On 7/15/2007 Harrietg. wrote:
i can ditto all u have said: i was dx'ed in june '06 w/ ov ca 3c: what do u mean by your ca125 is "creeping" up? so is mine! i take it u haven't received any follow-up medication either? that's the hard part! not having anything to keep the disease at bay! wish u both good health & keep up the fight! harriet
Hi Harriet, I thought I had messaged you back already, but I guess not. I think I am experiencing "chemo brain" big time! hee. The cancer I have, "Primary Peritoneal" which is very similar to Ovarian, I have been told, is a "slow-growing" cancer. Over the past 6 months my CA-125 has been going up from the 12 it went down to after the chemo to 27 at the last Dr. appt. The normal high I have been told is 35. My next appt. is in August. My doctor said if the number goes 2x the normal high, We will talk about my joining a clinical trial, "Thalidomide Versus Tamoxifen" being run at my hospital. Have you ever heard of this trial? Or know of anyone who does?
I was not given the option to do maintenance txs after the initial 6 cycles of chemo were completed. It was like ok bye, you are done with treatment, you are in remission, see you in a couple of months for your checkup! I hope it is not because of the HMO I am with. Most of the time I feel like all the medical proffessionals care about is the bottom dollar!
This August, it will be one year since the chemo tx was completed. I am feeling pretty good, some of the same symptoms as before surgery, such as feeling bloated and feeling full after eating only a small amount. !#$%*##, I hate this stuff! (That was my version of swearing! hee). Well, that's enough of my rambling and ranting! How are you doing? What is your CA-125 now? What does your doc say? I would like to keep in touch. I hope to hear from you soon. PS please forgive, if I have told all this before.
Tish, your co-warrior