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!
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3 comments:
Thanks for the very informative message today, Angie. I'm relieved that Connie's chemo will be postponed until the fluid situation is cleared up. As you said, she is looking just great. In fact, we saw her on Friday night and thought she looked better than when we had seen her before the surgery. It sounds like she is receiving the very best care possible, and we're grateful for that. Take care. Love, Phyllis
Angie, your update was so encouraging to me. Thank you so much. I, too, am so pleased the oncologist is cautious. I'm also so pleased Connie's healthy life style is paying off now. Such a reward. I pray for your strength to get through this difficult time--all of you (Ron & Connie, Angie and your family, Paul and his family) Not easy. But these are the learning, growing times. Ugh!!--Donna
Connie, I hope you got some of this rain. I'm not quite ready for winter this year. Maybe it can be a time to rest and heal so we'll be ready for the spring. I love spring.
Love, Bonnie
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