2 plus years out from OvCa diagnosis…
This is not the blog post I was expecting to write.
I didn’t expect to get a CA125 of 115 on January 31st..
I didn’t expect to get a CA125 of 304 on February 14th.
The MRI shows nothing – except a small renal cyst. No further information in the report. This worries me due to some studies DH and I have run across. It makes me wonder if the mets are hitting my kidney. Or is just a benign cyst that has nothing to do with anything?
The oncologist didn’t even note that in our consult. Rather, Dr. Professor presented me with all the information about how asymptomatic patients don’t really benefit from chemo any more than those who wait for symptoms to present. We are talking about the cancer that whispers. What is symptomatic? Upset stomach? Twinges of pain? Weight gain? Weight loss? Frequent urination? How can you know for certain you are asymptomatic?
Honestly, I think he was firing me as a patient. Something I don’t think DH caught on to. I think this is an area that is too far out of his expertise. He said as much. He muttered something about mis-staging at the original surgery. The thing is, according to a new group of studies every single ovarian cancer ever has been staged incorrectly. They think it really starts in the Fallopian Tubes somehow. I’m not clear on the how.
Of course, I’m allergic to all those corn-based things used in PET scans. This is the scan that can see microscopic disease.
I have an appointment with the Nurse Practitioner at the Gyn/Onc, Dr. Sunshine. She seemed to agree with our assessment that if CA125 nearly tripled, chemo might be a good idea even if there are no obvious symptoms yet. (She works hand in glove with Dr. Sunshine.)
In the back of my mind I keep hearing the statement that Dr. Sunshine said about the tumor he found during surgery: “Fastest growing in 25 years of practice…” In a matter of 3 months I had no cysts to a cancerous cyst. In a matter of a little over a week I had ascites. Do I really want to wait for obvious symptoms?
Early symptoms are so very subtle, so easily mistaken for just the part of life.
No, this isn’t what I was anticipating thinking about now. It wasn’t what I thought I would be blogging about in this year.
Now, I am writing about NED leaving the dance floor.