Wow! Holy cow, what a day! The results of my CTC weren’t exactly what we expected. In our naïve minds we expected a yes or no answer to the question: is the cancer shrinking? The results indicated good news, bad news and unexpected news. I will attempt to explain the results and what the doctor said in the simplest terms. I know of no other way anyway. 

The CT scan was taken from the chest to the lower abdomen on 4/16/2012 (Happy Anniversary). It’s compared to the first one taken on 2/14/2012 (Happy Valentine’s Day).

The not so good news:
Lungs: there are three lumps that appear to be stable/not changing.

The good news/so so news:

Liver: a previously noted lesion of the liver is less conspicuous. YAY! However, (oh shoot) there is an apparent new small lesion on the liver. It was not evident on the prior scan.

The good good news:

The Primary Peritoneal Carcinoma aka Ovarian Cancer (yes, it is possible to have ovarian cancer without ovaries, cuz I’m proof) is responding to the chemotherapy. It is less conspicuous, in other words, it’s shrinking. Yippee!!

The bad news:

There is no significant change to the cancer on the omentum. The omentum is a fatty type apron that covers and protects the stomach.

Unexpected News:
Because the cancer on the omentum isn’t responding to chemotherapy, my doctor recommended having the omentum surgically removed. If other tumors can safely be removed, it will be done at this time also. This is referred to as debulking surgery.

Our options are: #1-have the surgery done now, in the middle of the six cycles of chemotherapy, or #2-have it done at the end of the six cycles of chemotherapy. My doctor explained the benefits of having it done now rather than waiting. After prayerfully considering his suggestion, we made the decision to have the surgery now. I will discontinue chemotherapy for now. After healing from surgery, I will continue the last three cycles of chemotherapy.

I am NOT looking forward to surgery! Honestly, who would be? However, I hope to gain a little strength and energy before surgery. And possibly grow a stubble of hair on my perfectly round, shiny white bald head.

We apologize for taking so long to post. I know many have been waiting to hear the results.  We needed some time to absorb everything that happened today. Because it’s impossible to call everyone, we wanted to make sure what we posted made sense. We hope we have accomplished this. We hope we haven’t confused you too much, but this really is a condensed version of the CTC.

Joe and I, our family, are deeply grateful for everyone’s support, positive thoughts, encouragement and love. Thank you all!

We are grateful for a loving, merciful, Heavenly Father who listens to our pleas and answers our prayers. We have witnessed his hand often guiding us and helping us fight this fight. We are grateful He has blessed us with all of you! We couldn't endure without each and everyone of you!

NO ONE FIGHTS ALONE!!!
We must fight a little harder, a little longer. :)