I am in observation again. Hurrah.

Ro10
Ro10 Member Posts: 1,561 Member
in Uterine/Endometrial Cancer #1
Saw the doctor and I am officially in observation again. I will go monthly for lab tests and then CAT scans every 3-4 months. If I have symptoms or the CA 125 jumps significantly the CAT scans will be sooner.

My CA 125 was 43.5 last month and this month it is 43.7. So I would say that is my baseline. I had 7 chemo treatments this go around. I look forward to no more metallic taste and no nausea. I also look forward to getting some hair again. The first time I did not lose my eyebrows, but this time I did lose them. I never did get my eyelashes back from the first round of chemo, so hopefully they will come back too. I feel good.

We are going to take advantage of being treatment free and take a couple of trips. The first trip will be in October and we are going to the Balloon Fiesta in Albuqueque New Mexico. They have 600 -700 hot air balloons that they launch and then have a balloon glow at night. It should be spectacular. Then in December we are going to go on a cruise through the Panama Canal. I have been wanting to do that. We are going to make the most of being treatment free.

Hope you all are doing well. In peace and caring.
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Comments

  • upsofloating
    upsofloating Member Posts: 466 Member
    #2
    Fantastic news Ro!!! It was
    Fantastic news Ro!!! It was a tough go-round but you did it. Now, enjoy, enjoy the freedom!
    Annie
  • Rewriter
    Rewriter Member Posts: 493 Member
    #3
    upsofloating said:

    Fantastic news Ro!!! It was
    Fantastic news Ro!!! It was a tough go-round but you did it. Now, enjoy, enjoy the freedom!
    Annie

    Woo hoo, Ro!
    I am beyond thrilled for you, Ro. Enjoy those celebratory trips, and may you remain NED.

    Jill
  • kkstef
    kkstef Member Posts: 688 Member
    #4
    GREAT NEWS!
    Ro...am so happy to hear the good news! Start packing....have a wonderful time! You certainly deserve putting all the treatment stuff behind you and enjoying some wonderful time with your husband!

    I am thrilled for you!!

    Take care....Karen
  • norma2
    norma2 Member Posts: 479
    #5
    Hurray!!!
    Doing the happy dance for you, RO!!! The balloon festival sounds wonderful!!! Enjoy!
  • Fayard
    Fayard Member Posts: 438 Member
    #6
    Bravo!

    Bravo!
  • california_artist
    california_artist Member Posts: 816 Member
    #7
    Must feel like the world has been lifted off your shoulders,
    finally. The trips sound wonderful. Living in Santa Rosa by a large open field, I often woke up to the swish, hiss, swish of hot air balloons filling. Would get a cup of coffee, sit in the rocker and wait for them to go in the air. We never had any at night though. That will be a marvel to see.

    I'm so happy that you will be able to relax and enjoy life.

    Claudia

    The painting is called, When Pigs Fly. I had a lot of fun painting this years ago while I living in Sonoma County.
  • wasil1216
    wasil1216 Member Posts: 15
    #8
    california_artist said:

    Must feel like the world has been lifted off your shoulders,
    finally. The trips sound wonderful. Living in Santa Rosa by a large open field, I often woke up to the swish, hiss, swish of hot air balloons filling. Would get a cup of coffee, sit in the rocker and wait for them to go in the air. We never had any at night though. That will be a marvel to see.

    I'm so happy that you will be able to relax and enjoy life.

    Claudia

    The painting is called, When Pigs Fly. I had a lot of fun painting this years ago while I living in Sonoma County.

    Great News RO !!!!!!
    How wonderful for you. Your trips sound absolutely amazing. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. You certainly deserve it. So happy for you.
  • Pat51
    Pat51 Member Posts: 130
    #9
    Great news Ro!! I hope that
    Great news Ro!! I hope that you enjoy your much deserved vacations. I have just finished 6 rounds of chemo and also look forward to being able to really taste food again and gaining strength.

    Pat
  • maggie_wilson
    maggie_wilson Member Posts: 596
    #10
    Pat51 said:

    Great news Ro!! I hope that
    Great news Ro!! I hope that you enjoy your much deserved vacations. I have just finished 6 rounds of chemo and also look forward to being able to really taste food again and gaining strength.

