Confirmation of its return - September 26, 2023 (imported from Facebook)

So this isn't really the post I wanted to make, but it is what it is... 

The ovarian cancer has returned (or it never fully went away). We had a little warning before I went on my Taiwan/Japan trip, but the numbers now confirm it. The CA 125 number from this past Friday was 229... 

Since the result came back Saturday morning, I had to wait until Monday to find out what the oncologist and surgeon wanted to do. They decided to start with chemo and see how it responds. We will do 3 different drugs - 1 is the same as before, with 2 new ones now. It will be a 3 week cycle, and we will start with 4-6 rounds to see what happens. Week 1 is all 3 drugs, week 2 is 1 drug, and week 3 is off. Then we start the cycle all over. 

It still needs to be scheduled, but we are aiming to start next Friday (I want to do Fridays again since it gives me the weekend to recover with (usually) no plans). Additional surgery isn't ruled out, but we will wait for now. 

I will also go in for a PET scan - not sure when, but as soon as the insurance approves it. We can start chemo before the scan. The PET scan will show a more detailed image of where the cancer cells are. I haven't done one yet, so there isn't anything to compare it to. But at least we will have something to reference going forward. 

Not sure yet what side effects I'll have with these drugs - possible hair loss, nausea, insomnia, neuropathy, etc... It's a good thing I still have all of my hats (plus a few more added in) and my ice packs for my hands and feet for during chemo to try and prevent the neuropathy... 

The same as last time, I'm going to post updates and stay positive. I know it's something I have to live with for the rest of my life. Hopefully after this time it will stay away longer. 

William Wen is my rock and we will get through this together. I'm glad I was able to enjoy my trip to Taiwan and Japan and spend lots of time with Jack. I'm looking forward to many more trips in the future. 

As a reminder, when they do my bloodwork, they now test the Cancer Antigen 125 (CA125) to look for ovarian cancer indications. Here are all of the values from when they have tested it (it's not something normally tested during routine bloodwork, it needs to be specifically requested). 
Normal range is 0.0-38.1. 
7/11/22 was 624 before surgery 
8/12/22 was 71.6 after surgery and 1 chemo 
9/23/22 was 12.4 
10/14/22 was 9.9 
11/4/22 was 8.2 
12/7/22 was 8.3 
2/15/23 was 7.1 
3/14/23 was 7.9 
4/27/23 was 7.9 
7/24/23 was 38.9

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Update after a long time

Image
How are you doing? Simple question, but as someone with cancer, its sometimes a difficult question to answer. Do you want a simple answer, or the whole answer? I've struggled with the answer recently. I normally say "Fine" or "Great" or something along those lines. But you know what? I'm not really fine or great. I've been meaning to write an update for a month or so, and I know there are lots of family and friends that have been looking for one. This is going to be a long read, so settle in, maybe grab a tissue... I'm not going to lie. It's been tough. My CA 125 number was climbing even before finishing the previous treatment cycle, so that's not a surprise. But it continues to climb, and thats what I hate. I hate having that number bigger and bigger every time they draw blood. Here are the 10 most recent CA 125 counts (remember normal range is 0-38.1): Sept 23 - 274 Sept 3 - 194 Aug 12 - 133 Jun 28 - 78,1 Jun 6 - 73.3 May 14 - 57....
Read more

May 18, 2024 - Current plan and things going on recently

Image
First, I want you all to know that I love and appreciate everyone that thinks about me or reaches out. I feel fine. I don't feel like I have cancer. But its still here. It hasn't gone away like we had hoped. The thing with ovarian cancer is that when its stage 3+ and/or high grade serous (which mine was), it doesn't always go away. It might be something that goes into remission for a few months or a few years and then needs to be treated again. I had about 8 months between my first chemo rounds finishing and it coming back. I had hoped for more time in between. But it is what it is. I then went away last summer knowing it was back. I knew before I left for Taiwan and Japan, but I wanted to live my life. I felt fine, and the doctors and I all agreed it was fine. When I got back from my summer travels last year in September, we started again. We just finished that up in March, but its back again. I have been on the maintenance infusion every 3 weeks, but my CA 125 has also be...
Read more

Chemo cycle 4, infusion 1 was Monday 12/18

Image
So I had my infusion day 1 of cycle 4 this past Monday, December 18th. Since Alex is on break from school, he came with me for chemo. I think it was a good day for him to go since they had holiday cookies out to share 😂  Chemo went fine Monday, and I felt fine on Tuesday. But Wednesday really knocked me out. The accumulation of chemo and side effects really hit me. I couldn't eat, I actually wound up throwing up, which I haven't done in years. Thursday wasn't much better other than I didn't throw up. I wasn't able to eat much other than some toast and applesauce. Something is affecting my face and giving me really puffy eyes. Not sure if it's the chemo or something else. Today, I'm definitely feeling better. Alex and I went out and ran a few errands before the weekend. And for some more good news, my CA 125 number is down to 18.7 which is the middle of normal range 🎉🎉🎉 We will have my infusion day 2 of this cycle next Tuesday, Dec...
Read more