Sunday, March 27, 2016

A Happy Easter!

Anne (mother-in-law) and mom
A Happy Easter to everyone!

Mom went to brunch with us this morning and had TWO buffet helpings and picked out a big piece of tirimisu from the dessert table! Now that her chemo treatments are over we can work on putting some weight on her tiny frame.

Cheers!

 

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Chemo Round #5 - DONE!

Mom and her snazzy outfit.
Well today is a good day - mom got the free and clear from Dr. Porubcin so no more chemo treatments for awhile! All of her blood work came back with flying colors and her CA 125 is down to 4.8! That alone is something to celebrate!

Mpm had a torso scan last week and those results were good as well. The lymph nodes at the top of her abdomen had reduced in size quite a bit from when she started the chemo last September. Also, there was no evidence that her cancer has spread to other areas which is MORE GREAT NEWS!

Another good thing is that Dr. Porubcin is going to switch from Lovenox to Xarelto to keep her blood clotting factor in check. The nice part is that Xarelto is a pill, not a shot...so mom's belly is going to be so thankful that there will be no more needle sticks in the abdomen! She has been giving herself a shot of Lovenox twice a day for a long time and her belly is very calloused and sore as anyone can imagine. Unfortunately, Xarelto may not be as friendly on her pocketbook as Lovenox as Xarelto is in a different Tier of drugs and it will cost her more out of pocket. So says the insurance company.

So for now - goodbye Taxitere! Mom has the rest of the year to just live a normal life... and she and I can get in the car and go visit people and not have to be worried about catching a flu bug or a cold.

Thank you to everyone for keeping mom in your thoughts and prayers - that is the best drug of all and I have no doubt that makes all the difference in the world for a cancer patient. As mom and I were leaving the doctor office, mom thanked Dr. Porubcin for his care and treatment and he eloquently said that he always tries to do everything he can, but it is not up to him, it is up to the person "upstairs" (as he points to the ceiling). Very true. I am thankful that whatever is "upstairs" has been watching down on mom and getting her through this as well.