Updates and chemo started, then paused - Oct 28,2023 (imported from Facebook)

Hey everyone. 

 So it's been a few weeks since I've done an update on my ovarian cancer treatment. I was going to do one a couple of weeks ago when I had my first day of chemo this round, but I was really tired, and honestly just didn't feel like it 😕 So I'll give a recap since my last post. 

If you ever have questions, please ask. I want to be an open book as much as possible to maybe help others if they are going through something similar. 

Also, FYI, with going through chemo again, and my white blood count being really low (see below), I'm very immunocompromised. I won't be socializing too much outside of the home, and if you are sick, please stay away 🥰 

Oct 5 - PET CT scan The scan came back showing, and reassuring, that the cancer is still localized in my abdomen. I know I no longer have my ovaries, so people are probably wondering where it came from... Well, it could have been 1 rogue cell left from last time that started multiplying when I wasn't going through chemo, but who knows. I had been on maintenance drugs, but maybe they don't work as well for me. Who knows, but it's back. Ovarian cancer doesn't have a cure... We just keep fighting it and hope it goes into remission (hopefully longer this time). I will need to be tested for the rest of my life once it is in remission. The longer I go, the longer time between tests. 

Oct 9 - Round 2, cycle 1, day 1 (photo with purple rice roll) So this was restarting chemo. We did labs like we do before any infusion. Then we wait for the results to make sure everything looks good before starting chemo. The chemo drugs this time won't take all day like they did last year. But still a few hours from when I arrive to when I leave... After the labs come back, we start the pre-meds - drugs to help lower my side effects like nausea... These take about a half hour. Then we start the first drug, about a half hour. This one doesn't need the nausea drugs to kick in, so they can start it right away. Otherwise, the pre-meds need to start kicking in before they start the more potent drugs... I am given the pre-meds plus 3 more drugs. Two are actual chemo, 1 is a helper drug. Carboplatin (chemo), Gemcitabine (chemo), and Bevacizumab are what I'm given. 

We are still at the hospital for a few hours, so William Wen ran out to grab us some lunch. I'm eating a favorite of mine - the purple rice roll from Tofu 101 (has veggie floss instead of pork floss). The drugs caused me to be very tired, so I'm glad Wil is here and could drive home. I napped all afternoon too. Some nausea the next few days, only needed 1 dose of my nausea meds at home, so that's good. I'm still toxic for a few days after chemo, so I need to limit my interactions with people and eating in public. 

Oct 16 - Round 2, cycle 1, day 8 This would be a day where I come in for labs and 1 drug - the gemcitabine. We did my labs, but my white blood count was too low to give me the drug. They were going to get approval from the insurance to give me something to help increase my production of white blood cells, but it took a while so we skipped drugs this week. They will get the approval for Granix for the future - that's the injection that stimulates the bone marrow to produce white blood cells. 

Oct 27 - Round 2, cycle 2, day 1 (photo fighting with my beautiful inspirational bracelets from my wonderful friend Cari Reed ) Ok. So we go in again, do labs and wait for results. My white blood count is still too low to give me chemo, but we have the approval for the Granix, so they give me that. I was warned by my surgeon's PA that it could cause bone pain (fun), especially in the sternum, head, and thighs. The oncologist team gives me something to help with nausea just in case, and tell me to take Claritin when I get home and Tylenol as needed. Wil and I stopped at Tofu 101 on the way home to grab lunch since that was the initial plan... I felt fine all evening. 

However, when I woke up this morning (10/28), I was nauseous, and my sternum ached. I am glad I had the warning or I would have wondered why my chest hurt so much. I took some Tylenol and nausea meds. Alex had an event all day, so I needed to get him breakfast and out the door. Then I could let my body relax some. I did have a meeting set to sell some Pokemon cards, so I did that, came home, and slept. Wil came home at lunch or so, I had a little to eat, but my stomach didn't want anything. I took some more Tylenol and Claritin and went back to bed. Woke up again at about 5pm feeling normal (thank goodness). I wasn't really hungry, but I knew I needed to get some food in me, and nothing was feeling off. So I had a tuna sandwich to get some protein. I'm feeling much better now, more normal (what is normal though?)... 

The next step is hopefully to do my chemo next Friday, Nov 3. It will become the C2D1 (Cycle 2, Day 1)... So of course that changes everything on the calendar again. If we've tried scheduling things with you and we keep having to change them, I'm sorry. ☺️ 

 

My Cancer Antigen (CA 125) numbers from the beginning until now. Normal range is 0-38.1... 

7/11/22 was 624 (first test, before surgery or chemo) 

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 

9/22/23 was 229 

10/9/23 was 343 

10/27/23 was 112 (after 1 day of chemo)

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