3C Remission -Barefootn' with NED @ 11 months

NCEllen
NCEllen Member Posts: 115 Member
edited March 2014 in Ovarian Cancer #1
Hello Teal Warriors. Sorry for the long post:
I went for my follow-up yesterday. My Ca-125 is 3.34. I'm now 11 months post-chemo as of 7-20-09 and 8 months post ileo reversal. I was diagnosed 3C Jan. 28-09. There were multiple complications after the hysto/debulking. I had a temp. ileostomy due to bowel obstruction two weeks after the initial surgery and ended up in ICU with sepsis for a week, then an infected wound and toted around a wound vac (pesky little machine) for 3 1/2 months. I didn't start my chemo until 8 weeks after the initial surgery (2-3-09).

I'm still in a bit of shock at my numbers, not that I'm not thrilled, of course I am - but I found that as I went for my check-up and blood work my anxiety was building and I was mentally taking out the gloves and preparing for active battle- focusing on my action plans as it were. Be prepared- always the Girl Scout. I'm sure it will always be like that.

I am going barefoot this summer with my dance with NED. I hope I will be invited to the fall ball when the next check-up comes around in Sept. I've joined a local OVCA group in Charlotte (the Teal Magnolias)and am looking forward to working with these gals to get the word out about OVCA and raise funds for a cure.
My husband just finished his #3 chemo for prostate cancer and is doing well. That type of chemo is open ended at this time and I'm glad I can be his support as he was so much for me last year. Our daughter is expecting our first grandchild @ Christmas which brings extra joy into our family. Her husband is deployed at this time and is due home in July.

Thinking about my son-in-law and how the military are trained to get into that ready-go-now mindset for 'war' games, I think of all of us with this disease and the related diagnoses that make up the OVCA battalions. Great word: battalions (Battle-lions!) We will cover each other's backs, will never ever leave our partners in this fight, always be available to offer support and will always press on to win a cure. I take a quote that my son-in-law uses in his e-mail signature line and apply it to the fight with OVCA to find a cure....

"THE MARINE CORPS IS AN IDEAL BEING CHASED BY FLAWED MEN WHO WANT TO BE PERFECT. NONE OF US ARE PERFECT, NOR WILL WE EVER BE EQUAL TO THE IDEAL, BUT WHAT MAKES US MARINES IS THAT WE NEVER STOP TRYING."

We are Teal Warriors because we want to be perfectly healthy, we want a Cure and we will never stop trying to find one. Faith in God is my #1 prayer warrior. Love, Prayers and ((Hugs)) to you all. Ellen

PS: Re: other posts about suger: For me, sugar at this time has not influenced my tumor growth. I have had plenty! I like my coffee sweet and I like my Blue Bell ice cream in the summer. I eat dessert first :)

Comments

  • LPack
    LPack Member Posts: 645
    #2
    Good News
    Ellen,

    We love Good News (pun intended)! What an awesome opportunity for you to share what God has done and is doing in your life!!

    Living for Eternity,
    Libby ☺
  • azgrandma
    azgrandma Member Posts: 609 Member
    #3
    LPack said:

    Good News
    Ellen,

    We love Good News (pun intended)! What an awesome opportunity for you to share what God has done and is doing in your life!!

    Living for Eternity,
    Libby ☺

    Great
    this is great i am so happy for you
    I hope my dance will last a long time also
  • msfanciful
    msfanciful Member Posts: 559
    #4
    Awesome, awesome,
    Awesome, awesome, awesome!

    Enjoy each day to the fullest ( I'm sure you already have your itinerary set).

    Again, congratulations to you as well as your continued great health!


    Sharon
  • msfanciful
    msfanciful Member Posts: 559
    #5
    Awesome, awesome,
    Awesome, awesome, awesome!

    Enjoy each day to the fullest ( I'm sure you already have your itinerary set).

    Again, congratulations to you as well as your continued great health!


    Sharon
  • kayandok
    kayandok Member Posts: 1,202 Member
    #6
    Love your long posts!
    Congratulations on your wonderful number and hope your barefoot dance with NED goes on and on!
    Hugs,
    kathleen:)
  • nancy591
    nancy591 Member Posts: 1,027 Member
    #7
    happy for you
    What a wonderful post from you! I enjoyed reading your words. You look beautiful in your picture. I'm so happy you are enjoying a daily sweet. What is life without a little sweetness??

    Congrats on the new Grandchild. Wonderful, happy news! Your son, so honorable to serve in the military. I would be proud if my two sons joined the military. Of course they are only almost 7 and 5 so that is a long way off!!!

    Keep up the good work, Ellen.
    Happy for you!
  • lindaprocopio
    lindaprocopio Member Posts: 1,980 Member
    #8
    nancy591 said:

    happy for you
    What a wonderful post from you! I enjoyed reading your words. You look beautiful in your picture. I'm so happy you are enjoying a daily sweet. What is life without a little sweetness??

    Congrats on the new Grandchild. Wonderful, happy news! Your son, so honorable to serve in the military. I would be proud if my two sons joined the military. Of course they are only almost 7 and 5 so that is a long way off!!!

