Hello everybody! We’ve been managing trips to medical professionals of all sorts over the last couple weeks, and everything has been going well. Karen’s surgery is scheduled for the 14th up in Cleveland. The anticipation has made things a little tense, but we’re hanging in there. Since Karen hasn’t had chemo in over a month,…
Author: Charlie
Cleveland, Here We Come!
The trip to Cleveland Clinic (CC) exceeded our expectations. It was a model of professionalism that is still a little unbelievable. Karen and I traveled up to Cleveland the night before her appointment so we would be well rested. We didn’t really know what to expect from the visit and were a little nervous, but…
Forward Motion
We actually managed to get seen at the James Cancer Hospital yesterday, and for once, it wasn’t completely un-productive. That may seem like a strange way to qualify the experience, so please allow me to fill you in! Our visit was much more professional than previous visits were, which relieved some tension. They were still…
Fear is the Mind-Killer
The last week has been a continuation of the roller-coaster ride. Karen delayed the chemo last week so she had more time to size up the situation, and simply to have some time away from the chemo. After being turned down for the clinical trial we reached back out to the James Cancer Hospital for…
Trials Can Be a Trial
The last week has been a roller-coaster ride for us. The chemo combination that Karen’s been on for the last six months is at the end of its usefulness to her. It’s reduced the tumor size but is becoming too toxic for her. It’s beaten back the cancer a bit, but also suppressed her immune…
What is a CA-125 Test?
Karen and I have mentioned her CA-125 levels in a couple of posts, but not shared what this really means. Karen found a good pamphlet released by the Foundation For Women’s Cancer that has some great information in it. I’ll include a link below, but here’s a quote from the pamphlet: CA 125 is a…
A Mid-Week Update
The last couple weeks brought about some changes. For one, there’s anticipation about the upcoming tests, but there have also been some symptom changes. The chemo treatments have always made Karen tired and sick. While some weeks have been worse than others, you’ve probably read some posts where I mention that Karen sleeps a lot…
The End of Carboplatin
This week has been a long one for us, but at least we have the couch squared away! Front Room Furnishings decided to honor their sales agreement and take it back. I didn’t want to mention in my last post that the couch was fully delivered (can you half deliver a couch?) when we discovered…
Do You Smell That?
In one of my first blog posts I referenced an article titled “7 Rules You Should Follow When Visiting Someone With Cancer”, and discussed some of my thoughts. One of the things that article mentioned was being mindful of smells, and it recently occurred to me that some of our friends might not know about…
Baby Duck Hair
Karen’s completed two of the three treatments of her fifth round of chemo. The month break between cycle three and four allowed her to heal from some complications, but also seemed to reset her tolerance for the chemo, so she’s just now getting acclimated again. Fortunately, things seem to have settled down a bit now…