Medical Update

June 27 was a busy day for me at the hospital.  There was a Port-a-Cath installed underneath my skin on my chest.  This device is used to deliver chemo or draw blood.  It will be easier than sticking me with needles all the time.  After my reaction to the first chemo treatment it was decided this device would be helpful.  The device is inserted in a surgical session.  I was given a local anaesthetic so I could feel the pressure of the procedure but it was not painful.  It was painful afterwards when the anaesthetic wore off.

Few days after insertion of Port a Cath

Later on that day I came back to the hospital for an appointment with the oncologist.  My regular doctor was away so I met with Dr. Mary DeCarolis which I have met with before.  Purpose of this meeting was to review the results of my CT Scan the week before.  The scan shows there is no cancer on my major organs. Not on the lungs, liver, colon, kidneys, pancreas, etc. etc.  What a relief!  There is some cancer on the remaining omentum in my abdomen.  Last time they removed much of the omentum but it cannot be totally removed.  There is some cancer in my spleen.  And the scan shows some indication of growth on my lower spine but it is not conclusive.  Therefore, I am now scheduled for a bone scan.  My own doctor called later in the day to review this completely with me.  She is a wonderful doctor.  Everyone at the Grand River Cancer Centre is wonderful.

Dylan's 18th Birthday

This past weekend we celebrated Dylan's 18th birthday.  How can he be 18 when I am only 39.......?

On Saturday night Dylan and his Dad travelled to Toronto to see Roger Waters.  He is currently touring 'The Wall' and by all accounts it was pretty exciting.  This may not be Dylan's usual choice in music but he did enjoy the theatrics and the performance.

The other thing that happened this weekend of any consequence was the soccer game between England and Italy in the UEFA EURO match.   The match was decided after extra time after match play during a penalty shoot out.

I Azzurri

Today the semi-final match is between Germany and Italy.  This should be an exciting match!  Go Italy!

Germany

Sunday night we went out for dinner with the family to celebrate Dylan's birthday.  Naturally after the Italy/England match was over!  We went to Ben Thanh, a Vietnamese / Thai restaurant.  Had a fabulous time with Mom and Dad and Suzanne and Pat.  Corina was missing in action as she was working....  brought her some leftovers though!  

How did we manage to all wear blue?

One chemo treatment is behind me.  Went to the Chemo Lounge for my first chemo cocktail (2nd time around).  Yup.....  the treatment regiment thus far is repeating what we did in Fall 2010 and Winter 2011.  It is the most rational thing to do given it was effective for more than 6 months.  This means I did not have a recurrance within 6 months of my chemo treatment (February 2011).  As mentioned before I have been relatively cancer free for 17 months.

The newest side effect is that my injection arm is a mess.  I don't event want to show you a picture.  It is bruised and red.  It is a reaction to the chemo chemical Taxol which is believed to have leaked out into my arm tissue.  This drug also gave me a fatal reaction the first time it was administered.  This is why before I begin I am given a whole cocktail of stuff to counteract the reaction I experienced September 2010.  Warm damp compresses and some Advil is the recommended treatment.  It will take a while for this to heal and may leave behind scarring that may be visible through the skin.  Anyhow the prognosis is to install a Port-a-cath under the skin on my chest.  They will be able to give me the chemo treatments in this manner and do all the bloodwork as well.  No more IVs.  Sounds good.  Appointment set up for June 27th.

Oh and did I mention that the ascites is still active.  Chemo is supposed to get rid of it but I have only had one treatment.  There was so much build up that I had to go again and get tapped the day after Father's Day.  I was so uncomfortable that Monday morning I called and they had me in by noon.  This time they removed almost 5 litres of fluid.  What a relief!  Since then the build up has has been minimal and I think the chemo is starting to do the job of getting rid of it.

Hey.... I am back online to give you an update on what is happening.  Since my last chemo treatment in February 2011 I have been recovering and living life much like all of you.

In March 2011 we journeyed to Dominican Republic to spend a week at a resort near Puerto Plata.  It was just what the doctored ordered for me.  Plenty of warmth and relaxation.

Dig that wig

I returned to work at a gradual pace and was back full time by end of September.  I was off about 11 months which sounds like a tremendous long time but it went by like a flash.  Even at work it did not seem I was away that long.  Remarkable how quickly you can get back into the swing of things.

As you may know the recurrence rate for ovarian cancer can be high.  Well it's come back.  Things were going along quite well, up to now.  I was working out a couple of times a week at UW Well-FIT, keeping busy with work and even getting some sewing done in my spare time at home.

Right after the long Victoria Day weekend in May (22nd) I started to feel bloated.  I was thinking the amount of fibre in my diet was a little high.  Ha! As time went on my belly started expanding and the slow realization that something was up.  It wasn't a big surprise.  When you've had cancer all you do is think about when it's going to come back.  I was hoping I would get a couple of years under my belt so I could stop thinking about it.....  My doctor sent me for ultrasound (June 5th) and confirmed the swelling was the tell tale ascites.  This is fluid build up in the abdomen caused by the proteins being released by the cancer.

My first appointment with oncologist was June 8th.  She explained that because it had been more than 6 months since my last chemo treatment they recommended the same chemo protocol.  I was actually 17 months cancer free.  But then again this is a misnomer.  If I was indeed cancer free then I wouldn't have it now!  What actually is happening is that the last chemo treatments and surgery didn't get rid of it all.  It lay in wait to resurface.  She also talked about the nature of this disease and how I had now entered the chronic phase.

By June 8th my comfort level due to the fluid build up was dismal.  During my time at the hospital the oncologist performed a paracentesis.  What a relief!  She removed 3.5 litres of fluid from my abdomen.  Gross!  Looked like cloudy beer....

She also added I was scheduled for chemo on June 13th which gave me 2 days at work to get things in order and pass them off.  But before this I was off for a girl's weekend with my pals from work.  So on Friday night we left for fun in the sun!