    Keep up the good work, Ellen.
    Happy for you!

    So late with this, but CONGRATS!
    I just love you, girl, and always read your posts, so your good news is especially good news for me! I lurk and read more than I post, keep saying I'll do better about that. So I had to find this one and just let you know that I have been silently cheering here since you posted the news! SOOOOOO happy for you!

    PS: Your hair is so cute!
  • NCEllen
    NCEllen Member Posts: 115 Member
    #9
    lindaprocopio said:

    So late with this, but CONGRATS!
    I just love you, girl, and always read your posts, so your good news is especially good news for me! I lurk and read more than I post, keep saying I'll do better about that. So I had to find this one and just let you know that I have been silently cheering here since you posted the news! SOOOOOO happy for you!

    PS: Your hair is so cute!

    The return of 'The Hair'
    Thank you ladies for sharing my line dance with me. Linda, thanks for the compliment on my hair. Truth is...I want it to have a little more body like yours!I really like your style and color. My hair came back (the process of the human chia pet)with no wave, no curl - just plain flat like it was before. I often wonder about the grow-back hair after chemo. This short look is actually kind of trendy, which sometimes makes me wonder if other women I see have their hair cut like that, or if they are also coming off a treatment session. Having this disease makes me a little more aware of others' looks now. It was like when I was pregnant everyone was pregnant, and when I was pushing a stroller, so was everyone else. Sometimes I'd like to say ..'congratulations- I'm a survivor too', but then you just can't say things out loud like that.
    So mentally when I see 'the short look' and of course the bald and the beautiful style, for whatever the reason, I hope and pray that person is going through a healthy episode, and maybe at least having a happy day being out. Whew - it's hot here in NC today, stay cool y'all - El
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #10
    NCEllen said:

    The return of 'The Hair'
    Thank you ladies for sharing my line dance with me. Linda, thanks for the compliment on my hair. Truth is...I want it to have a little more body like yours!I really like your style and color. My hair came back (the process of the human chia pet)with no wave, no curl - just plain flat like it was before. I often wonder about the grow-back hair after chemo. This short look is actually kind of trendy, which sometimes makes me wonder if other women I see have their hair cut like that, or if they are also coming off a treatment session. Having this disease makes me a little more aware of others' looks now. It was like when I was pregnant everyone was pregnant, and when I was pushing a stroller, so was everyone else. Sometimes I'd like to say ..'congratulations- I'm a survivor too', but then you just can't say things out loud like that.
    So mentally when I see 'the short look' and of course the bald and the beautiful style, for whatever the reason, I hope and pray that person is going through a healthy episode, and maybe at least having a happy day being out. Whew - it's hot here in NC today, stay cool y'all - El

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • NCEllen
    NCEllen Member Posts: 115 Member
    #11
    unknown said:

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator

    Ahhh...hot and humid
    Ahhh...hot and humid Houston. I know it well. Grad. from Westchester in '70 (now some type of academy). Small world, my husbands onc. grad. from Stratford (20+ years ago) and his parents live about 4 blocks from where we used to live off Memorial. City was big -but nothing like it is now. I have an older second cousin who worked at MD Anderson in cancer research program- that facility has always been ahead of it's time. Hope the Gulf stays clear for you all this year.
  • lindaprocopio
    lindaprocopio Member Posts: 1,980 Member
    #12
    NCEllen said:

    Ahhh...hot and humid
    Ahhh...hot and humid Houston. I know it well. Grad. from Westchester in '70 (now some type of academy). Small world, my husbands onc. grad. from Stratford (20+ years ago) and his parents live about 4 blocks from where we used to live off Memorial. City was big -but nothing like it is now. I have an older second cousin who worked at MD Anderson in cancer research program- that facility has always been ahead of it's time. Hope the Gulf stays clear for you all this year.

    Alas, Ellen, that hair in my photo is a wig.
    I only WISH I'd had enough time between treatments this time to grow hair as long as in my photo. That hair you so kindly complimented in your post is a wig. The photo taken late June on the cruise I just took. My own hair grew out to about 3/4" during this last remission and is still the super-soft troll-doll curls fresh from chemo, with some very thin spots where my scalp is still visible if I don't have it combed just right. I am going 'commando' 100% of the time since summer kicked in here (it's a humid 80+ degrees right now here). I would post a 'real hair' photo, but I had my 2nd round of taxol today and there's no use getting attached to this tiny little hair as it probably will only be around another week before I am shiny bald for the 3rd time.

    I had a tiny bit of very GOOD news today at chemo: My tissue assay for HER2neu came back negative!! Although that means that Herceptin is no longer an option for me, it is still GREAT news, as overexpression of HER2neu is associated with a poor prognosis and a very chemo-resistant cancer. I read conflicting reports about HER2neu and OVC; one saying 25% of OVC is positive for it; another 40%. For my own rare cancer type (UPSC), I've read 60% are HER2+, and another study with as high as 80%. (So few women are tested for it, I can see the disparities.) So I feel very blessed to be spared this factor.

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