First day of chemo

Mom's chemo was postponed from Monday until today, which was a bit of a bumpy ride. But, yeah, now it's behind us! Mom did really well. . .mostly. She had a muscle spasm, an allergic reaction to the Taxol, that was sudden and very painful. They were able to give her meds to control that reaction, and she seemed to tolerate everything else very well. She snacked while she received the chemo & visited with people around us. It was not a bad day. Pray that her body tolerates this treatment remarkably well.

She will get a power port before her next chemo treatment (scheduled every three weeks). It will be put in while she is an outpatient at St. John's, using conscious sedation. The picc line will then be out, which is probably good since it carries a greater risk of infection.

Thank you for your prayers & support.

Chemo class and x-ray

Mom had a chest x-ray done in Tulsa today, and the doctor left a message on her phone this evening: the fluid in her lungs seems 95% resolved. Praise God. We are so thankful that her body is taking care of this, and she did not require another tap on her chest cavity.

Tonight, Mom, Dad, & I attended a chemo class run by Cancer Care Associates in Tulsa. It was over 90 minutes of great information. They gave Mom a book with all the information they presented. The majority of the information was on side effects of the chemo, with both preventative & treatment ideas, and under what circumstances you need to contact the doctor. Mom felt really empowered by the information.

She will begin chemo on Monday.

Oncologist and pulmonologist

Today Mom had an appointment with her oncologist in Tulsa, and we believed she would start chemotherapy. She had synchronous tumors (tumors growing in both her uterus and on her ovaries), which is actually good news. There are many kinds of ovarian cancer, and this type has a good prognosis. She will require chemo: eight rounds, spaced out approximately every 3 weeks. It is stage 1-c ("1" because it is contained to the ovaries, and "c" because it ruptured).

However, Dr. Genesen did not want to start her treatment today, but rather do further examination of her lung situation. We feel so blessed to be under his care. His office scheduled an appointment for 1:45 with a pulmonologist, so after lunch, we were off to that doctor's office.

The pulmonologist looked over all of Mom's records available to him and questioned her about her situation. His conclusion is that she has Meiggs Syndrome, which is a situation where ovarian cancer patients develop fluid in their chest cavity. Usually it resolves within 1-2 weeks of surgery, but since Mom had post-operative complications, she may not be showing "textbook" results. In the past several days, since she was in the ER on Thursday, she has shown marked improvement in the swelling of her ankles, and her weight has dropped (gotta be loss of fluid, because Mom has no mass to be losing now). The pulmonologist thinks her body is handling the situation itself and recommends no immediate action.

However, he did suggest delaying her chemo for perhaps another week, and Mom will return to Tulsa on Thursday to have a chest x-ray, just to make sure her body is clearing out the fluid in her chest. Her incision is healing very well, and you would be surprised, by seeing how great she looks now, that just 3 weeks ago she underwent massive surgery. All that broccoli and asparagus must be paying off!

Pleurisy

On Wednesday afternoon (yesterday), Mom became short of breath, and lost her appetite. She began having sharp pain in her chest on the right side. This morning, she called her oncologist in Tulsa, and their office recommended she go to the ER in Bartlesville to check for blood clots or any further complications.

A chest x-ray and CT scan showed the fluid level in her lungs to be similar to what it was when she left the hospital last week. She was diagnosed with pleurisy (inflammation of the lining around the lungs) and her pain medicine was increased. She went home feeling better and resolved to use her spirometer. The spirometer is a simple tool to help her lungs fully expand, and she has instructions to use it 10-12 times an hour. It is not difficult, but it does take her energy, and it is time consuming. Anyone who has ever had recuperative therapy knows how irritating it can be to plug through exercises intended to restore your body to normal function.

Mom had been making really great progress at home, regaining her appetite and even taking a walk outdoors in the lovely fall air. Continue to pray for her as she recovers. Her oncologist has an office in Bartlesville, where they can change the dressing for her picc line this Friday. Her next appointment with him is Wednesday, November 12.

It's ME!

Well, look! I'm standing in Connie'sCorner smiling, waving, and blowing kisses! Whew! That was exhausting. I'm sitting down now.

It is so wonderful to be home! Two weeks in a hospital is enough to kill a healthy person, and I didn't go there too healthy. I'm so grateful to Angie for keeping everyone informed and I appreciate all the love and concern posted here. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we start the chemo phase of my treatment.

Must go rest for now. Keep posting! I can actually read the posts now. Hugs, Connie