144

That's my latest CA-125, 144.  Starting in March of this year my CA-125 has been steadily rising.  Following the first abnormal result (above 35) my oncologist, Dr. Dunton, ordered a PET/CT scan.  The scan showed no cancer activity so we were put in a wait and see holding pattern where I have been retesting the CA-125 every 6 weeks and each time it has risen slightly.  This time there was a big jump in the numbers.  I will have the PET/CT scan repeated this coming week and then have a visit with my doctor to discuss the results the next day.  If it shows something we will try and attack it with surgery, chemo, maybe radiation; if the scans still don't show anything I am not sure what he will want to do.  In the mean time though I am not sitting by idly waiting.  Earlier this week I saw my integrative medicine specialist, Dr. Rosenzweig, who I have affectionately named my "Harry Potter Doctor" due to all the "potions" he has in his arsenal of weapons and also due to the unusual location of his office.  He and I have decided it is time to start injections of Iscador, a product not FDA approved in the US but widely used in Europe.  If you are interested in more information on Iscador please see the following link http://wiki4cam.org/wiki/Iscador_Therapy_for_Cancer .  In addition, I am going to try IV infusions of Vitamin C (see http://www.naturalnews.com/034663_IV_vitamin_c_cancer_treatment.html ).  Unfortunately my alternative treatments are going to be on hold until the supply of Iscador comes in and until I have all my test results from Dr. Dunton and Dr. Rosenzweig.  Of course, I am also going to continue making my morning "green juice drink" which is going much more smoothly now that Don has bought me a Vit-A- Mix blender.  My green juice drink is 1 cup of parsley, 2 leaves of Kale, the rind and juice of one lemon, an apple, and one scoop of Pro-Greens along with some filtered water and a couple ice cubes.  Weirdly enough I actually like it and missed it while I was away this weekend and not able to make it. Don and I are also going to continue on the "Primal Diet"; I tried the vegan thing and I just didn't feel right.  I know that meat is very acidic which is not good for someone with cancer but I will just have to try and keep my portions of it small and eat alot of veggies. 

Oh, For Heaven's Sake, I Cry At Everything!

It has been quite a weekend here and today just seemed to be the whipped cream on top of the cake, I guess. As a parent, you get to experience so many things that you just have no control over whatsoever. There are certainly times of great heartache and we have had our share of those, for sure. Sometimes there are just things that are downright hysterical and then there are those times when your heart just swells with pride and joy and that is what Don and I got to experience today. I will back up a little though because there really was plenty of things going on this weekend in our family that I would consider "experiences".

First off, Pat called on Saturday to share that he had been out on Friday with friends and it sounded like he had a nice time. I have been worried about him out there by himself in Ohio since Mike moved away but I think he is making his own way. I hope that one day he'll call and say that he has met that special girl that he can share things with but for now I am happy that things are going well for him.

Also on Saturday, Kate took Billy to his first major concert. One of Billy's favorite bands, Something Corporate (I think he was actually influenced on this by his older brothers), was playing along with a about a million other bands at the Meadowlands in NJ. The two took off on their most excellent adventure mid-morning on Saturday and gleefully returned after hearing Something Corporate, Hanson, and Paramore and Billy snagging 3/4 of a drumstick from Something Corporate (long story there) after 1am. Any time my kids are out driving it is time for me to stress over their safety but once again everyone returned safely; thank you God.

Mike was also busy on Saturday. After playing soccer he headed over with friends to test his betting skills on the horse races. On his first six dollar bet on some preliminary Derby races he won $250.00. He called and I said "that's great, go home" because I figure you are ahead don't push it. Luckily for him he pays no attention to me because he ended up taking his winnings and betting the Trifecta at the Derby and wouldn't you know he won to the tune of $2500.00. Pretty good return on his original $6 investment, don't you think? Now don't get me wrong, there is no way I condone betting and that is something Don or I would never do; it is just way beyond our comfort zone but I still have to say good job. So far, he seems to understand how to bet responsibly and as long as he can keep it that way, good for him.

