From IVb UPSC to NED (Hey, that rhymes!)

I had very good news today.  I've gone from stage IVb UPSC to NED again (my second time over the course of 7 years).  Nothing was found wrong with me in my PET scan from last Friday.  I haven't gotten my CA-125 results yet because the labs were drawn just before my appointment and they take a little longer than my other labs.  My hemoglobin was only up 0.1 from last week, so I'm still anemic at 9.9.  My platelets came up from 30,000 to 57,000, enough to get a flu shot, but not enough to get my epidural steroid shot for my herniated disk.  I have to go back in two weeks to have my labs done again to see if my platelets are at least 75,000 for that.  I see my GYN/onc. on 10/16 where I'll discuss my genomic testing results if they're in and the parp inhibitor if my GYN/onc. thinks I should take that.  My oncologist told me that the side effects I'm likely to encounter from that are low blood counts and GI symptoms.  He said that in general, the drug only works for months, but if it seems to be working and not causing serious side effects, it can be taken for years.  I go back to the oncologist I saw today in another 6 weeks, with labs a week before, where I assume he'll be asking me what I discussed with my GYN/onc. and whether or not I will start taking the parp inhibitor.  He'll probably be following my treatment if I decide to take that.  He'll also be following me for my hemochromatosis, as he has been for the last 6 years.

It was good to get such a great report especially as I skipped one dose of Gemzar to go on vacation this summer, had two doses of chemo given late because of low blood counts, had reduced doses of my chemo meds for most of my visits, and wasn't given the full dose one time because of the allergic reaction I had to Carboplatin most of the way through my infusion that day. 

My birthday is this weekend, so it was a great birthday present to hear the good news.