bruce saw his oncologist, Dr. Percent & doesn't have to follow up until January. He also saw Dr. Goldin, his surgeon, and has been told no heavy lifting (nothing greater than 10 lbs) for 6 weeks & no further follow up unless he has a problem. I also finally got the results of my genetic testing to see if I had a genetic mutation that may mean I am more susceptible to ovarian, endometrial, colorectal, breast,  gastric, pancreatic, melanoma, or prostate cancer. My test results revealed no genetic mutations.  I do have routine follow up with my primary doctor, Dr. Ravid, at the end of this month.

I don't think I will probably be blogging anything more until December unless there is change in our health. I should add that I finally got the horses all shampooed & shaved. I think they are feeling much better. I did one a day except for the Valee, she got done the same day as Bob as she didn't need much of a shave...she mainly needed a shampoo & her whiskers shaved. We are also all caught up on mowing & now we just need to get the house dusted & floors scrubbed...life is almost back to normal.

Bruce is home.

Well, Bruce didn't get home as quickly as we thought. Dr. Goldin was being cautious. Thursday he started clear liquids & Friday he was started on a mechanical soft diet. A dietician also came & gave us information on what he can eat & what he shouldn't eat. Now today  he finally got to come home. It was very confusing...what the dietician told Bruce he should be eating & what he received by the hospital to eat were to different things. She told him not to eat tomatoes in any form & what did he get for supper Friday..chicken parmesan with tomato sauce over pasta. His first meal that day at noon was a hamburger. Today for lunch he had an open face hot turkey sandwich with tomato soup. Every meal went down without a problem.

Bruce's surgery is called an Ivor-Lewis Esophagectomy. You should google it & see what was actually done to Bruce. It is quite the surgery. Afterwards, he had chest xrays done & it was very difficult to tell what was going on in his chest. Also before he could eat Dr. Goldin had an upper GI done. That is where they use a special xray machine called a C-arm & it allowed us (me with the techs & radiologist) to see live xray views while Bruce was swallowing gastrografin (a liquid that shows up on xray film or in computer xray imaging). It was quite difficult to figure out what was going on but at least we could see that the fluid went done without any problems...no leaks. Bruce was then allowed to start on a clear liquid diet & then the mechanical soft diet.

This morning Dr. Goldin said Bruce could go home & he is to follow up in 1- 1 1/2 weeks. So we found out that he could leave around 9 AM & we didn't get out until 2:30 PM...but we are now home. Bruce tried sleeping in our bed but is now out in the family room with me. He is trying to sleep in his recliner. This is where I am going to stop for tonight so he can sleep except I have one more frustration to mention.

Last time I wrote I mentioned that my CA-125 wasn't done. Well, it still isn't done. I got a letter from my doctor in the mail. Apparently the lab didn't run it(I had a tech that I had never had before & she apparently didn't understand the orders & now I have to schedule an appointment & go in to have my blood drawn again so they can do the test.

A very busy week.

Today I had a routine visit with my gynecologic oncologist. I had a PET scan & lab work done on Monday. My PET scan & physical exam were normal. My lab is basically normal...I'm a little anemic but that should improve with time and the CA 125 which is the cancer antigen or tumor marker for ovarian cancer was not yet available but hopefully will be normal...should be. Dr. Orr offered me a prescription for iron pills but I have decided to pass on those for the time being. My next follow up appointment is not for 3 months, yeah. This is all a big relief even though I still don't know the actual results of the CA 125. I feel so much better knowing that the PET scan was normal. Now if Bruce can just get through a couple more days.