Katie had her second soccer game in her new league today. She has started to play with a group of girls in the area on a team that a fellow employee at her work found. When she met up with us later today she was exhausted from playing in our 90 degree heat wave with a seven woman team versus an 11 woman team. I am glad to see her finding ways to make new friends in our new hometown. It hasn't been easy for her since leaving school and parting from the good friends she had made over four years and coming back to a home in a new place where she new virtually no one.

The highlight of my weekend though has to be the swimteam banquet we attended for Billy today. Sometimes life just throws those little curve balls your way that just take you by surprise and this time in a good way. The banquet was the celebration of the end of the swim year for the team that Billy has been swimming on since last spring. He swims on the National Team which is a yearlong training program offered by the Upper Main Line YMCA (UMLY). Last month his year of swimming culminated in him earning the opportunity to compete in two events at the YMCA National Meet held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. That was a huge accomplishment considering he couldn't swim even one length of the pool when he was eleven. He finished in about the middle of the pack in both of his events (he was 50/101 in the 500 free and 85/138 in the 100 breast) which we were all very proud of. It has really inspired him to continue his swimming and to improve his national ranking. In addition to swimming for the National Team the kids also compete on the UMLY winter swim teams which include kids of all ages and abilities and involves swimming in dual meets against other Ys in the area. UMLY has a girls' A,B, and C team and a boys' A and B team and you earn your spot on the teams according to ability. To make the teams more fair they ask the National Team swimmers, which would naturally qualify for the A team, to volunteer to swim on the B and C teams. Billy was one that raised his hand at the beginning of the winter season to swim on the boys' B team. All the older swimmers on the teams are expected to mentor the younger swimmers by taking them under their wings during practices and to help out especially at meets. Today we learned (this is our first year with UMLY) that there is an award called the Joey Guest Award that is given to a deserving swimmer on each of those teams. I will quote for you what the Joey Guest Award is:



"Joey Guest swam on UMLY's Boys' B Team in the 1970's. Joey was not necessarily known for his fast times or his first place finishes - but instead, for his contagious smile, infectious laugh, mischievous eyes and enthusiastic "high fives's" for all his fellow swimmers after their races. Joey was always at practice on time and no set was ever too tough for him to tackle. He always had a smile and kind word for his teammates, his coaches, and the many volunteers. Although he died very young, Joey's enthusiastic spirit will always remain "First Place" in the hearts of all who knew him at UMLY. In his memory, we are pleased to present an annual award to a member of each of our swim teams in recognition of outstanding team spirit."



Billy was selected as this years recipient of the Joey Guest Award for the Boys' B Team. Billy is a first year swimmer on the UMLY team and for him to have distinguished himself as deserving of this award just makes his Dad and me so proud that both of us had a hard time holding back the tears in our eyes that came when his name was called. Congratulations Billy; Dad and I know how special you are but it is certainly very gratifying to have others also recognize this about you. Cry, cry, cry.....but they are tears of joy.....Till Tomorrow......

What A Beautiful Day for A Stroll In The Park!

Today team Till Tomorrow met up in lovely Fairmont Park for the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation's Sandy Sprint 5K. The weather was perfect and it was great fun to explore yet another part of Philly. Our team members were Don, Katie, Billy, Joanne (my friend and workout buddy), Jeanna (Joanne's daughter), Kathy Seward (a friend and fellow survivor), Bud Seward (Kathy's husband), and me. A fellow yoga enthusiast, Laurie, at the YMCA had originally told me about the walk. Laurie's mom has been battling Ovarian Cancer for many years now and she had approached me one day in class to ask about my treatment plan. She told me how she had formed a team that would be walking in the Sandy Sprint in honor of her mother. I thought it would be a good idea to walk also but I put signing up on the "back burner" in my brain while I finished up my treatment. Then last month, while at the Philadelphia Flyers hockey game I came across a poster that in it's simplicity really got my attention. It was a picture of a women's abdomen with the symptoms of Ovarian Cancer listed down the side. As I looked up at that poster and read down that list I realized I had experienced most of them. Bloating, abdominal pain, feeling full quickly, fatique, indigestion were all symptoms that I had been bothered by but that hadn't seemed like anything life threatening and when I finally went to my doctor I had self-diagnosed myself with a hernia. Boy, was I wrong, so much for me knowing anything about medicine. That poster was the first and only time I have seen anything that public about Ovarian Cancer and if I had seen something like that sooner maybe I would have been at the doctor sooner. The poster listed the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation as the group responsible for the its placement. I knew right then and there that I had to sign up for the walk and support what this organization was doing. Sandy Rollman was a 33yr old women who died of Ovarian Cancer in 2000; it is her sister, Adriana Way and her nurse, Robin Cohen that formed the organization to try and prevent other women from having to endure the same pain as Sandy.

