Although this isn't the best picture in the world, it does show how I look now.  I am currently in treatment using temoxefen (not sure of spelling) and I find that I hurt a lot less.  I hope it is effective so I don't have to go into chemo again.  I will see in another two weeks.

My new website

I have just created a new website through MyLifeLine and that supports cancer survivors.  Feel free to check out the site.  It is a work in progress, but there are a series of pictures showing how I have changed over the last six months as well as having information provided by the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance.  Come by and sign my guestbook and learn more!  https://www.mylifeline.org/daeckardt/?page=welcome.cfm

Life goes on...

It has been three months since my last chemo session.  I thought everything was going well at first, but seven weeks ago, my numbers (ca-125, the cancer tumor marker) started going up.  At that time it had only gone up by 10 points and it was "wait and see".  They did another test last Monday and it had gone from 41 to 79.  When the doctor gave me that information, she told me that any time it doubles from the lowest point she becomes concerned.  Now I am scheduled for a CT scan next Tuesday and to get the results on Wednesday, but when I went to pick up the contrast they told me the insurance may require me to wait for an additional day. That would not be good because my doctor only has clinics on Monday and Wednesday but I will do whatever I have to.  I just hope that the necessary treatment is not too bad because I have already been through so much. But I look at it this way...When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  I'm just tired of all the lemons I have been getting.

Possible problem

I got a call today from the nurse in my doctor's office.  It turns out that I have another bladder infection because of the fistula so I am on yet another round of antibiotics.  But to make matters worse, I got the results of the ca-125 they did on Monday and the numbers are going up again.  That is scary because I am just starting to get my hair back and there is a possibility that they will want to start me on chemo again.  I really hope that is not the case, but I will have to wait and see.  They will have me get another test on September 19 and then I will have a better idea.  I know that no matter what happens that I am strong and I will get through it.  That's all for now.

Update 8/11/11

I have been doing great lately, but I got one little piece of bad news.  It isn't all that bad, but it looks like the colostomy is going to be permanent.  I saw my gyn/onc on Monday and she told me that it looks like the only way they will be able to prevent any further bladder infections will be to remove the loop on the colostomy which would make it an end colostomy which would never be able to be reversed.  The other option to that would be a major operation that would remove a lot of my intestines and bladder and that would be far worse I think.  I have lived with this thing for this long, I guess I can live with it for the rest of my life.

I have started doing more things lately.  I have become active with the Red Cross disaster services again.  I hadn't done that since before I left North Carolina in 2006 and I really missed it.  I am working on trying to get the Columbia office resources up to par so that if we have to send people to a hotel or to get services we will have a list of places that will work with us.  Right now, there are no agreements with places that would be willing to help us to provide housing to our clients that have been burned out of their homes.  This project will give me a definite purpose so that I have a reason (or another reason) to feel good about myself.

My hair is coming back!!!

I have been done with chemo for about 2 months now and my hair is starting to come back.  I have been feeling much better since I started going into the pool about three weeks ago.  I have much more energy now than I had during my treatments and I am starting to get into shape.  I also started volunteering with the Red Cross recently since my previous experience with them gives the local chapter here some insights into things that they didn't know about.

I'm done with chemo!

This post is a little late.  I actually finished chemo about four weeks ago now.  I was told two weeks ago that I didn't have to go through round 6 because my last two CA-125s were normal which basically means I am considered to be cancer free.  Instead of doing chemo last week, they did the CT scan that was supposed to be done after round 6.  I was really excited that they were going to keep me on the Avastin study, but then I got the CT results.  It showed there was a cyst on top of my bladder and there was ambient air in my abdomen.  I am now scheduled for another CT with an interventional radiologist to see if they can drain the cyst.  He was doing the extra CT to see if it has grown at all or to see if they can get a better position so they can access it.  If not, I guess I will be on antibiotics for as long as it takes for it to go away on its own.  And because they found the air in my abdomen, they took me off the study since perforations of the bowel are one of the possible side effects of the study drug.  Oh well...