    Pat

    wonderful that treatment is over!
    ro,

    so glad you're through with treatment. you said you had 7 rounds, was that 7 infusions, or was each round more than one infusion? i have six cycles, two infusions each, and have two more cycles left. can't wait.

    i know that balloon trip will be stunning; i'd never heard of that before. also the cruise. i never thought i'd like to take a cruise, but in fact loved it. i'm sure you've taken cruises before. sounds great!

    here's hoping your hair, eyebrows and eyelashes grow back quickly and plentifully, and your taste buds return to normal in a flash.

    sisterhood,

    maggie
  • Ro10
    Ro10 Member Posts: 1,561 Member
    #11
    maggie_wilson said:

    wonderful that treatment is over!
    ro,

    so glad you're through with treatment. you said you had 7 rounds, was that 7 infusions, or was each round more than one infusion? i have six cycles, two infusions each, and have two more cycles left. can't wait.

    i know that balloon trip will be stunning; i'd never heard of that before. also the cruise. i never thought i'd like to take a cruise, but in fact loved it. i'm sure you've taken cruises before. sounds great!

    here's hoping your hair, eyebrows and eyelashes grow back quickly and plentifully, and your taste buds return to normal in a flash.

    sisterhood,

    maggie

    Maggie I had 2 infusions with each round
    My treatments were every 3 weeks. I had Taxol/Carbo for the first 3. Then I had the reaction to Carbo and they switched it to Taxol/Cisplatin for the last 4 treatments. One day was Taxol and the next day was Cisplatin. Each day was about 8 hours each day with pre chemo drugs and taxol over 5 hours. Then the Cisplatin had pre hydration and post hydration and slowly titrate the Cisplatin rate up. I will be so happy to have a break from spending two days like that. But yet I am glad the chemo worked to bring down the CA 125 from 1750 to 43. Now if it just stays down for a while.

    I forgot to mention that my port worked this time to draw the blood. I don't understand how sometimes it works and others it doesn't. I was just glad it worked.

    Good luck with your last two cycles. Hope they go well for you.
  • HellieC
    HellieC Member Posts: 524 Member
    #12
    wonderful news, Ro
    Oh Ro - I am just so, so pleased to hear your news. 7 cycles has been a tough course, but it is wonderful that you are now on a treatment break. Enjoy those holidays. The balloon fiesta sounds a wonderful sight and the Panama canal cruise is on my "to do" list too! Enjoy every second - you deserve it so much.
    Kinest thoughts
    Helen
  • lindaprocopio
    lindaprocopio Member Posts: 1,980 Member
    #13
    HellieC said:

    wonderful news, Ro
    Oh Ro - I am just so, so pleased to hear your news. 7 cycles has been a tough course, but it is wonderful that you are now on a treatment break. Enjoy those holidays. The balloon fiesta sounds a wonderful sight and the Panama canal cruise is on my "to do" list too! Enjoy every second - you deserve it so much.
    Kinest thoughts
    Helen

    RO!!!!! SOOOOO happy for you!!! ٠•●♥♥Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ♥♥●•٠·
    I'm so glad you have this last battle behind you, and that you now have some FUN things planned to celebrate your victory! WONDERFUL NEWS! ♥♥♥
  • minniejan
    minniejan Member Posts: 88
    #14
    lindaprocopio said:

    RO!!!!! SOOOOO happy for you!!! ٠•●♥♥Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ♥♥●•٠·
    I'm so glad you have this last battle behind you, and that you now have some FUN things planned to celebrate your victory! WONDERFUL NEWS! ♥♥♥

    Hello,
    Wonderful uplifting
    Hello,

    Wonderful uplifting news! Enjoy your trips.

    MinnieJan
  • Songflower
    Songflower Member Posts: 608
    #15
    minniejan said:

    Hello,
    Wonderful uplifting
    Hello,

    Wonderful uplifting news! Enjoy your trips.

    MinnieJan

    You Deserve This!
    You deserve this! You worked hard! Happy!!!!

    Love, Diane
  • maggie_wilson
    maggie_wilson Member Posts: 596
    #16
    Songflower said:

    You Deserve This!
    You deserve this! You worked hard! Happy!!!!

    Love, Diane

    ro,
    cisplatnin is a pretty heavy duty drug; how did you feel on it? i know it did good with your ca 125, thank goodness. i know the hydration bags helped. when i had my functional assay done, it said that the best snergy for me was cisplatnin and gemzar. my doctor thought cisplatnin would be too rough on me, so she chose carboplatnin, a cousin of cisplatnin, and gemzar. and so far, so good.

    i take home a hydration bag after chemo that i have for 6 days, my partner changes my bag daily, gives me my shots, and inserts the drugs into the bag. she's gotten to be a real pro! i tried deaccesing my bag after 3 1/2 days, and was sick as a dog the next day, so had it reaccessed. it really helps me, though doesn't get rid of the fatigue or nausea altogether.

