The Time Has Come To Share My Story; A Shortened Version About My Battle With Ovarian Cancer Over th Past Five Years

For almost five years I have contemplated about blogging.  So much has happened over the past handful of years.  Life changing experiences.  Travel back to March of 2010.  I had been feeling bloated, not very hungry, tired, and a very sensitive lower stomach to the touch.  I hate going to doctors but had been to two different doctors four times in four months!  After a nagging voice in my head kept telling me something was wrong, I called my primary care physician and spoke to the nurse.  She said if I was feeling bloated I should go to the Emergency room immediately.  That was where I found out I had ovarian cancer.

After that day, our lives completely changed.  We went to MAGEES Women's Center where I met a very young oncologist, Dr. Scott Richard.  He was honest, up front, soft spoken, and very intelligent.  He was also a hugger.  I never had a doctor before that was so compassionate for his patients. He was also a Pittsburgh Penguin fan, so that was an added plus.

Five hours of surgery and I woke up in Intensive Care to find out I was Stage 3C.  They did a complete hysterectomy and took my appendix, spleen, duodenum, and a piece of my liver the size of a quarter.  I had a long zipper incision that consisted of 54 staples.  Ten days in the hospital with a drain in my liver and a catheter when finally I was released from the hospital.  I was homeward bound!

Have I mentioned that holidays are quite special to us?  My oldest was born on Valentine's Day and my oldest son was born on Christmas Day.  So it makes sense for me to have this debulking surgery on April Fool's Day and then start chemo on Cinco de Mayo.

The hardest part of this was telling my kids I had cancer and seeing the pain in my husband's
eyes.   I don't think anyone can prepare you for that news.  My son Andrew was a junior in high
school, my other son ZaCh was a senior, and  my daughter Danielle was a senior in college.  I was not going to let this beat me.  I told myself that through God, prayer, and positive thoughts, I would beat this.

So a month after my debulking surgery I began chemotherapy.  I had two ports surgically placed the morning of my first treatment; one in my chest that is still there and another near the bottom of my rib cage- the inter peritoneal port.  This was probably the hardest of the treatments I went through.
We would stay in Pittsburgh the first few nights due to treatments I would have back to back.  Those made me feel so nauseous, weak, and tired.

Losing my hair was probably the hardest thing I have ever had to go through.  There is just something
about being a woman and having to lose my hair.  Eyebrows, eyelashes, everything.  I do not like to
show that I am weak or hurting, so I remember many times just sobbing in the shower or staring at
myself in the mirror trying to make sense of so much that had changed so quickly.

After 19 treatments, I was finally considered in remission.  I was off from teaching from  the end of March until mid September.  I was determined to go back and lead as normal of a life as I could.  It was so challenging to walk in there for the first time with my wig on running into my colleagues and friends.  Many of them had been to our house to visit me, but I was still quite anxious with being in
public and wearing my wig.  I work with such a great group of people!  They were all in my room to
greet me and have breakfast before the kids arrived.  That was another time I cried.  I never realized how many people cared about me until I got sick. It continues to be quite humbling.

I was in remission for close to 18 months when it all started again.  I really only felt tired but my CA125 numbers shot up.  So I started back on more chemotherapy.  After my numbers returned to
between 0 and 20, I went on the maintenance drug Avastin.  Once a month I would go for a one hour
treatment.  With these treatments we did not travel to Pittsburgh from Erie.  Instead my oncologist set
my treatments up through the Erie Cancer Center where Dr. Marsh takes care of me.

You have to go where you know you will receive the best care.  I wanted experts taking care of me that worked in gynecological oncology on a daily basis and who knew the newest and best treatments available!  That's why my primary oncologist was Dr. Richard.  The Erie Cancer Center sees a multitude of cancer.  I wanted an expert.  You should too if you are ever in this position.  It's your life you are trying to save!

Shortly after the first recurrence, my hero, Dr. Richard, told me he was moving closer to his wife's family in Philadelphia.  They had young children.  Having family nearby would be quite helpful.  I was devastated!  I sobbed!  What would I do?  However, I had no idea Dr. Richard had a plan in mind.  He introduced me to his colleague, Dr. Thomas Krivak.  Dr. Krivak specializes in the BRCA
gene.  So I met him and to this day I am still with him.  I was blessed with two heroes in my lif

 At first it took a little bit of getting used to as we got acquainted with one another.  This doctor was
also young, handsome, and very intelligent.  Dr. Krivak told me he was staying in this area and that
he was one of the best in the country.  I told him he was cocky too, but I liked cocky when it came  to prolonging my life for as long as possible! Dr. Krivak would tell me how good I looked and if he didn't know about me he would never guess I had cancer.  Who doesn't like to receive a compliment like that?? What I appreciated the most about him was that he was on top of the newest treatments for ovarian cancer.  He had been telling my husband and I for at least two years about a Parp Inhibitor that was actually a chemo pill. It was designed to help those with breast cancer, I believe.  However, they were having more success with those who carried the BRCA 1 gene and ovarian cancer.  It had
been developed in Europe.  We had studies going on in the U.S. He was just waiting for it to be
approved because he felt I would do well on it.

 Meanwhile I had several recurrences so I went back on carbo platinum and Doxil along with Avastin.  Another cocktail was used as well at one point. July 31st of 2014 I was able to stop treatments and had six glorious months without anything.  My body needed a break.  I mentally needed some time off.  It was so nice not having to go for blood work and treatments!  I had so much energy too.  However, all good things must come to an end.  This past January of 2015 my CA125 numbers went from 29 to 197.  My scan showed spots on my lymph nodes in my lungs, pelvic region, colon, and another 3.16cm spot on my liver.

I have many Angels watching over me and a strong belief in God.  When I went to see Dr. Krivak he gave me great news.  How could he have great news after finding out I was spotted again??  The Parp
Inhibitor Olaparib, also called Lynparza, had finally been FDA approved! Somehow, after the FDA denied approval this past October of 2014 saying it needed another year of testing, approved it.  One more glitch.  There was criteria you had to meet.  I met all of them except they only wanted you to have had three prior treatments.  I had four.  Also, it was very difficult to get a hold of.  Only one pharmacy in the U.S. was administering it.   Dr. Krivak was determined, however!  He called Dr. Marsh in Erie, gave him the website information and had him fill out the application for me.  I saw Dr. Marsh eight days later, he had me sign a consent form to receive the Parp and thought I should be receiving it within a few weeks!  I was amazed!  I was accepted!  It wouldn't take months to receive! Dr. Marsh then told me they had a staff meeting about it to inform everyone about it.  I would be the first one to receive it from their center!  I felt like a celebrity!  So I just received the Parp and thought I would blog about it.  As I was preparing to take them I only found one person who had been in a study that shared a little about what she was feeling like.  That's what made me decide to do this.  I
hope I can help at least one person out there to feel better by sharing this.  It's something to ask your
oncologist about if you are a BRCA1 carrier fighting ovarian cancer.  So my next entry will be the start of taking the Parp and how I feel.  Stay tuned!