I am proud to tell you that team Till Tomorrow raised $1,065.00 through the donations of my friends and family. I would like to thank all of you who have donated, those that walked with me today, and those that have been a continuing support system for me and my family through this "bump in the road". Till Tomorrow....

OM

Happy Thursday to you all. Thursday is one of the two days I have yoga at the Y which always makes me happy. Today's class was very peaceful unlike Monday's class this week. I should tell you that practicing yoga at the YMCA is probably not the ideal place because YMCAs can be rather loud in general with all the music from other classes going on, the hitting of the punching bag that is hanging right outside the door to the room we use, and just the noise level from having so many people congregated in one place. All of us in my yoga classes struggle with keeping our minds focused inward as we move through the poses in a mood of peace and serenity when there seems to be constant interference from the world right outside our room. Actually, sometimes the interference can be inside the room as well, like when it's a rainy day out and the roof of the YMCA leaks and we listen to the drip, drip, drip of water falling into the big plastic garbage can in the front of the room or like Monday. Sarah, our instructor, started off with having us chant "OM" together as we began our practice. She has started to become increasingly frustrated trying to lead us to peace and serenity through yoga when there are so many distractions. She told us how you can use "OM" anytime you want to block out unwanted noise or distractions. When you get stressed, chant "OM"; when you want to block out what someone is saying to you, chant "OM"; when the punching bag begins to break your focus on your pose, chant "OM". Basically, when anything bothers you, chant "OM". We practiced this for a couple of minutes as the trainer working right outside our room began grunting out instructions to his group and we could hear the first of them begin punching that stupid bag. At every one of his grunts, Sarah would say "OM". We were about 10 minutes into class and working hard to drown out the outside noises with our "OM"s when things just got ridiculous. I guess the front desk downstairs forgot that our yoga class, struggling to stay peaceful and serene, was going on that morning when their first announcement came blaring through the loud speakers; "HEY, EVERYONE, IT'S RICK AND PATRICIA'S BIRTHDAYS DOWN HERE AT THE FRONT DESK, PLEASE STOP BY AND WISH THEM A HAPPY BIRTHDAY". Sarah lets out an elongated "OMMMM" and we continued on. Two minutes later, still oblivious to our class, the loud speakers came on again; "HEY, IT"S MARY'S BIRTHDAY TOO, SHE WORKS IN MAINTENANCE, SO PLEASE WISH RICK, PATRICIA AND MARY A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY". Sarah's "OMMMMMMMMM" starts to get a little louder to keep us focused and I start wondering how many people located in our little YMCA could actually have the same birthday; so much for my focus. Five minutes later "COULD SO & SO PLEASE COME BACK TO CHILD WATCH, COULD SO & SO PLEASE COME BACK TO CHILD WATCH". "OMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM". There were probably four or five more of these "important announcements" that went on that morning during our hour long class. It was so ridiculous that Sarah was blurting out "OMMMMM" every couple of minutes to which we were now all snickering; there went everyone's focus. So much for OM blocking out everything, even OM has its limits. Some days are just like that though, no matter your best intentions things can just be out of your control. Thank goodness most days it isn't that bad and Monday's class actually made today's seem rather peaceful and serene because all we had to contend with were the normal noises, no announcements. So, today if something starts to bother you try giving it an OM. If it keeps bothering you, try again but if that doesn't work just laugh it off and have a great day anyway. Till tomorrow...

