Sunday, May 22nd

As you can see my mom posted some new pictures of me with a pink firetruck.  This is an organization that tours 40 different firetrucks world wide promoting awareness and fundraising for female cancers.  We were fortunate enough to have them come to Stockton.  Mom, our neighbor Vangie (Uterine cancer survivor) and myself went to the event.  The entire fire engine is covered with messages and signatures that people have written on there with a sharpie pen.
If you would like more information or want to see a video here is the link: www.pinkfiretrucks.org.

Big day of appointments tomorrow: oncologist, infusion center to have my port flushed and blood drawn, MeriAnne, and my first appointment with my primary care provider (PCP).  They told me at the start of chemo that I needed to establish with a PCP and I'm finally doing it.

On Saturday I attended a continuing medical education symposium on Ovarian Cancer.  I've been quite emotional lately and was practically in tears during the first 5 minutes.  It is very hard to be the Nurse Practitioner and the patient.  There was a lot of discussion on the latest clinical trials but it was just said again and again about the 30% 5 year survival which is so daunting to think about.

Other than that I continue to have severe aches in my muscles and bones.  Vangie says she still has this also and her last round of chemo was 6 months ago.  I will do all I can to make sure I don't have to continue to suffer with this pain for that long.

Hope you all are doing well.  I've gotten a few emails from people lately. Thank you for letting me know you are out them and still reading my posts.  Thank you also for the continued support.  It seems a lot of the recovery now is emotional.  I should know in a few days what my latest cell counts are also-hopefully there will be an improvement.
Denise

Monday, May 16th

She's back!!!!  I am happy to report that I completed my first 5k post cancer/chemo.  Granted, I walked the whole race and it is only a 5k (3.1 miles), but I did it.  Actually, Oliver and I did it.  Despite the fact that Mom and I walk most days we usually are walking 1-2 miles so the 5k was a bit of a challenge.   It was a Kaiser sponsored race and a group of the Kaiser Nurse Practitioners were doing the race and asked if I wanted to do it with them.  It was great to see some of my friends AND walk the race.  And Congratulations to Elena (Tracy Ob/Gyn NP) who won the women's 5k race.  She has completely inspired me because she also is a cancer survivor and is now winning races (a bucket list item for me).  

Other than that my condition has been status quo.  I'm still struggling with the neuropathy and fatigue.  After the 5k, I came home that day and took a 2 hour nap. ha ha.  I am also now having more of the bone aches that I experienced 2-3 wks after round 5 of chemo.  I started treatment today with a Chinese acupuncturist, which I hope will help.  I continue to work with MerriAnn, especially with nutritional supplements that she has recommended to boost up my immunity again.  I am also still having sessions with Sandy every week with the neuro reflex therapy.  

I again would like to thank everyone for their support and positive thoughts.  

Denise

Saturday, May 7th

Happy early Mother's Day to you all.  I am COMPLETELY done with all chemotherapy.  Yea!!!!!!!!!  I had my last round last week and have recovered nicely from it.  Other than the neuropathy and tiring easily, I am feeling quite well.  Now I can focus on recovery.  I plan to do several detox types of therapy about 3 wks post chemo. 
It was a chemo that almost didn't happen.  My cell counts were too low to get the chemo per protocol, but since it was my last round the on-call doctor approved it anyway. Later in the day the nurse made a comment that the doctor would probably ok a chemo for someone who was in a coffin.  Once arriving home I looked more closely at my labs from this round and my previous round.  I barely qualified to get chemo on the previous round and in the 5wks in between the two rounds my levels still didn't rise to what they were before the last round.  So for the next 2-3 months I need to be careful to not be exposed to any infectious people because I don't have much of an immunity.  I started some supplements to try to boost me up quicker.  I am continuing with my healing meditations and my neuro reflex therapy for the neuropathy. 
Thank you again for all of your support and have a GREAT weekend!
Denise

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Joan/Mom here.  Lots to catch up with.  Last weekend the family spent the weekend camping at Smithwoods RV Park in Felton.  Denise was feeling achy but made the most of being at the coast--a favorite place for all of us.  Enjoyed the campfire Friday pm with Adam, a life long friend of Denise's who lives in the area.  We saw some dolphins cresting and also some whales.  Watched Dana and Bobby's dogs, Sophia (golden retriever) and Wriggly (chocolate cocker) let their hearts run free at the dog beach. 

Chemo treatment on Monday, relaxed Tuesday, felt really good Wednesday and walked.  Thursday and Friday chemo constipation raged havoc and wiped Denise out.  Saturday was spent at the St. Joseph's and American Cancer Society's Treat Meant Day receiving lots of information and net working with others experiencing the spirituality and camaraderie.  Today Denise will take it easy and deal with a second bout of chemo constipation.

More to come as Denise gets her energy up and going. 

