Another uptick on CA125

Started series #8 of Taxol on 3/19/09. Just finished second dose of antibiotics for UTI (this one worked) and am finally getting over the cold that kept me off work Friday, Monday and Tuesday. Went to my GP Friday and she gave me Nasonex spray and told me to take plain Robitussin. But it still had to go thru the normal 5-day miseries. CA125 was up again--this time by 14 points to 51.1, not a good trend. Am hoping that the cold and infections I've been fighting have been influencing this upward (and negative) trend. Don't want to think that the cancer cells have "learned" how to overcome the Taxol. Have chemo the next two Thursdays so hopefully can get another reading that is back under 35.

Wrapped up Taxol series #7

March 5th I finished the 7th treatment of Taxol. My CA125 went up 8.3 points so it's over 35 again--37.1. This number has been see-sawing since January between 28.8 and 39.7. During this time, I've been under stress of Lloyd's terminal illness so Dr. Im said not to worry about this number. Plan is to continue Taxol treatments. I've #8 series scheduled for March 26, and April 2 and 16. And I have acupuncture treatments twice a month. Most aggravating has been a UTI that keeps me up at night despite a 10-day antibiotic. May need another 10 days in order to get rid of it. Continue to work full-time despite being really tired. Hopefully longer days (daylight savings) and warmer weather will perk up my spirits.

Taxol helping

Continued Taxol series 7 (7b) yesterday and new CA125 dropped 9.4 points to 28.8, the lowest its been since 2/2007. Yeah! Nurse Allison accessed both lumens but the magnesium (4 grams) I needed didn't get processed until I was done with my pre-meds and Taxol on the lateral lumen so just used the one line. I had had flu/diarrhea/chills from 2-7:30 a.m. prior to Lloyd's 11 a.m. memorial service 2/21. Crashed under the covers the balance of the weekend until the chills went away but left me with a uninary tract infection (or UTI). A urinalysis prior to chemo IDed it. Two tabs of antibiotic prescription from Dr. Im has already provided me much relief as of today. Am hoping this weekend I'll feel good enough to see Tyler and the progress of Megan and Alex's kitchen remodel. Granite countertops need to be installed in the next week or so before backsplash and final connections can be completed.

Chemo during stress

Started treatment #7 of Taxol 2/19/09 at Weinberg. Nurse Joanne, who transferred from Mercy's 7th floor chemo ward to the outpatient treatment center in December, got my case. Both lumens in my port didn't draw blood so she put in TPA, which is supposed to break up the blood which probably coagulated, and let it sit in each line. After the 30 minutes, she got blood from the medial (inside) lumen so sent my blood down for lab work. After an hour, the lateral (outside) lumen also cleared. So I had my two lines because, as usual, my magnesium was low, and I needed 2 hours' worth of magnesium (4 grams). Added stress is Saturday morning's upcoming memorial service for Lloyd.

Rosenshein appointment

The day after Lloyd died, Megan went with me to my afternnon appointment with Dr. Neil Rosenshein. He was pleased with the results of the PET scan, which said the radiologist could not detect any malignancy. Dr. R. told me to come back in four months (June 24) and continue chemo (Taxol) treatments (3 Thursdays on and one off). I'm to get another PET scan before the next appointment. He'll reevaluate my treatment then.

Farewell my love

O. Lloyd Jones, 73, beloved by those who knew him, passed away Feb. 10 around 3 p.m. in his home. He will be missed. May God bless and keep him in His hands.

Completed series 6 Taxol

Had chemo yesterday (2/5/09) with nurse Donna. She put in lines to both the medial and lateral lumens of my port as I anticipated also needing magnesium again. Sure enough, I needed 4 grams of magnesium which takes at least 2 hours by itself. Took my scrapbook from the kids' surprise birthday party for me 1/31/09 and both Teri and Donna took a few minutes in their busy schedule (the outpatient chemo ward was full!!) to peruse it. Teri, whose husband is retired Army now working in the Pentagon, had asked him to get me an Army mug for my office at USNA. We have fun teasing each other around Army-Navy game time.

Had another CA125 taken to have up-to-date info for Dr. Rosenshein when Megan and I see him next Wednesday (2/11/09). It went back down 7.1 points since 1/22/09 (when it went up 8.4 pts) to bring the number to 32.6. The normal range is 0-35.

My legs started showed edema on Wednesday so Teri put me back on the diruectic Spironolactone (1 100-mg tab/day).