Bruce had his surgery to remove the cancerous area of his esophagus done last Thursday. The surgery took over 5 1/2 hours. Bruce has an incision below his right axilla (arm pit) & had 2 chest tubes in his right chest and an incision in his mid abdomen just above his belly button to his chest. He also has a nasal gastric(NG) tube that goes up his right nostril & down into his stomach. It has suture material (thread) wrapped around it & then a stitch goes through his nose so the tube will stay in place.  The tube initially was hooked up to suction to keep his stomach empty but it is now disconnected to see if it is needed any more...so far so good. He had 3 IVs (intravenous lines), one in each arm & one in his neck. The chest tubes were due to his lung being deflated during surgery as Dr. Goldin had to be able to get to the cancerous area of the esophagus and that is why Bruce had the incision under his right axilla. The chest tubes were removed yesterday. Bruce still has the NG tube in his nose but hopefully it will be removed tomorrow. The IVs in his arms have also been removed. Everyone keeps remarking how well Bruce is doing. He had a PCA pump to give himself pain medication & is off that. He is now taking the pain medicine through the IV in his neck or through his feeding tube which is below his belly button & goes into his jejunum which is part of the small bowel. Bruce didn't care for the pain medication that was being given in the IV so he is going to try going with just the crushed pain pills given through his feeding tube. Dr. Goldin used part of Bruce's stomach to replace the part of the esophagus that was removed. I  still don't quite understand how all that was done as far as the surgery but plan to ask Dr. Goldin tomorrow if I can get there early enough to catch him. Hopefully Bruce will be going home tomorrow. Well got to get to bed if I'm going to get there early enough to catch Dr. Goldin.

Pre-op day

Today started out bad. Went out to feed the horses & turn them out...and as the garage door went up I had two horses staring at me from the center of the barn. Once again I had a breakout. I apparently didn't get their stall gate fully locked last night. For some reason only Princess & Bob got out. One of them had managed to push the gate into the large fan that sits about 1 foot in front of the gate at night to blow air into their stall and then pushed the fan just far enough for them to get out.  It apparently was a squeeze through that Bruce (my 3rd miniature horse) wasn't willing to go through. I think this happened sometime after 4am as that is when the fans shut off.

The horses had managed to tip over their feed box & then punch a hole in the side of the plastic box which caused the lid  to come off spilling their feed. At some time they also popped the lid off of Valee's feed box & also helped themselves to hay. It doesn't appear that they ate much feed but did enjoy some of Valee's hay. I don't think they were out very long but just in case they got put in their muzzles & turned out without getting their usual morning feed with some chopped apple.

Today was also pre-op day.We had to be at Fawcett Memorial Hospital at 10:15 to learn what Bruce had to do before Thursday & what to expect that day. We learned that he is the first one on the schedule & that we have to be there at 5:30 in the morning...ugh. Surgery will take about 4 1/2 hours...to start at 7 or 7:30...ugh again. I wish I could be like Bruce..says he's not gonna worry about what might happen & doesn't plan on losing any sleep the next 2 nights but he did get to bed a little late tonight as he had to shower.

He's got to scrub himself down with a special antibacterial soap tonight, tomorrow morning & night as well as Thursday morning. I have to scrub his back for him. We also had to change the sheets on the bed tonight & he is to use a clean towel each time he showers. At least we don't have to change the sheets tomorrow.

I was planning on doing 3 loads of laundry today just not a load of sheets. I was planning to change them just before Bruce came home. Now I still have one load that was to be done today & will also probably do a load of towels tomorrow night. We still have papers to get completed tomorrow as we are adding my name to some financial papers that used to be just in Bruce's name. We then have to take them to the bank to get gold medallion signatures on them & get them in the mail. Hopefully we will be able to get this done. Well, got to stop now as I need to get to bed if I'm gonna get at least 7 hours of sleep.

Feeling good :-)

Have had a great day. Started with feeding the horses & turning them out. We then went for a walk...made it a mile today. When we got back I cleaned the barn & Bruce started mowing. Next I gave Zeke, our Welsh terrier, a much needed bath & hair cut. Grooming him takes about 2 1/2 hrs. I am not any more tired then I would be normally...sooo life IS getting back to normal...at least for now. Next big project for me will be giving the 4 horses bathes & shaves. My plan is to tackle one horse a day instead of 2 a day as I would normally do them. Depending on how I feel I may do the girls on the same day as Valee, my Appaloosa, doesn't need much when it comes to grooming (a few wild hairs here & there) & they have all already had their manes & tails trimmed. Tomorrow should be another good day.

Almost forgot...we have a surgery date for Bruce...this coming Thursday.

Getting our ducks in a row.

Had a blood transfusion Tuesday & am doing better but would have been nicer to get 2 units of blood rather than just one but that's the way it goes. Today we went to see our attorney & now we both have living wills, designation of health care surrogates & durable power of attorneys, We are also getting trusts done.

