In October, Mom finished a full 6 treatments of her second round of chemo and took it like a champ. This makes for a total of 15 chemo treatments. She still has neuropathy in her feet from the first round, and this has caused increased fatigue and weakness. She has always been so busy and rarely sits still but unfortunately has had to rest more since starting cancer treatments. She still is a powerhouse in my opinion.
September was Ovarian cancer awareness month. My mom, sister, and I painted our nails in teal to show our support. Typically in September, the Arkansas Ovarian Cancer Coalition has a Teal Light Night dinner to fundraise and spread awareness throughout the state. Due to Covid, they were not able to have this dinner but still lit the Little Rock bridges in teal and had a small ceremony, which my family attended. We walked across the bridge and threw carnations into the river in support of our mom. We ran into another family friend who has also struggled with this disease. It was nice to see the work that this organization is doing
At the end of her treatments, my mom, dad, and I were blessed to be able to go on a small vacation together. Due to Covid, we decided to rent an RV to avoid staying in a hotel. We traveled to Colorado Springs where we visited the Garden of the Gods, took a tour in an old gold mine, visited the Manitou Cliff Dwellings, drove to the top of Pikes Peak, and visited the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. We had a great time! Although it was slightly odd being 31 and on a vacation with just my parents, I am so blessed to have had the time with them and will always cherish this trip. Not to mention my parents are pretty easy to be around.
After finishing treatments, Mom had a follow up CT scan which showed very minor progression, but her physician considered it essentially the same and categorized her as stable. Because there were no positive changes, he took her off of her chemo treatments but started her on an oral medication to try to keep her stable. He also decided to do foundation one testing. This is testing of the original tumor with hopes of finding more targeted treatments or the possibility of using immunotherapy.
Unfortunately, this testing did not reveal any good treatment options for her to try at this time. She was kept on the oral medication and given the option of repeating the CT scan in January to see how she has responded. Because of no promising options based on her testing, my family decided to ask about going to MD Anderson for a second opinion. We love her local oncologist and know that he is doing the best for her and this is standard treatment, but we wanted to look into possible clinical trials and other options that MD Anderson offers as they are the top cancer center. Her local oncologist was very supportive of this and encouraging about new medications always coming out. He quickly set Mom up with a referral. She wanted to wait until after the holidays before starting anything else, but the rest of the family did not want to wait any longer than necessary.
MD Anderson jumped on this quickly and Mom had an appointment on December 7th. I wanted so badly to be there with her, but due to Covid and having to work, this was not an option. Mom and Dad traveled to Houston 48 hours early for a Covid test and then Mom began her journey with MD Anderson. All of her scans and records were sent, and her MD Anderson oncologist expressed that he agreed with her local oncologist. He explained that any treatment needed to be given at least 3 months to evaluate effectiveness, and since she had recently started on a new oral medication, he wanted to allow it more time to work. She is now established with MD Anderson, however, and will be managed by both her local oncologist and her MD Anderson oncologist. We were very reassured knowing that both physicians agreed and that Mom is on the appropriate treatment for now.
Mom has a CT scan scheduled for January 5th and will meet with her local oncologist on the 14th. If her scan is stable or improved, she will remain on this medication for another 3 months, and if there is progression of disease, she will begin a new treatment. There are a couple other chemo treatments to try and of course clinical trials. Now we wait… yet again.
Through all of this, we have had great quality time as a family. We have watched my nephew play baseball and soccer, celebrated my niece and nephew’s birthdays, had shopping trips, and of course celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas. I am so blessed to have a family that is so close and will always cherish these memories.
- ‘There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.’ -Proverbs 23:18
- ‘There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.’ -Ecclesiastes 3:1
- ‘The lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him.’ -Lamentations 3:25