Good Stuff

I started another round of chemotherapy treatments yesterday.  The good news yesterday was that I had gained 1.3 pounds in the thirteen days since my last treatment!  I know that doesn't sound like much, but for someone who was consistently losing 8 to 10 pounds between treatments back in the fall, anything that is stable or higher is really good news.

Today I had my IP chemo.  We call it the "rotisserie chicken chemo" because I have to rotate on the hospital bed after my peritoneal cavity is filled with the cisplatin.  The best news of all was that my CA 125, which is the tumor marker and cancer antigen indicator, was down another 200 points -- from 545 to 336!  I would have been perfectly happy with something in the 400's, nervous that it may have gone up, and DELIGHTED when I saw 336 on my lab report!  I am still shooting for something in the 30's, but I am thrilled at the downward trend we are seeing.

So many of you have reached out and told me that you are praying that the chemo will do what it's supposed to do.  We can truly thank the Lord that, at least for the time being, it seems to be.  Thank you so much for your faith and prayers in my behalf.

I know that some of you have also expressed that you are praying for my appetite.  I hope you can appreciate the photos below.  After my IV chemo yesterday, I went out for Mexican food and ate a decent amount.  Tonight, after my IP chemo, I thought I wanted Mexican again, so we headed for a restaurant called Jalapeno's.  On the way, I decided I wanted ravioli at Olive Garden.  Then just before we got there, I decided I wanted crab at Red Lobster.  I ate a full pound of Red Lobster snow crab and loved every bite!  I hope I don't throw up seafood when the special pre-meds start wearing off, because I know I would never eat crab again.  Since I am jacked up on pre-meds for anti-nausea and energy and hydration, I realize that I am artificially feeling well right now, and I'm not sure what to expect when it all wears off.

Thank you for all that you do for me!  I don't take any of it for granted.