Bruce has been cleared by the cardiologist so now all we need is a surgery date. I got back in the pool tonight & swam some laps...not much but a start. Tomorrow morning we are going for a walk. I told Bruce even though it may only be a few days before he has surgery, it's still worth starting to get conditioned. Every little bit will help his recovery. We are hoping to hear tomorrow when surgery will be.

Hopefully today is my last day of chemotherapy

I ended up taking a Lorazapam (Ativan) & was able to get some sleep. I was right on about my hemoglobin(Hgb)...it was 8.2 but there was nothing said about a transfusion...just that I was cleared to proceed with chemo even though my white blood cells(WBCs) & Platelets were low. I didn't push the issue about the low Hgb while getting my chemo & I should have. I waited until I got home & unfortunantly Dr. Orr's new nurse doesn't seem to really know what to do. I called her initially to discuss when I'm to have a PET scan...as by what I have received I was to have one on the 19th but when I called to see what time it was to be there was not one ordered.  She had to talk to another doctor's nurse to see when it should be done & they were saying not for 3 weeks after chemo & she didn't know why it had been set up for the Sep. 19th. She was going to check that out more but before she tried to say goodbye I asked about the low Hgb & told her my concerns about not having a transfusion ordered. She tried to tell me (an ER doc) how dangerous transfusions can be. It was all I could do to try & keep myself controlled (which I will admit I wasn't doing very well). She now knows I'm an ER doc and that I don't feel the transfusion dangers outweight my need for blood.

I know she doesn't know what all is happening right now with both Bruce & me, either, but hopefully everyone understands now. I will be getting a transfusion tomorrow...I may be there all afternoon but that's better then going without. I had told the person that does the scheduling that if they weren't able to schedule it sometime in the next couple days then I would just wait until after Bruce's surgery as they were trying to schedule the transfusion for next week or this Thursday (we have attorney appt Thursday for signing advanced directives, etc & wills...don't want to postpone that either. There is no way I am not going to be at the hospital with Bruce when he has his surgery & the surgery could be as soon as the end of this week or sometime next week. We will know after he has his treadmill stress test tomorrow. He had his echocardiogram today which the cardiologist has probably already read as his tech said he would be reading it before the end of the day. Hopefully Bruce will get the "all clear" & we'll can get the surgical date scheduled.

I'm sure I will be taking more Lorazapam tonight as my legs are killing me now & of course I'm wide awake. I got started on my Oil Protein Diet...not bad at all but I didn't pick a very good combo of lettuce greens...some are pretty bitter tasting. We'll see how the next few days go.

Vicki will be going with me tomorrow since I get my blood drawn at 11:00 & then the blood has to be cross matched & could take quite awhile. I'm thinking we could possibly be there most of the afternoon so I will be taking my lunch with me & Vicki can either have a box lunch if we are in the chemo area or we'll get her something somewhere. I better go get my salad packed & get the laundry folded. Brannon has the day off so he is coming over to get the horses out & barn cleaned for us...Bruce's appointment is at 08:45 & I don't think I will have the energy to get the barn cleaned before I need to get ready for my appointment at 11:00. We got hung up in traffic today & were 10 minutes late...can't be late tomorrow after all the fuss I made today to get this transfusion scheduled when it was good for us.

Another sleepless night

 I seem to be getting more lightheaded then I have been & am having a lot of muscle pain in my legs. I guessing my blood counts must be getting low.  I will probably need another blood transfusion. Last week my hemoglobin was 9.1 & the week before it was 9.0. Normal is 11.1-15.9.  I'm thinking I may be down in the 8.1-8.6 range. I got as low as 8.2 before being transfused in July. Lab Corp is being slower then ever in posting results on the Internet. They still haven't posted my lab from Aug 28th let alone lab from Sep. 4th but I will get my results Monday when I go in for my last chemo treatment. I went to bed about 11:30 but gave up on sleeping in bed about 1 AM. I'm watching TV as I am wide awake. I was having trouble breathing laying in bed...even though I had 3 pillows under my head & upper back. Now I'm in my recliner with 1 pillow & sitting on a heating pad to keep the leg pain away. I can't really blame not sleeping on the cancer. I worked nights for 20+ yrs & was back to working nights after working days for 8+ months in a VA Clinic down here. I went to work for a company that was flying me back to Iowa once a month. I would work about seven 12 hrs shifts then fly home. It was great but unfortunately not possible when getting chemo once a week. At this point I don't know when I will be going back to work. 

