Miracles and Wonders
A setback
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At the end of the last update, our oncologist had decided that Deb's tumor marker level
had stabilized so we could go back to a two month cycle of checkups to watch for a
recurrence. We were very relieved, but within a very short time Deb started to
experience some symptoms. None of them individually were of any concern since they
were easy to explain with routine causes. The headaches and dizziness were probably
due to allergies (the grass pollen count was very high this spring). The change in bowel
habits was probably caused by an increase in Pepsi consumption (Deb had just fallen
back into an old habit). The lack of appetite was probably just a return to normal (Deb
had been hungry pretty much all the time since her Chemo ended - probably caused by
all the steroids). And the list goes on, all routine and none specifically tied to a
recurrence, but the accumulation of symptoms made Deb very uneasy. So we went
back to the oncologist, and laid everything out on the table. He wasn't worried, but just
to be careful he ordered another tumor marker test and a full set of scans (MRI, CT,
and PET).
By the time the tests were completed all of the symptoms had cleared up without
treatment, so when the tumor marker results came back with a lower value than the
previous test we were sure that this would turn out to be nothing. But then the bomb
dropped. The CT scan showed a significantly swollen lymph node in her abdomen, and
the PET scan was "hot" in the same location indicating the very likely presence of
cancer.
So we scheduled an appointment with Deb's surgical oncologist to begin looking at the
next steps. After a needle biopsy confirmed the presence of cancer and that it was a
recurrence of her ovarian cancer (as opposed to something new), we began to look at
treatment options.
Since she had responded so well to the original treatment and since she had remained
cancer free for over a year, the oncologist felt that the cancer was still platinum
sensitive indicating that it should respond to any treatment that included Carboplatin, but
we could try something different for the other part of the drug combination. Deb had
originally had Taxol, but this time there were a couple of drug studies that we could
participate in that would combine Carboplatin with a different drug. After a lot of
thought and research and especially prayer, we decided to participate in a study of
Topotecan which provides the same function as Taxol (inhibiting cell growth) but
through a different physiological mechanism.
So now we are starting again. Six rounds of combination Chemotherapy on a three
week cycle. The good news is that this time there is no surgery and the side effects of
Topotecan are expected to be easier to tolerate than those of Taxol. The even better
news is that in the final CT-scan immediately prior to starting treatment, the enlarged
lymph node in her abdomen had shrunk by 20%. So even without drugs, her cancer is
already responding to prayer. That has to be a good sign.
had stabilized so we could go back to a two month cycle of checkups to watch for a
recurrence. We were very relieved, but within a very short time Deb started to
experience some symptoms. None of them individually were of any concern since they
were easy to explain with routine causes. The headaches and dizziness were probably
due to allergies (the grass pollen count was very high this spring). The change in bowel
habits was probably caused by an increase in Pepsi consumption (Deb had just fallen
back into an old habit). The lack of appetite was probably just a return to normal (Deb
had been hungry pretty much all the time since her Chemo ended - probably caused by
all the steroids). And the list goes on, all routine and none specifically tied to a
recurrence, but the accumulation of symptoms made Deb very uneasy. So we went
back to the oncologist, and laid everything out on the table. He wasn't worried, but just
to be careful he ordered another tumor marker test and a full set of scans (MRI, CT,
and PET).
By the time the tests were completed all of the symptoms had cleared up without
treatment, so when the tumor marker results came back with a lower value than the
previous test we were sure that this would turn out to be nothing. But then the bomb
dropped. The CT scan showed a significantly swollen lymph node in her abdomen, and
the PET scan was "hot" in the same location indicating the very likely presence of
cancer.
So we scheduled an appointment with Deb's surgical oncologist to begin looking at the
next steps. After a needle biopsy confirmed the presence of cancer and that it was a
recurrence of her ovarian cancer (as opposed to something new), we began to look at
treatment options.
Since she had responded so well to the original treatment and since she had remained
cancer free for over a year, the oncologist felt that the cancer was still platinum
sensitive indicating that it should respond to any treatment that included Carboplatin, but
we could try something different for the other part of the drug combination. Deb had
originally had Taxol, but this time there were a couple of drug studies that we could
participate in that would combine Carboplatin with a different drug. After a lot of
thought and research and especially prayer, we decided to participate in a study of
Topotecan which provides the same function as Taxol (inhibiting cell growth) but
through a different physiological mechanism.
So now we are starting again. Six rounds of combination Chemotherapy on a three
week cycle. The good news is that this time there is no surgery and the side effects of
Topotecan are expected to be easier to tolerate than those of Taxol. The even better
news is that in the final CT-scan immediately prior to starting treatment, the enlarged
lymph node in her abdomen had shrunk by 20%. So even without drugs, her cancer is
already responding to prayer. That has to be a good sign.