Back to the grind

No news = good news

Well, after many months of no news, we're back to having news.

As you know, my mom was given an additional three months of no treatment after her CT scan in September was stable . This came as a huge surprise and an even bigger relief.

My mom wasted no time and spent six weeks traveling the world. She spent time in Jordan, Turkey, Portugal, and Switzerland. I was fortunate enough to join her for some of the trip and I am forever grateful for the adventures we shared.

Unfortunately, while in Switzerland, my mom became sick and ended up in the hospital. The fluid in her lungs had returned and despite their best attempt to drain it, they were not able to successfully alleviate her discomfort. After a short travel ban since flying would likely compromise her lungs, she was able to get home.

We spent last week going from appointment to appointment, and yesterday we met with the oncologist. As we predicted, the cancer has progressed. The lesions that never went away have increased and there are also new growths in her abdomen.

The oncologist decided that my mom was not a good candidate for the same chemo regime she was on last fall, so he is changing her treatment and starting her on a new plan with three drugs. It's the same gig -- six rounds, 18 weeks total, so that puts us into April.

The success rate with second-line therapy decreases substantially (40-50% versus 80% with the last chemo), so all we can hope for at this point is a response. It takes a few weeks to know that the chemo is working via the CA-125 blood test, so until then, we wait and keep hope. 

It's been a rough past two weeks, but we are prepared for the months ahead (at least more so than last year). I'm not sure I'll ever get used to this reality. My mom is sad. I'm sad. The hard part is that we knew this was going to happen, but it still hurts. Deep down there is a part of my mind that keep hopes that she's the exception to the statistics, but then I stare at a CT scan and realize just how real this is.

Due to the seriousness of the growth, my mom is starting chemo on the 15th, so as much as we had hoped to wait until after the holidays, she must begin as soon as possible. Nonetheless, we are committed to celebrating the holidays and giving thanks for all the love in our lives.

Please continue to keep us in your thoughts.

xoxo