    my port is just like yours. lately it has not worked to draw blood, then did twice, now stopped again. apparently there is a possible remedy, some solution they can put in the port to dissolve, or dislodge the blockage. it hasn't been that much of a problem for me to try that yet.

    geeze, two 8 hour days of chemo....so glad it's over, and you have only good things to look forward to. thank you for your warm wishes for me

    sisterhood,
    maggi
  • jazzy1
    jazzy1 Member Posts: 1,379
    #17
    maggie_wilson said:

    ro,
    cisplatnin is a pretty heavy duty drug; how did you feel on it? i know it did good with your ca 125, thank goodness. i know the hydration bags helped. when i had my functional assay done, it said that the best snergy for me was cisplatnin and gemzar. my doctor thought cisplatnin would be too rough on me, so she chose carboplatnin, a cousin of cisplatnin, and gemzar. and so far, so good.

    i take home a hydration bag after chemo that i have for 6 days, my partner changes my bag daily, gives me my shots, and inserts the drugs into the bag. she's gotten to be a real pro! i tried deaccesing my bag after 3 1/2 days, and was sick as a dog the next day, so had it reaccessed. it really helps me, though doesn't get rid of the fatigue or nausea altogether.

    my port is just like yours. lately it has not worked to draw blood, then did twice, now stopped again. apparently there is a possible remedy, some solution they can put in the port to dissolve, or dislodge the blockage. it hasn't been that much of a problem for me to try that yet.

    geeze, two 8 hour days of chemo....so glad it's over, and you have only good things to look forward to. thank you for your warm wishes for me

    sisterhood,
    maggi

    Great News!
    You go girl, get out and enjoy those fun trips! Life is great and when the going is good, get going!!

    Hugs,
    Jan
  • Kaleena
    Kaleena Member Posts: 2,088 Member
    #18
    Ro10 said:

    Maggie I had 2 infusions with each round
    My treatments were every 3 weeks. I had Taxol/Carbo for the first 3. Then I had the reaction to Carbo and they switched it to Taxol/Cisplatin for the last 4 treatments. One day was Taxol and the next day was Cisplatin. Each day was about 8 hours each day with pre chemo drugs and taxol over 5 hours. Then the Cisplatin had pre hydration and post hydration and slowly titrate the Cisplatin rate up. I will be so happy to have a break from spending two days like that. But yet I am glad the chemo worked to bring down the CA 125 from 1750 to 43. Now if it just stays down for a while.

    I forgot to mention that my port worked this time to draw the blood. I don't understand how sometimes it works and others it doesn't. I was just glad it worked.

    Good luck with your last two cycles. Hope they go well for you.

    Wonderful news, Ro. Glad
    Wonderful news, Ro. Glad your port worked too.
  • daisy366
    daisy366 Member Posts: 1,458 Member
    #19
    jazzy1 said:

    Great News!
    You go girl, get out and enjoy those fun trips! Life is great and when the going is good, get going!!

    Hugs,
    Jan

    Happy for you Ro
    Glad your treatment is OVER!!!!! yeah. You have earned a long and joyous respite from pokes, prods, and metallic taste. May your hair speedily return.

    Love you. Mary Ann
  • Songflower
    Songflower Member Posts: 608
    #20
    daisy366 said:

    Happy for you Ro
    Glad your treatment is OVER!!!!! yeah. You have earned a long and joyous respite from pokes, prods, and metallic taste. May your hair speedily return.

    Love you. Mary Ann

    Balloons!
    I lived in Albuquerque and always went to the baloon fiesta. My husbands office mate had a balloon and she always wanted me to help but I was tied down with babies. When my oldest walked to Kindergarten the balloons were always up in the air over our heads. She learned that going back to school was part of ballooning. It is a beautiful feista and you will love it. I bet Pat is still looking for help!

    Diane
  • Double Whammy
    Double Whammy Member Posts: 2,832 Member
    #21
    Songflower said:

    Balloons!
    I lived in Albuquerque and always went to the baloon fiesta. My husbands office mate had a balloon and she always wanted me to help but I was tied down with babies. When my oldest walked to Kindergarten the balloons were always up in the air over our heads. She learned that going back to school was part of ballooning. It is a beautiful feista and you will love it. I bet Pat is still looking for help!

    Diane

    Hooray indeed!
    So happy for you, Ro. Now it's time to heal. From here it seems that the chemo went by quickly, but I know it didn't for you. Your trips sound wonderful.

    Best,
    Suzanne

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