Super Duper Fantastic News Today!

After being diagnosed with Stage IIIc ovarian cancer on November 14, 2019 it has been a long not-so-fun trip since then - Surgery December 4, started first of 6 chemos on December 26 and finished last one on April 30.  Had the first CT scan since before surgery last Friday April 22 and then a 4 day wait over the long Memorial Day weekend for the Dr. A followup call today.  It was definitely worth waiting for!!! 
This is the email update I sent to all friends and family just now:

Good evening!  If you don’t understand ask me please!!!!!

So my excellent update from today:

Everyone is so excited and I ran into a church choir person at the flower market and after that got calls from both of our pastors!  I told them I was so thankful to all – church, family, friends – for all the prayers and good wishes, phone calls, texts, emails -  sent all the time and that kept up my positive outlook.

I finished chemo #6 of 6 on April 30, had followup CT scan on April 22, followup Dr. Argenta call this morning and it was not fun waiting the 4 days for the update but that’s life!

Notes from the call and the online mychart document:

He says:  Scan looks great! Belly looks good! Nothing new seen aka no new metastases or tumors!!!   He says he hopes for me to continue into old age or until old age “burns my butt” (yes, his words)!!!    I could travel tomorrow if it wasn’t for the COVID stuff.  CA125 is now down to 118 and the slow downward trend is not worrisome and is sometimes seen in these tumors and and not too important if flat or going down which mine is.

I will have a routine follow-up lab and doctor appt in 3 months (JUST LIKE AMY😊😊)

Plan: of 3 options: 

1.  Do nothing  

2.  New drug just approved last week for ovarian cancer like mine called a PARP inhibitor but is used in people that have the positive genes which I do not. 

3. FOR ME:   Anti- Hormonal treatment – “pretty nice” will stop cells from returning – not as potent as chemo but better choice. 

So I will be on anti-hormone treatment which may be more responsive and less “toxic”. It is used in breast cancer and it is extrapolated that for certain people like me it will work!!!.  It is likely to help and won’t slow me down and if it works will continue😊.  The drug is called Letrozole and I pick up the prescription tomorrow.

Also neuropathy finger/foot/leg pain will continue to improve and could take up to one year.  Hair will come back – different times for every person. 

SO HERE ARE A COUPLE "FLOWER PHOTOS" - MORE LATER!  And of course I made a new face mask with a French/Italian/Wine them - ready to fly again when things open up!!!!