Hanging In There

 I’m still here and sorry for being away for so long. I’ve never been much of a blogger although I wish I was better at posting. The surgery I had in September was a bit tougher than I had anticipated. I also had some problems with a blockage while in the hospital and that left me pretty sick plus extended the length of my stay. By the time I came home I realized the warnings of that being a difficult surgery were absolutely true! I don’t think I’ve had anything hit me as hard as that did and it has kept me mostly out of commission, although I am already back on chemo.

So, how did the surgery go? I had been told that they hoped to remove almost all of the visible cancer. They knew there would be cancer left but they hoped nothing major. As it turns out they were not able to remove as much as they had hoped. For a time, I lied to myself that I was headed for a remission and even hoped that I would have a chance to ring the bell. I can still hope that those things could be in my future, but not anytime soon.

I am having the heavy-duty, all-day chemo every three weeks. I had my first one three weeks ago and I have another one this Thursday. I had to tell my daughter-in-law, Kristi, that for the first time ever I would not be able to help with the preparations for our family Thanksgiving meal. Of course, she understands and has been so sweet. The doctors already have plans for me to start on infusions of Avastin (Bevacizumab) every three weeks beginning in January and continuing as long as possible. I will also have a pill form of chemo along with it. The infusions will be given at the Cancer Center so I will still get to see all the friends I’ve made there. I’ve been going to the Sarah Cannon Cancer Center for almost a year now and those girls are absolute angels! I love them all.

Tom and I have a week of medical appointments. Tom has a doctor's appointment tomorrow, I have one Wednesday, I have chemo Thursday, and Friday I go back in for an after chemo injection. It keeps us busy.

So, what else has been going on? Well, my dear great-granddaughter Juniper has just been the joy of my life! My granddaughter, Annika, her hubby Nick, and Juniper come to visit us around once a month and also bring dinner when they come. It is wonderful to see them all! When I can’t see them Annika posts pictures and videos of Juniper for me to see. She is not quite 18 months yet and she has grown so fast. She’s walking everywhere, has a great vocabulary already, and loves all of her books! I am so grateful that I am able to know and enjoy her!

My grandson, Gavin, stays busy with his job as a firefighter. We are all so proud of him although sometimes his job can be a little frightening, at least to his grandma! He is such a special and caring person and makes me feel so blessed, just like the rest of my family.

We are all looking forward to a family Thanksgiving dinner at my son’s house. There is nothing I love better than those occasions when our whole family gets together!

I hope you are all well and happy. It’s hard to believe this is November already! Thank you if you are still reading despite the fact that I am so slow about posting. I appreciate you all!

Three Months Later and I’m Still Fighting

 

I’m sorry I didn’t post sooner, but I discovered that once a week chemo was a bit difficult. I’ve got a few things to bring you up to date on however first I would like to thank those of you that are still here despite my absence. Also thank you to the ones that have sent me cards in the mail. They have meant so much more to me than you might realize!

At the risk of boring you with yet more medical news, I’ll try to bring you up to date. Since we last spoke, I have had 12 chemo sessions. Certainly more than I had expected. My most recent CT scan did show some small improvement in my cancer. It is still there, but some of it has shrunk just enough to consider surgery! This is what I have been hoping for! I saw my oncologist July 15 and he said he would like to look at surgery around the end of July or the first part of August. I’ve been waiting for a date all this time but we all know how medical dates go, or it’s more like how they don’t go. I received a call this morning that the surgery won’t be until sometime in September or possibly even the first part of October. There is a good reason for the delay though. It seems this is a much more serious surgery than I realized. It is a Cytoreductive surgery or some even call it the “Mother of all Surgeries”. That’s not saying it’s the worst possible surgery, but as cancer surgeries go it is serious. Part of that reason is because I have cancer in several different areas of my body. It started as ovarian cancer and spread through my omentum. (I didn’t know what that was either!) It then went into my colon and caused all kinds of trouble. I even have a bit next to my lungs. (not in them) So they will be going after the cancer in all these areas in this one surgery. There’s another reason to make it difficult to set a date, I will have two surgeons and finding a date that works for both of them is not easy! Even after I have surgery I will be going back for yet more chemo because they know they will not get all of the cancer.

I am hoping to get a surgery date next week but I’m sure not holding my breath. There is another possible problem. Since I have to wait longer than expected, there is a concern my cancer might grow again. Because of that I may have to have more chemo while waiting. That’s up to my oncologist and I know he doesn’t want me having chemo too close to the surgery date. If I need to have more chemo I’m ok with it. As I’ve said, I’m in for the fight.

In the meantime, we have had a variety of things going on in our family, but all good. My sweet great-grand daughter, Juniper celebrated her first birthday July 12^th! That girl just brightens my heart in so many wonderful ways! Our family has had a variety of get togethers as we have celebrated many birthdays. There is nothing I love better than family get togethers!

Like so many of you we have gone through quite a few heat waves and we are in another one now. It’s been hard on the people as well as the animals like this squirrel here!