My Excellent Philadelphia Adventure

Once again I ventured down to the city Philadelphia, this time for a lunch date with my cousin, Lynne. Lynne is in the Philadelphia area on business from Texas and very kindly asked if we could meet up for lunch and of course, I said yes. She is doing some auditing for Dave & Buster's in the area; even though she is working in a restaurant I thought it might be more fun to escape to some place different for lunch. I found out I know nothing about restaurants in Philly nor do any of my friends. I tried googling restaurants in Philly and looking at reviews but everytime I hit on one with a good review I would check and the place would be closed. I guess in big cities a lot of new businesses just don't survive long, good reviews or not. I finally printed off the menus for 3 restaurants nearby Penn's Landing where she was and headed out the door; we would just have to take our chances on whether they were good or not. I plugged the address for Dave & Buster's at Penn's Landing into Ginger (my nickname for my GPS) and was off and set to brave the big, bad, city of Philly. Ginger and I were managing directions quite nicely and I was within a mile of Penn's Landing when she yelled "turn left" and I did. Oops, what she surely meant was the next left not the left right where I was because where I ended up was on the Ben Franklin Bridge heading into Camden, NJ. No big deal though, once we were off the bridge she quickly got me turned around and headed back across the river to PA, but not before paying the $4 toll. The weather was beautiful when I pulled up to Dave & Buster's and picked up Lynne. She chose GiGi's on Market Street from my selection of menus. We found the restaurant and even found on-street parking (which is always iffy in a city) right around the corner. This time my car inspection was up to date; those familiar with my blog know that on a recent trip into Philly to visit my "Harry Potter" potion master, Dr. Rosenzweig, I received a big ole ticket for parking on the street with an expired inspection sticker, oops. As an aside, Gigi's is located right across the street from the original Philadelphia post office that was run by Ben Franklin. I had been by that before on one of the city tours I had taken and had wanted to go back to it but didn't exactly remember where it was. I guess that will be an adventure for another day. Gigi's has both sidewalk tables, where you can enjoy seeing and SMELLING the passing traffic or indoor seating; we opted for indoors. I guess we made the better choice because at some point while we were catching up and enjoying our meal it must have rained, as evidenced by the wet sidewalk on the way back to the car. Lunch was good, not spectacular, decent food with slightly odd service. Our waitress/bartender came to tell us the specials which included a bluefish sandwich. When Lynne asked her what was on the sandwich (besides fish) she replied she didn't know..odd. She went to check and came back and told us it was fish tacos (not exactly a sandwich now is it?) While sipping our tea, another waitress came by and laid 5 packets of Splenda on the table (not in a dish or container, just packets on the table). Neither Lynne or I had asked for them and she didn't say anything just dropped them off, just in case, I guess. Minutes later, our waitress/bartender (she made sure to tell us she wasn't supposed to be waiting tables today which explains why she wasn't clear on those specials) came by and whisked the Splenda packets off the table and deposited them on another table. I am not sure if the other table had asked for them either or whether it was just their turn to have them on their table because no one said why they had arrived or why they were taken away..odd. Anyway, for those of you related to Lynne she is doing well. I heard all about the clan in Texas and it sounds like all are happy and keeping busy. I think it is so nice that they all live so close to one another; my family seems so spread out in comparison. We made it back to the car before the meter ran out (and there were no tickets on the window, whohoo) and I deposited her back at Dave & Buster's so she could get back to work auditing. For the record, she said the food is very good at Dave & Buster's and that she would have been perfectly content eating there (and they have free parking for lunch) but I thought maybe she might have needed a break so we tried something new. Ginger had me out of Philly and back on 76 heading home in no time; I arrived back safe and sound. Thanks for the invite Lynne; I really enjoyed it. I am sorry everyone that I once again did not remember to take my camera so I don't have any pictures to share. I will try and do a better job with that from now on. Till Tomorrow...

I AM 16!

