So Far, So Good

[ssjmichael]

Hi all, my mom (Norma) is half-way through her 2nd line treatment (Taxol/Carbo every 3 weeks), and so far she's responding well. The last time I made a thread, I was panicking because her CA-125 had went up the first week after chemo, but since then, it's steadily gone down, and she's had a CT Scan, where her enlarged lymph node(s) has shrunk, and fluid in her pelvis and stomach are seemingly gone.

Here's how her CA-125 has gone so far:

Feb 15th: 3,938

Mar 2nd (first week after chemo): 5,092

Mar 9th: 3,416

Mar 16th: 3,053

Apr 6th: 831

Apr 27th: 229

I'm so happy my mom is doing so well. Her NP has stated that she wants my mom to go on a PARP inhibitor after treatment is finished, giving us the choice of which to choose (out of three), but suggesting Olaparib. My mom does not have any mutations, so I will have to do some researching on this

I just want to thank everyone here for always being so supportive. I was panicking when her numbers first went up, but others reassured me that it happened to them too, and that really helped calm me down. I tend to get into bouts of "what ifs" constantly, but I have to really learn to accept good news when it comes my way, and not worry about what may or may not happen down the road

-Michael

[Lyndy]

Excellent! You must be relieved x

[Katmal-UK]

Wow good news!. I'm on Olaparib, have been for over 4 years, though I do have the BRAC2 gene. I have to say it's very tolerable xx. Best wishes to you both xx

[January-2016-UK]

That’s a dramatic reduction in her CA125. I hope she’s tolerating the chemo well and has few side effects. All he bed to you both!

[ssjmichael in reply to January-2016-UK]

Yes, she's done pretty well so far with the treatment. She's maintained a strong appetite, and no nausea thankfully. She has lost most of her hair, but she's not too fazed by that, and knows it'll grow back (it's slowly starting to already). A social worker at the hospital actually came during one of her treatments with a bunch of boxes of wigs, and we found a natural hair one that looked pretty nice on her. She'll need to practice wearing it around the house a little bit more first though I think lol

Some of her nails are turning a little black, which happened during first line treatment too. Other than that, she's had some minor itching in her hands at times, but I give her L-Glutamine powder the first few days, which seems to help with that.

All in all, she's doing good though. Thanks so much

-Michael

[lorraine71-Australia]

Hi Michael, So glad to hear your mum is doing so well I hope it keeps up .

take care Lorraine xx

[Jessica-DianeB]

Fantastic news Micheal. Those are some great declining numbers!

If you don’t mind me asking, where abouts are you?

I’m interested as in BRCA negative and cannot access Parp inhibitors currently. It’s always my mission to act upon something I read if it’s relevant, I hope you don’t mind.

The treatment varies so much.

Hope your mum continues doing so well xx

[ssjmichael in reply to Jessica-DianeB]

Hi. I'm a bit of a fish out of water here, as my mom and I actually live in NYC. She receives treatment at the Mount Sinai Hospital . I was surprised when she said my mom would get a PARP inhibitor as I had heard that you have to sometimes meet certain pre-requisites for some of them. I do hope they become more available to patients at all hospitals, as they do seem to be very promising for both positive and negative mutation patients.

-Michael

[Solange]

Hello Michal, I'm so, so pleased that your Mom is doing well. I can well understand why you were panicky when her Ca 125 went up whilst on Chemo. What a relief it must have been when it started going down!

Sending best wishes to you both, Solange xx😊