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Hello all.  I met with my medical oncologist yesterday.  My next and last round of chemo is scheduled for Monday, April 25th.  I'm dreading it already.  The dose of the chemo cannot be decreased-he states if it were decreased again it wouldn't be considered effective enough.  My neuropathy is still present but has been improving.  Unfortunately, I've developed a lot of muscle pain, especially in my upper legs.  This makes it very difficult for me to walk after sitting for a period of time. So when I mix together the stiff/achy legs and the neuropathy in my feet I look like I'm 90 years old when I start walking.  Jacqueline (my official researcher) states this a normal side effect of the Taxol chemo, especially in the later rounds because the Taxol has an accumulative effect on the body. 
My intraperitoneal port has literally been a pain in my side for some reason the past week or so.  I sent an email today to my surgeon to schedule removal now that we know the last day of my chemo.  The doctors prefer to wait about a month after my last chemo to remove it due to the possibility of infection.  It will be one step closer to me feeling like I have a normal body again. 
My energy has been pretty good as long as I can get plenty of sleep (10-12 hours).  The chemo is a bit of a double edged sword in that it causes a lot of fatigue but also greatly effects the quality of sleep and causes an inability to sleep (usually between the hours of 1-4 am).  The long hours of sleeping is very odd for me, but again doctors say it is very normal. 
I've been able to have some fun and have met up with some friends.  Thank you Sheetal, Don, Seanna, Kecia, Mark, Neil, Jacqueline, Brian, Carolyn, Joanie, Marla, and Linda for meeting up with me.  The family also spent last Sunday going to Ano Nuevo State Reserve to see the elephant seals.  Mom is going to post a pic from the day.
Again I appreciate everyone's support.  I love getting your posts.  I wish I could email each of you back when you do post but we haven't figured out how to do that, if it's possible at all.  I apologize if the blog seems negative at times. Those who know me very well, know that I "tell it like it is" and to be honest I have found chemo to be the hardest thing I've ever gone through and it makes running a marathon seem like a nice walk in the park.  So if the post seems that I'm down and out I'm just being honest in how I'm handling this "journey" of mine.
Thank you and take care,
Denise

Wednesday, April 6th

Yesterday mom and I went to Walnut Creek to meet with my surgical gynecologic oncologist.  We had a great visit, she stayed with us for about an hour answering all of our questions and discussing the plan of care from here on out.  My exam was completely normal and everything has healed well from the surgery.  She is taking my neuropathy very serious and wants to delay chemo for 1-3 wks until the numbness has subsided some.  She says it can take a year for the neuropathy to subside, and whatever severity of neuropathy I have at the year mark will then be considered permanent. 
The plan will be to do the last round of chemo in a few weeks. About a month after that I can have the intraperitoneal port removed.  I will also then have a CT scan which will serve as my new baseline and will show them what my normal is so they have something to compare it to all the future CT's.  I will have a pelvic exam and lab work every 3 months for the next two years.  If anything appears either through blood work, exam, or symptoms then I will have either a CT or PET scan.  For those of you who don't know, all of this future work-up is done because my type of cancer has a very high re-occurrence rate.  I don't intend to have cancer again but I will follow their plan of care to ensure all is well. 
After the appointment we met Don and Becky for lunch.  Thank you so much Don and Becky, it was wonderful to see you.  On the drive home we also stopped by Jules Veterinary Office to pick up a Rx for Oliver and I got to visit with Kecia for a bit.  So all in all I had a very good day and was ready to crash once home.  Dr. Chen says the fatigue will take about a year after chemo to recover from. 
I have another appointment with MerriAnn (the energy healer) and Sandy (neuro reflex therapist) tomorrow.  I will continue to use my alternative methods in addition to the western medicine to help my healing journey.
I hope all is well with all of you.  I love to receive posts or emails from you so keep them coming.
Love and Happiness to you all,
Denise

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Round 5 is officially over and the first day I felt somewhat ok again we headed for the ocean/beach.  The weather has been so beautiful and I enjoy the sunshine on my walks but the ocean has been calling for me since the beginning of this journey.  Yesterday proved to be the day it was finally coming to fruition.  Mom, Dad, Oliver and I loaded up the car and headed for Half Moon Bay.  We found a nice little cove and set up camp.  Oliver had a blast running up and down the beach.  He wasn't much of a socialite with the other doggies but stayed focused on what I was doing and protecting me.  It was the perfect day to be there with large waves to be mesmerized by and just the right temperature to feel toasting but not too warm. 
I meet with my Gyn Oncologist (the surgeon) on Tuesday.  Lots of questions for her since I haven't seen her since the few weeks after my surgery.  We will also likely set up the referral to have the surgical procedure to remove my Intraperitoneal port a month or so after my final round of chemo.  There is a lot online about maintenance chemotherapy which is monthly chemo (often at a lower dose) that continues after the original 6 rounds.  My general oncologist wasn't able to tell me if that is something I need, he simply said it depended on my pathology.  So I'm hoping to get the final answer about that from the Gyn Onc.  I truly feel that I no longer have any cancer so hope the 6 should be it.  I'm also going to propose the dose be lowered AGAIN because the neuropathy continues to persist with no relief.  I'm now seeing a Neuro Reflex Therapist who does hour long sessions on either my feet or hands to try to "wake up" the nerves again.  The therapy can be quite painful but worth it if I can get relief.  She said I probably won't feel any relief until I've had 4-5 sessions.  I had one earlier in the week and I have one again later today. 
Thank you everyone for your continued support
Denise