Bruce & I are going to start Dr. Budwig's diet tomorrow.  I don't know how much of it Bruce will actually follow but he's at least willing to try it.

Bruce see cardiologist & the Oil-Protein Diet

Today Bruce had his appointment with Dr. Hotchkiss, cardiologist. Next Monday Bruce will be having an echocardiogram & Tuesday a treadmill stress test in order for Dr. Hotchkiss to determine if Bruce is okay for surgery. If cleared, surgery will hopefully be scheduled within a week.  Next Monday will also be hopefully my last chemo treatment. My sister, Vicki, will be taking me since my appt. is at 11 AM & will take 2 hours. It would be hard to get from Fort Myers to Port Charlotte in 1/2 hour. Bruce's appt. is at 1:30 PM.  Dr. Hotchkiss didn't think Bruce would not be a surgical candidate but since he hasn't had his heart checked in 4 yrs it's best to get the echo & stress test. We were going to go out for lunch after chemo to celebrate my being done with chemo but I guess we will do supper instead. It will probably be my last (real) supper.

 I have decided to try following the Oil-Protein Diet by Dr. Johanna Budwig. It is basically a vegetarian whole foods...no refined, processed or canned foods diet. This diet is for the unwell & diabetics but is especially recommended in preparation for physical exertion (ie: for athletes) as Dr. Budwig would say. I don't think I will be able to convince Bruce to follow the diet (at least not initially) but he may be willing to try parts of it. Today while I am babysitting my grandson, Aiken, I'm going to start on my grocery list so tomorrow I can head to Earth Origins an organic foods store. I will probably be using my juicer as well as blender a lot in the future. May even have to think about investing in a pressure cooker but will see first how I do with the diet.

Today was a busy day

We have both been very lucky. Neither of us has completely lost our hair. The thickness of my hair has been thinned by about 2/3 but no bad bare areas. I looked at wigs for several weeks but decided they just weren’t for me. Bruce has lost about ½ of his hair but again no obvious bare spots & no plans for a wig. Bruce is also gaining weight…slowly but steadily. He had at least a 20 lb. weight loss as well. He was below 140 at one time & is now back up to 151 lbs. hopefully he will continue to gain at least until surgery & then maintain with his weight with J-tube feedings until he is able to eat again.

Today is Tuesday, September 02, 2014. We saw Dr. Percent at 10:45. He was running a little behind but the 45 minute wait was worth it. We got the news we were hoping for. The chemo/radiation did what it was supposed to. Bruce’s PET/CT scans were great…the CT shows that the tumor & lymph nodes as smaller. The PET scan showed no areas of hyperplasia…the tumor & lymph nodes essentially are dead & no new lesions. Friday he will see Dr. Hotchkiss, the cardiologist & hopefully surgery next week.

Now we got to make a quick trip home so I can change clothes & get my lidocaine crème placed over my port so it won’t hurt when they poke it with a large needle for the chemo. My appointment is at 1:30 & will take about 2 hours. Today we had to drive from our country home outside of Punta Gorda, to Florida Cancer Specialists in Port Charlotte (about a 40 minute drive),then back home. Next it’s off to Fort Myers to Lee Memorial Health System’s Regional Cancer Center (about a 50 minute drive). We got there right on time at 1:25pm for my 1:30 appointment and I was done by 3:30. We decided to celebrate with an early dinner at Phil’s 41 Restaurant. We both had great meals. Now it’s 10:24 pm. Bruce & Zeke (our dog) are both in bed asleep .I got the horses (3 minis & 1appaloosa) in at 8 pm .I have just taken an Ativan (Lorazapam) so hopefully I will get to sleep soon but first got to go feed our 2 sugar gliders, hopefully they are now up & ready for “breakfast”, They are nocturnal marsupials originally from Australia. Phil & Pattie were born in the USA. We are fortunate that they have never had any babies. Babies usually come 2 at a time. They are born the size of a grain of rice & crawl up to their mother’s pouch.