Shhhh, if you are very, very still maybe you can hear me whooping it up all the way wherever you are. I had to finally break down and go to see my regular doc today because I was pretty sure I had a UTI (or at least I was praying that was all it was). Sure enough that is what I had and that is easily fixed. It is a good thing too because I have that 5K walk for the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Organization on Saturday and unless they had port-a-potties every 300 ft I don't think I would have made out too well. Okay, so now back to being 16, while I was in the office I asked her to look up my last CA-125 that I had taken the day after I returned from Billy's big swim meet. I had actually worked up enough courage to call Dr. Dunton's office a few days after having the test done but all the receptionist volunteered was that the test results were normal. My courage dissolved right there while I was on the phone and I didn't get the actual number. All "normal" told me was that it was still under 35 which was good but what it didn't tell me is whether it had gone up from 21 where it was in January. I knew before I hung up that phone that not knowing the number was going to nag at me until my visit on the 26th with Dr. Dunton when I would get the actual number but I just couldn't make myself ask for number. I tried appeasing my anxiety by telling myself that it really didn't matter that much because as long as it stayed below 35 I was okay but it really still can make a person crazy not knowing. The CA-125 marker is a tricky thing; it can fluctuate for a number of reasons including a lot that have nothing to do with the cancer. They watch for an upward trend or sudden leaps that could indicate a recurrence but anything below 35, even an increase from the 21, would still be okay with Dr. Dunton. Anyway, today while I was at my primary care doctor I asked her to look up the actual result and IT IS 16!!!! Yeah, if your computer screen is shaking right now it is because I am jumping up and down and shouting YAHOO while I am typing this. If the shaking is making it hard to read just go right ahead and jump up and down also and that should help. Thank you all for your continued prayers. I will be going through these anxiety attacks every three months when I have to repeat this test for some time to come but it truly helps to know that so many people are praying for me and rooting for me to beat this "bump in the road". Till Tomorrow...

"She look like a man"

So, a couple of weeks ago, Billy and I traveled down to King of Prussia for his pre-District Swimming Championship hair cut where I was reminded of that Mad TV skit with Ms. Swan where she is asked to make an identification of a suspect and she just keeps saying "I tell you everyting, he look like a man" ( if you are not familiar with this check out this Youtube). While Billy had his hair cut, I got to sit next to a woman who told me at least seven times that she thought I was a man when Billy and I first came in. First, she said that she made her evaluation based on my hair being so short; I had on my trusty baseball cap which does pretty much hide whatever little hair I do have. I guess if that was all you could see of me you could make the mistake of thinking I could be a man. Of course, I was wearing a red rain coat (I have not seen a lot of men sporting those) and cropped yoga pants (probably another fashion faux pas for men I would think) and sneakers but she assessed what I was wearing and came to the conclusion that I was a man because as she said "men wear sneakers". Well, bless her heart I guess they do. Next she pointed out that I wasn't wearing any makeup (nope, I usually don't) or any jewelry so that made her more sure I was a man. At this point I am sitting right next to her yet she still is going on about how she thought I "looked like a man" I think because there was still some lingering doubt in her mind. Her next step in evaluating my gender was that I did have longer fingernails but she knew plenty of men that had long fingernails so that didn't preclude me from being a man. In fact she listed two or three men she had come across who even had nail polish on (which I didn't). Eventually, she did work it out in her mind that I was a lady because I had a purse. So there you have it folks, from now on, as long as my hair is still short, I must carry a purse everywhere I go so that people won't confuse me for a man. I will have to see if I can workout at the YMCA with my purse slung over my shoulder. Now, I don't really believe this women was altogether "there", if you know what I mean, but it still stung just a little every time she said it. The poor hair stylists kept looking over at the women and me and rolling their eyes every time she repeated it. She had finished having her hair cut and was apparently hanging around in the salon waiting for the appropriate time to catch her bus which wasn't making the staff any too happy. They kept politely suggesting that she was going to miss her bus but she just continued talking and shredding the cheese sandwich that she had brought with her to eat into the sandwich bag; I, for one, have never thought of bringing snacks to the salon with me. I guess I am just lucky that she was still around when I showed up so she could tramp on my ego for the day and give me that purse and snack tip.





Patrick has been asking very politely to see what my hair is looking like so I thought I would post some more photos for you all to see. I took these today which is 3 months post chemo. Thankfully I do have my eyebrows and eyelashes back. Joanne, my friend and work out buddy, kept thinking I looked like I had eye makeup on when my eyelashes started growing back. Apparently, the lady from the hair salon wasn't fooled though. I have to say that I think the hair on my head seems to be growing way slower than the hair on my legs and under my arms. I am having a heck of a time keeping up with shaving those areas especially after having gotten used to having no hair there and not having to worry about shaving it (one of the few perks to chemo).