I promise he's ok, just wiped out from the heat!

We went out to eat at a favorite bar-b-q restaurant with my son Chris and his wife Kristi when I had a short chemo break. I don’t know when I’ll get any hair back but I have a variety of these chemo hats that work in the meantime!

Myself & Tom at Jack Stack

Today we will have the family together once again at Chris’ home. We will be celebrating my 73^rd birthday! Man I’m getting old!

 

 

Ups and Downs

 

My fight with this cancer continues and while it is a bumpy road, I'm determined to keep fighting. My third chemo was three weeks ago and six days after it I was once again back in the hospital. I'm beginning to feel like the hospital is my second home. It was for the same reason as before, colitis that caused more pain than I could handle. This time I had some pain pills at home but they didn't touch this pain. I know I must sound like a wimp for pain but really, I'm not. I usually handle pain fairly well. Something about this chemo seems to cause me to get a bad colitis infection several days later. They do like me to be on IV antibiotics for that infection, so at least hospitalization allows for that.

The original plan was for me to have three rounds of chemo and then another CT scan. The hope was that the cancer would have shrunk some making surgery easier. Then after surgery I would have more chemo. When I was recently admitted to the hospital a CT scan was done and it showed that the cancers had actually grown. That was not what I wanted to hear. I had another CT scan this week of my lungs and I’ll get those results next week. I see my oncologist April 22^nd so I should find out then what happens next. I’m a little discouraged to hear the cancers have grown despite the three recent chemotherapy sessions. However, I’m certainly not giving up and I’m willing to have more chemo if necessary.

I’ve been having three weeks off between chemo treatments but this time I have an extra week off. That helps me to have a longer break and start to feel a bit better. I still don’t have a lot of energy but I am feeling like doing a bit more for a change and that is nice!

I had a special Sunday after I came home from the hospital. My granddaughter Annika, her husband Nick, and my adorable great-granddaughter Juniper came over for a visit and they even brought lunch! It was such a blessing to be able to spend some time with them. Juniper is nine months old now and crawling. She has always been the happiest child I have ever seen and she spreads joy everywhere she goes! Family always lifts my spirits and reminds me how very lucky I am!

This coming Saturday we will be able to visit with my oldest son Chris, and his wife Kristi. We will also be going out to eat with them which is something I have not done in quite a while, so it will be a special day for me. Then the next day my other son Sean, who lives out of town, will be coming to visit us. Family is everything and Tom and I are certainly blessed by ours!

 

Hello!

 

It’s been a little over a year since I’ve written a post, but I promise I have not forgotten any of my blog friends. However, I don’t blame you if you have forgotten me and I understand since I haven’t been around. I don’t want to be one of those bloggers that just disappears so I thought I would post an update on the past year. 

It’s been a very busy year with the highlight being that I became a great-grandmother last summer! My granddaughter Annika and her husband Nick had a beautiful, 9-pound 10-ounce girl in July. Her name is Juniper Lark and she is such a happy baby, always a joy to be around. I would post a picture but her parents do not want any pictures of her on the internet and I totally understand that. I love having a little one in the family again! 

Another highlight of the year was that my grandson, Gavin, graduated from the Fire Academy which is part of a two-year program in an area community college. He first earned his emergency medical technician (EMT) certification and then went into the Fire Academy program. He is now working as a fire fighter for the City of Independence. Of course, we are all very proud of him!

Tom, Gavin, and myself at his graduation.

Tom has been doing okay although he still has health and mobility problems. He is still using his walker and I’m happy to say he has not had a single fall since he started using it! Our sweet cats, Sophie and Zeus, turned nine this year and they are still bringing us much love and happiness!

Sophie & Zeus

Most of 2024 has been a very good year for us until December when I got hit with some health problems. I have been diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer that has spread to the colon. On December 16^th I had some severe stomach pain to the point that Tom called an ambulance to get me to the hospital. After a CT scan they discovered I had an almost complete blockage due to colon cancer. I had surgery and ended up getting a colostomy (which I hate!). They did not remove the cancer yet because they want me to have chemo first. After many more tests in the hospital it turned out that the cancer had started in my ovaries and from there spread to the colon. I spent over a week in the hospital and came home on Christmas Eve. I think I was in shock most of December after receiving such an unexpected diagnosis. Just to make things fun, I came down with covid a couple of days after I came home from the hospital.

Since then, life has been a blur of medical appointments and a second hospitalization last week after my first chemo treatment. I came home last Sunday after a week in the hospital with colitis. I still have pain from the colitis but I’m trying to get to feeling better as my next chemo is Thursday, March 6^th. I had two medical appointments yesterday and hopefully no more until my all-day chemo appointment next week.

I know, I’m 72 and these cancers are stage four, but I am not giving up! I’m trying to stay positive and keep fighting! Despite that, I sure could use any prayers and healing thoughts! No matter what happens, I feel incredibly blessed in my life especially by my wonderful family!

I’ll try to post again when I can and fill you in on everything a little better. I send you all my best, I've missed you!