Tomorrow hopefully we will be able to work on getting our information in order for our wills.  We need to go in & sign our Durable Power of Attorneys & Living wills. We have those drafts completed. We also need to call the cardiologist & make sure they got Bruce’s information from Iowa. There is always something to do. I’m hoping soon to have the energy to get my gardens weeded. Unfortunately they have not been high on the priority list & it’s been too hot. Yesterday I did finally take my 3 minis on a drive. I’m hoping to be driving them 3 times a week soon as they have gotten so fat but I have a lot of other things on my list as well…riding Valee our appaloosa, giving the Zeke a bath & haircut as well as bathing all 4 horses & clipping them. I can’t wait for cooler weather.  I just tell myself I can only take it one day at a time. Soon I will also have to add returning to work to the list which means I also have certifications to get updated before I can work. Well, I am finally feeling a little sleepy so I better quit. It's now 4:35 AM in Punta Gorda, FL.

Time seems to pass quickly when you constantly go to the doctor

Bruce finished radiation on Tuesday, July 22^nd…so his last chemo was July 17^th. He is eating better & gaining a little weight. I on the other hand have almost gained back all the weight I lost (which was 20 lbs.)  I was hoping I wouldn’t gain any weight back but I seem to crave salty food & have had no problems with vomiting.  I did require a blood transfusion on July 29^th as my red blood cell counts have steadily dropped. Bruce has an appointment to see Dr. Percent on July 30^th.  We hope that at that appointment we will find out the name of the surgeon Bruce will be seeing and actually get set up with an appointment to see the surgeon.

It’s now August 26^th; Bruce has now seen Dr. Goldin, who will be the surgeon. He has seen a 3rd Gastroenterologist, Dr. Joseph, whom he initially saw on June 24^th & who placed a jejunostomy tube (J-tube) on June 27^th (which so far Bruce has not needed to use). Bruce is to have another esophageal ultrasound as well as a repeat PET scan on August 28th before having the surgery.  He will also be seeing Dr. Hotchkiss, a cardiologist on Sep. 5^th.  Bruce had a cryoablation done in about 2010 for Atrial Fibrillation & needs to be medically cleared by a cardiologist before surgery. The surgery will take around 4 ½ hours.

Where we are at in our treatments at this time

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything. Today (Monday, July 14, 2014) was the start of Cycle 4 for me. Bruce’s EUS revealed involvement of at least two lymph nodes & the tumor extends into his stomach. He has been receiving chemotherapy & radiation. I get chemo every Monday & he gets his every Thursday…that way one of us is usually feeling well enough to do the driving. Bruce gets radiation every day during the week. Their machine was down for two days so he had to make up one of the treatments on Saturday. They had more trouble today so he was there for over 1 hours waiting but finally got his radiation. He is almost done with his radiation & chemo. He is doing a countdown & has 5 radiation & 1 chemo treatment left as long as the radiation treatments don’t get postponed for any reason. He is also receiving Taxol & Carboplatin but different doses.

I just had the first treatment for Cycle 4 today that means 2 more chemos in this cycle(2 more weeks) then 2 more cycles (6 more weeks). So I am now in the second half of my treatment. If Bruce’s radiation continues as scheduled he will be done next week…then he is to have 7 weeks rest/healing. He also is to have a PET scan when done. He will be referred to a surgeon for removal of the diseased area of his esophagus with part of his stomach to become part of his esophagus. His surgery will hopefully take place the week I have my last chemotherapy (or sooner). We thought the surgery would have to be done in Tampa but it may actually be able to be done locally. We’ll find out when we see Dr. Percent in 2 weeks.

If all goes as planned I may be able to go back to work in October. I could work now if it was possible but kind of hard to have chemo on Monday, fly to Iowa, and work 5 nights (12 hour shifts) then fly home for more chemo. I also seem to be getting weaker with each chemo…doesn’t help that my blood counts are low. There are days where I can barely get the barn chores done as I get very short of breath with any exertion.  I don’t think I will even consider working until Bruce’s surgery is done. I guess that’s why everyone needs to have emergency savings accounts and I’m glad we have ours…just didn’t want to end up spending it this way.

