CA 125 results

an email from my doc:

Good news -- the CA 125 is down to 30.

The blood blister, sore throat, and heartburn are likely all connected and a side effect of chemo. It is most likely the chemotherapy irritating the mucosa which is the lining tissue that goes from your mouth all the way down through your GI tract.

I prescribed 2 medications for you:
1. Prilosec for the heartburn, take this every morning.
2. Oncology mouthwash, which is a medicated numbing mouthwash to make your mouth and throat feel better. You can use it as needed.

Let me know if this is not helping.

JL



Yeah!! normal ca125 is 35 or below! my ca125 is going down, even without the nasty, aggressive chemo agent that was discontinued due to me developing an allergy to it and having a bad reaction.

She also got me a referral for a followup with my oncologist/surgeon who performed my surgery and is not in the Kaiser system. She's one of the top in her field and the only doctor left who has been with me since the beginning. it was important i keep this contact.

I have been feeling really hit hard by the chemo lately. They say it accumulates and gets worse at it goes. My hands and feet are hurting a lot lately and they are beginning to feel really numb again (neuropathy). I've been really really really tired and wiped out. I've been getting out of breath going up one flight of our stairs (only 8 steps!). Not to mention the big blood blister I woke up with. I've never had the mouth sores before. I have no appetite and no thirst or hunger trigger. That doesn't stop me from continuing to put on weight though. I've had a sore throat and heart burn as well. I'm so tired of all of this. It's really starting to wear on me.

I've figured out that I've been doing chemo again for about 10 months. Initially, my first cycle (Aug 2007 - April 2008), was supposed to be 12 rounds but only went 11 because my neuropathy got so bad. I had from April until November 08 off of the nasty chemo, but continued infusing with one agent, the Avastin every 2 weeks still. My CA125 went up during that time and my CT Scan didn't come back so great. I started my 2nd cycle of chemo in November 08, and my oncologist switched me to the ovarian based agents, CarboTaxol. I did a couple of these, lost all of my hair and then left for Reno to seek alternative treatment for 3 weeks. I resumed the chemo when I returned from Reno, dropped the Taxol and continued the Carbo. My CA125 continued to go up and my CT scans didn't really improve. They switched me back to my original chemo, FolFox every other week, and I did that several rounds before developing an intolerance to the oxcilliplatin. They took out the oxcilliplatin and continued with the rest of the agents from the FolFox. I've done 7 rounds so far. Their goal is 12. Which puts me at mid December to finish up this cycle. I am so ready for a break. I am so over this. I am so tired of it. It's so old. But it looks like, from my CA125 going back down to the normal range, that it appears to be working. I hope my CT scan Sept. 10th supports that!!! That will be a huge relief to me.

Anyways, that's my chemo history in a nutshell (a big nutshell lol).

Thanks for all of the love and support and for checking in on me here. I know so many people read my blog and don't comment and that's ok! I'm just touched you take the time to even read my ramblings!!!

Big Hugs going out to all...

xoxoxo
Shauna