Good morning to you all.
I'm just now writing to update this blog because I was wiped out yesterday after my second chemo treatment. But more on that later...
First, some good - no, great - news. I saw my doctor on Monday to go through my current blood test numbers to make sure my treatment would go through the next day. One of the test results she gave me was called the CA-125 or 'tumor marker' test. It's an indicator of how much of that protein (which is higher in patients with
active ovarian cancer) is currently in your system. Normal levels are 35 and under. My number before my surgery was 1,071. So now you see how drastic my situation was, and why I really needed to get a hysterectomy ASAP! Well, my last test was on June 21, and my CA-125 number now is....15! Technically, that number already has me at 'remission' stage. Praise God for His faithfulness!
To hear that number made me think I'd be able to cancel out the rest of the chemo treatments. After all, such a great improvement would mean I wouldn't need to go through all six sessions, right? Nope. The doctors want to take me through all six to make SURE I have nothing in my system. So, next day I went in for another treatment.
I got in on time, but ended up with another series of delays that had me leaving the hospital at 6pm! Fortunately I didn't have any negative reactions to the chemo drugs this time, so that's definitely progress.
The changes this time are more pronounced. The days before the treatment we noticed my hair thinning out. When I took my shower the morning of the treatment I washed my hair - and immediately wished I hadn't. It was like I had patches of thick hair and spots where I almost had nothing there. So the next morning, after much hand wringing, I had my DH give me a buzz cut. At first it was hard seeing myself in the mirror with hardly any hair. But after the initial shock, it's interesting running my hands over my (nearly) bald head. And the funniest thing is one day later it looks like my hair grew a little bit overnight. Go figure!
With my change in hair, I was happy to find out that the local American Cancer Society has a Wig Bank where you can pick out not only a wig but a cap and a night cap (to keep your head warm at night) at no charge. The wigs and caps are donated to the ACS so we patients don't have to pay out of pocket for them.
That being said, I know I'm going to be needing some more scarfs and turbans to be able to change up my look. I can also choose to rock a 100% bald look...that would make trips with the window down real interesting! :-)
I probably should have waited until today to make that run, because when I got home I was wiped out. I've never wanted to go to sleep so much in the middle of the day in my life! Today I still am more inclined to lay down than go out and do
anything. Still no nausea, thank God, but I'm noticing that the back of my forearms are a bit sensitive and I have a bit of a headache. I'm thankful that's the worst of it so far. I'll need to find out how to get more energy to get myself going during the periods between treatments.
That's it for now. It's a little long, but I needed to catch things up a bit. Have an excellent day, and Stay Vertical!
I'm just now writing to update this blog because I was wiped out yesterday after my second chemo treatment. But more on that later...
First, some good - no, great - news. I saw my doctor on Monday to go through my current blood test numbers to make sure my treatment would go through the next day. One of the test results she gave me was called the CA-125 or 'tumor marker' test. It's an indicator of how much of that protein (which is higher in patients with
active ovarian cancer) is currently in your system. Normal levels are 35 and under. My number before my surgery was 1,071. So now you see how drastic my situation was, and why I really needed to get a hysterectomy ASAP! Well, my last test was on June 21, and my CA-125 number now is....15! Technically, that number already has me at 'remission' stage. Praise God for His faithfulness!
To hear that number made me think I'd be able to cancel out the rest of the chemo treatments. After all, such a great improvement would mean I wouldn't need to go through all six sessions, right? Nope. The doctors want to take me through all six to make SURE I have nothing in my system. So, next day I went in for another treatment.
I got in on time, but ended up with another series of delays that had me leaving the hospital at 6pm! Fortunately I didn't have any negative reactions to the chemo drugs this time, so that's definitely progress.
The changes this time are more pronounced. The days before the treatment we noticed my hair thinning out. When I took my shower the morning of the treatment I washed my hair - and immediately wished I hadn't. It was like I had patches of thick hair and spots where I almost had nothing there. So the next morning, after much hand wringing, I had my DH give me a buzz cut. At first it was hard seeing myself in the mirror with hardly any hair. But after the initial shock, it's interesting running my hands over my (nearly) bald head. And the funniest thing is one day later it looks like my hair grew a little bit overnight. Go figure!
With my change in hair, I was happy to find out that the local American Cancer Society has a Wig Bank where you can pick out not only a wig but a cap and a night cap (to keep your head warm at night) at no charge. The wigs and caps are donated to the ACS so we patients don't have to pay out of pocket for them.
That being said, I know I'm going to be needing some more scarfs and turbans to be able to change up my look. I can also choose to rock a 100% bald look...that would make trips with the window down real interesting! :-)
I probably should have waited until today to make that run, because when I got home I was wiped out. I've never wanted to go to sleep so much in the middle of the day in my life! Today I still am more inclined to lay down than go out and do
anything. Still no nausea, thank God, but I'm noticing that the back of my forearms are a bit sensitive and I have a bit of a headache. I'm thankful that's the worst of it so far. I'll need to find out how to get more energy to get myself going during the periods between treatments.
That's it for now. It's a little long, but I needed to catch things up a bit. Have an excellent day, and Stay Vertical!