Bruce has cancer, too

We have a new problem which is why this writing is called “Our Battles with Cancer”. Bruce, my husband, had been having a little trouble swallowing at times that started back in November but didn't get to be a real problem until December. He finally went to a Gastroenterologist.He wouldn"t go until I was taken care of.  He had an EGD (esophagogastroduodenoscopy) & a tumor was found. He has Adenocarcinoma of the distal esophagus. We have seen Dr. Percent who will be his medical oncologist. We also have met Dr. Perkins who will be his radiation oncologist & he has had a PET scan but this is Friday May 30^th & we won’t know until Monday whether the cancer has spread. While I’m starting the 2^nd cycle of chemo on Monday Bruce will be meeting with Dr. Amontree another gastroenterologist who will be doing an Esophageal Ultrasound (EUS) on Bruce to further define the extent of his disease. I have felt really good this week. I even drove for the first time since starting chemotherapy.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to go with Bruce. My sister Vicki will be driving me & my daughter-in-law Anita (married to Brannon my youngest son) will be going with Bruce. We have decided that Bruce probably won’t be getting the EUS Monday but just in case Anita is going. We are lucky we have family that is able & willing to help us out…even with barn chores. It is hard to ask for help but we do when we have to.

Start of week 2 of chemo

It’s been a long week. I have felt totally drained at times & perfectly normal at other times. I am not sleeping well & I have had to take Lorazapam to help with restless legs. I think that helps me sleep when I take it. Have not needed to take any narcotics to talk of…occasionally when the Naproxen doesn’t help with pain then I will so I can sleep. Well, its 9 AM & time to take my anti-nausea medication as this is Monday treatment number 2 of cycle 1.

Chemotherapy

Chemo was unreal. The actual chemo drugs as far as I could tell didn’t cause any problems but the meds Benadryl & Dexamethazone that I was given to prevent nausea & vomiting sure had an effect on me. My head was swimming or I should say it felt like my brain was water swishing around in my head. I had the creepy crawlies all over & couldn’t sit still. I was allowed to walk until the chemo drugs were started then I had to stay near my chair in case I had a reaction to the chemo. This was the start of the first cycle & there are 3 treatments per cycle. Every Monday I will go to the Cancer Clinic for 2-5 hours depending on where I am in a cycle. I will have a total of 6 cycles…18 treatments. The first week I receive Carboplatin (Parapltin) & Paclitaxel (Taxol). On weeks 2 & 3 I just receive Taxol.

NIght before 1st chemo

I thought that I would be starting chemotherapy by the end of the week but instead I got a mediport placed. Tye, my oldest son, came home for a long weekend & since it was also Mother’s Day weekend I was actually glad I didn’t start the chemo but now I am ready. Tomorrow is 5/13/2014. I am scheduled to receive chemo at 08:00. It is a little scary…I was told vomiting is not allowed. I have picked up prescriptions for 5 different medications for nausea. The expense for these meds was over $500. My insurance picked up half of the cost. How does one prepare for potential nausea? I was told I will probably feel really lousy. Its 03:07 & I haven’t been to sleep. Tye will be heading home in about 40 minutes. Once he is on his way to the airport with Brannon (my younger son), maybe I will be able to sleep a little but I’m not too hopeful.

Dr. Orr & Surgery

Waiting is so hard. Another weekend goes by. I hear from Dr. Ravid on Tuesday. It’s 10 AM & he says that I should receive a call from Dr. Orr’s office to schedule an appointment. I waited until 2 PM then I called Dr. Orr’s office only to be told that I missed my appointment time. I had been scheduled for 1:30… apparently Debbie had tried calling & I didn’t answer…I was apparently on the telephone with Dr. Ravid & didn’t realize that she had called & left a message. She said she would check with Dr. Orr to see when I could be rescheduled. She called back & scheduled me for Friday. I couldn’t believe that I was going to have to wait 4 days. I got so upset that I called Dr. Ravid’s office & he called me back. He was able to get me an appointment for the following morning. What a relief. I saw Dr. Orr, on 4/29/2014 (Bruce’s birthday & our 42^nd anniversary…what a way to celebrate), met Cami his nurse & now chemo nurse and was set up for possible surgery on 5/1/2014. I was scheduled to have a laparoscopy & possibly a laparotomy…it would depend on how much tumor was found. If there was a lot then I would just have the scope, followed by chemotherapy & debulking surgery later. If there wasn’t much tumor then I would havea laparotomy followed with chemotherapy. The laparoscopy is where the surgeon makes four small incisions &uses a lighted scope to look around as well as do different procedures. A laparotomy is where he makes an actual incision in the abdomen to remove the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tube & any tumors. I remember waking up & feeling my abdomen…I didn’t have a large incision so I thought that meant there was too much tumor to debulk, not good, but instead Dr. Orr actually was able to remove most of the tumors laparoscopically. I have both ovarian cancer & Adenocarcinoma of the uterus. Having a hysterectomy (removal of uterus)/oophorectomy (removal of ovaries)/salpingectomy (removal of fallopian tubes) has essentially cured the Adenocarcinoma of the uterus but not the Ovarian which is a pT3c (which means I have stage 3 Ovarian Cancer). I had the pleural effusion on the lt. side drained (fluid in left lung removed by needle aspiration). It did not contain any malignant cells. I was discharged home on 5/ 3/2014.

