5 Dec 2016

So that was it for having fun. The next few months were filled with hospital appts and fluid drains, and the growing realisation that IT was back and I needed to go thru chemo again. I felt I was only doing it for the family, that Ovarian cancer is a killer, and no matter what I did, it was going to get me in the end. On the plus side, it was actually an entirely new cancer, not spread from the breast cancer I had before, so in some ways this was a blessing. I would just have to beat this one, like I did the last one.

After a few days of denial, I had it under control, and I set out to find out what I could do to get rid of it. My surgeon recommended 3 sessions of chemo, an operation to remove what was visible and then 3 more sessions of chemo, But he told me that I only had a one in 3 chance of being cured, and that, if it came back, they could only 'manage' it from there on in. And my Oncologist said the same - 'It's very hard to get rid of this' she told me. Great, huh.
And the hospital offered me a trial -  a new drug called Avastin, that targets only cancer cells, (chemo targets ALL fast growing cells) so I signed up for it immediately. And the chemo started.

After my last lot for BC, I was expecting dire side effects, but I have to say, Carbo Taxol is nowhere near as bad as FEC, and I managed to get through the 3 cycles (9 weeks) without too many problems. Oh, except for the blood transfusions, had a couple of those.....Taxol saps your red blood cells, so I spent entire days in the chemo unit, having  3 pints of blood dripped into me - thank you doners, whoever you are. I used to donate blood , don't think anybody would want mine now, but if you've ever considered it, PLEASE go ahead and do it, it's a bloody lifesaver to people like me. I am so grateful to whoever gave me their blood.......

And then it all stopped for The Operation. The pre op scan was good - all tumours had shrunk, and all the docs I spoke to were like, wow, you've done amazing!! So I slowly began to think, maybe I'm not going to die just yet after all. And then I had the op - even better! Total hysterectomy, plus omentum removal (look it up) , and no evidence of disease in any of it! 3 MUCH smaller tumours removed from peritoneum, and now I have lovely criss crossing scars, and a much improved prognosis.


Unfortunately, chemo after that made me feel really crap.....I have staggered through the last 3 sessions, thankfully, but am so glad it's over. Turns out I have the faulty BRCA 2 gene, which explains the second bout of the big C. Still, most of my dodgy bits have gone, so I am cancer free for now anyway. ....
Now looking forward to 2017, (and my hair coming back) and a BIG trip to Europe to see Alice LOTS of times......or  maybe even USA........Bring it on!

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