Happy Trails

Excellent hike along the Dosewallips River this past weekend with the Crases. Great weather, fabulous company and a beautiful setting. It was very relaxing with the sound of the river lulling us to sleep at night, and Jamie even slept in on Saturday morning until about 8:30. The only negative of the site was the mosquitos, but once John got a fire going the pesky bugs left us alone. Seems like this trail was a good practice run for Jamie and John's next hike. Here are some photos...

John & Jamie hit the trail!

Saturday Morning Campfire

Don't mess with Jamie and Erik!

Yeah, OK, so they look more feisty than menacing...

10's a Magic Number

Well, I didn't break double digits, but my CA-125 is down to 10!! I was pretty elated and Heidi my nurse was very excited too. She said she didn't expect it to get that low.

For IP chemo the number will fluctuate as the proteins are moving around in my abdomen. So I'm supposed to expect that the levels will go up. I'm glad she told me, otherwise I might have been worried.

Physical therapy is going well and I got my first pair of compression stockings(the panty hose type) today. We're going hiking this weekend for an overnighter, so it should be interesting trying to put on the stockings in the tent. I'm sure you all get the picture. In my head I'm laughing hysterically.

Yippee Ki Yay!

Hooray! As of Friday, August 17th, Jamie's all done with her first round of chemo!!

She gets a break until September 9th when IP chemo starts, and will post her latest (steadily dropping) CA-125 numbers when she gets them.

Yee Haw! "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition."

Super Woman

Okay, not to toot my own horn again, but I was told yesterday that I am super stud (my interpretation). I guess that I am somewhat of an anomaly at SCCA. Of those they have put on the protocol study, only two people have been able to make it through. Me being one!! Dr. Goff said I was doing remarkably well and feels like my IP chemo will also go well.

She warned me that it's 20 hours of Taxol followed by a couple of hours of Cisplatin (different from the carbo I am getting now) followed by shaking in the bed and rolling over and lots of bathroom breaks. All told I should be at UW for about 36 hours. She plans on giving me 4-6 courses of IP, which she is pretty confident I will be able to take all six, three weeks apart. She said she didn't want to kid me, it will be tough, but what she has seen me do this round, she's pretty sure I will make it.

Heidi, the nurse extraordinaire, also said I was a power woman and tooted my horn some more. She said I looked great, and had a great attitude. I hear it from all of you who comment, but it is nice to hear from someone totally objective too. All in all, yesterday was a pretty big ego boost for me. Even with the joint pain, I left Seattle feeling pretty elated and promptly came home and went for a swim!

New Numbers

Not to overshadow the previous post, but the physical therapist today let me sneak a peek at my CA-125 number it was 16!!! (this is prior to chemo #5)

I met with the physical therapist for my lymphedema, which has retreated with the cooler weather and my swims at the pool. She was so excited that I was a swimmer and felt well enough to swim at the pool. I can honestly say, I notice marked results when I swim, so I will be keeping that up. She also taught John some massage type technique to help with scar tissue around all my incisions, especially the groin area where I had the most trauma. He could feel a difference in just a few minutes of manipulation. It will help to spread the fluid away from the scar tissue and distribute it throughout my body. Next session we will learn some massage techniques. I think we will continue to take our flexible appointments up at SCCA until we feel confident enough with the plan to move down here to another therapist.

Wednesday is a big day as well. We see Dr. Goff for the first time post surgery. I'm excited to hear what she has to say about my progress and pester her with questions about IP chemo as well. I start IP on the 9th of September at the UW. I really do not know what to expect of how it's going to effect me. It will just be nice to get a baseline of where she thinks I am. She is the boss!!

We are trying to plan some hikes after my last round of chemo. A short overnighter with the Wood clan and a longer hike into the Olympics, possibly with the Mills, or maybe alone if it doesn't work out. I think John is determined to make things normal. The Olympic hike would be over our 11th anniversary...what a way to celebrate!!

Less Than 21

Had dinner and cake with Jamie and John Friday night after chemo #5, and Jamie's CA125 level was 21 before chemo #4. She's only got one more to go! Then IP chemo follows. The two weekends between this initial 6-session chemo round, and IP chemo she'll be hiking. As always, it was great to hang out with them! Jamie and I are betting that her CA125 level was around 9 before #5 on Friday, and will hopefully be something very near zero before #6.

Here's to Jamie's CA125 levels being in the normal range of 0-35...and continuing to plummet!