Frustrating Tuesday & Wednesday

Well, I didn’t get the records. Instead I was set up for a PET scan. I got the radioactive injection waited for the required time (2 hours) only to be told that the machine was down & I would have to go to another facility the following day for the test & would need to be injected again. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. The next day when I had the PET scan it was awful. I had to lay flat & was strapped down to remind me not to move. I got very uncomfortable to the point that I called out to the technician, who didn’t respond but fortunately; I only had a few seconds left. It had seemed like an eternity. In the future I think I would prefer to be sedated.

Our Battles Against Cancer

                                              Our Battles Against Cancer

I don’t know what is going to happen yet…what my diagnosis is but I’ve got the feeling that I will be starting the battle of my life. To start at the beginning…I thought I might have a partial bowel obstruction. For over a week I was having problems having bowel movements & couldn’t eat much. I would belch constantly.  I increased the water in my diet…although normally I try to drink 64 ounces a day. I drank an herbal tea to relieve constipation & also another one for cleansing…it went straight through but no stool. Then I tried Mag Citrate which I have recommended to many patients for constipation…again passed a lot of water but no stool.

I was having cramping in my abdomen & felt bloated. At times my stomach was so hard & painful that I couldn’t sleep. I finally went to see my primary care doctor, Dr. Joseph Ravid, who also thought I might have a partial bowel obstruction but it turns out that that wasn’t the problem. I had a CT scan of my abdomen.  I had ascites. I had almost 4 liters of fluid in my abdomen as well as bilateral pleural effusions…fluid in my lungs. My heart was mildly enlarged. I ended up getting a CT of my chest & another of my abdomen, this time with contrast. I got admitted to the hospital for the night so that I could have a paracentesis (stick a needle in my abdomen to draw out the fluid) the following morning. I received IV fluids, clear liquids & pain medication. The pain meds helped a lot with the pain but not with sleeping. I would fall to sleep within 10 minutes after getting the pain meds through the IV but then would wake up an hour later. No pain but couldn’t sleep. I did a lot of walking in the halls. Finally it was time to go to the radiology department for an ultrasound guided paracentesis.  I had almost 4 liters of what looked like lager beer drained off my abdomen. I lost about 8 pounds in 1 hour.

I felt a lot better. It was no longer as difficult to lay flat. I wasn’t as short of breath. I was a little sore but haven’t needed any pain meds since. The worse part though has just begun. It was Friday when I went to the doctor & I ended up admitted to hospital. I was discharged from the hospital on Saturday & now it is Monday night. I am still waiting & wondering if I am going to be in the fight of my life. It is most likely that I have a cancer even though there is nothing obvious on the CT scans. I’m not sure if the radiologist saw anything on the ultrasound (U/S). He did some pointing & the tech did some measuring. I have an increased density in my greater omentum noted on CT. I’m a doctor & I’m not even sure what that means.

I have decided tomorrow to go get copies of my records so I don’t have to wait any longer for the results. I will also get copies (CDs) of the CT scans & U/S. Thursday I will see my family physician for follow up. I have been talking with my brother-in-law who is an Oncologist…cancer specialist. Most likely I have Ovarian CA but if I’m lucky maybe Lymphoma.

My coming out

                                                                   My Coming Out

I started writing this blog back in early May. I am actually just now (Sep 3)  posting what I have written so far because I wanted to wait until we let everyone in our families know what was going on. Now that they all know I would like others to know what can happen even when you think you are living a fairly healthy life. My husband & I have always tried to do things together but we certainly didn’t think we would share cancer experiences. I have back dated all the other blogs to correspond when I actually wrote each blog.