Monday April 23, 2007: Chemo Round 3/Baby Rietman

Today started at Dr. Downey’s office for an exam and consult. The exam went as usual. We learned some new info at the consult however that will make Kristi’s journey even that much more incredible as she wins this battle over cancer. You see, during the I/P port placement surgery, they removed a 1cm tumor from outside the peritoneal lining. This makes it a stage 4 cancer, grade 3. This is the worst rating for ovarian cancer. Survival rate for this rating of cancer is 5% (statistics based on a 55 y/o woman). Oh yeah, Dr. Downey also confirmed that this is ovarian cancer. It was first believed to be primary peritoneal carcinoma. However, during the debulking surgery they removed a 1 ½ centimeter tumor from each ovary. The pathology report came back and changed the diagnosis to just plain ovarian cancer. Whether it is primary peritoneal or ovarian cancer has no impact on the treatment plan or prognosis. We discussed possibly reversing the colostomy bag after this round of chemo, however, that would mean 8 treatments of chemo because Dr. Downey wants to get 3 doses of the I/P port in. If we continue down the current path, we will finish today, then do 3 rounds of the really aggressive chemo, then reverse them bag in late Summer (a total of 6 rounds of chemo). The results of the distribution study were “fair”, so we are going to use the I/P port.

Also today, baby Rietman was born – Brynn Isabella. I got the text from Denny at 10:34AM. 8lbs 3 oz., 21” long.

In her words:

bkrogalske@sbcglobal.net
04/23/2007 10:24 PM

Hello everyone,

First, some good news! My CA125 level went down again this time to 163 (from 380). My platelet count is through the roof (definitely better than in the toilet!) Most of my counts are back to normal. My red blood count, however, is low. I will be receiving another blood transfusion this week to help with that. The lower level can cause fatigue so I’m hoping by having this transfusion my recovery from the chemo will be easier.

Today didn’t go quite as expected but we are okay with it. Before chemo, we met with the oncologist. I will not be using the stomach port tomorrow because of the leak and the doctor wants more time for it to heal completely. We talked about reversing the colostomy and he considered it and was respectful of our wishes. He shared some information that we weren’t aware of. It’s a long story, but after considering the options, we all agreed to wait until chemo is completed (3 more rounds after today) to reverse the colostomy…hopefully by the end of the Summer.

After meeting with the doctor, I received the IV chemo today which was round three. I think I mentioned that when they put the stomach port in they removed a 1 cm lump from the site of my incision from the original exploratory surgery. We believed it was scar tissue but after sending it to pathology, we found out today that it was cancerous. This moves me from a stage 3 to a stage 4 because the cancer is out of the peritoneal cavity. We also found out today that during the original debulking surgery, they removed a 1 ½ cm tumor from each of my ovaries. So, my "official" diagnosis is stage 4, level 3, ovarian cancer. We also learned today that patients with this kind of cancer have recurrences 75% of the time after being in remission. I don’t think this should cause any more fear because we are already taking all the steps to fight the cancer.

Although our prayers for a miracle right now weren’t the answer we were hoping for, we did get an answer . . . it will happen in His time. It’s kinda like reading a book. We have been through many chapters in this book right now. I was hoping we were ready for the final chapter but it turns out there are a few more. Some days I wish I could peek ahead at those chapters but we are not supposed to live for tomorrow or in the past but simply in today. That is what we will continue to do. As Brian put it, there must be more people out there that need to see us shining! Although I was initially disappointed, God has come through yet again and has given me peace with this. I am always sad when I come to the end of a good book so we’ll just keep living and reading this book with the ups and downs until we reach the end. Actually, the final chapter in all of our books is already guaranteed to have the best ending possible – meeting God face to face! I’m going to enjoy these many chapters ahead because they allow my time here with my family and friends. We continue to believe this is not the end and will fight this cancer with everything we have. In God’s time I will be healed.

Thank you for your bold prayers and I will close with some more requests:

*Brian was awesome today. He was silly and fun and encouraging, not to mention incredibly handsome! Please continue to pray that he will have peace and patience and energy to get through this week with me.
*The kids are doing great – please pray that they will continue to stay healthy
*The blood transfusion. This will probably take place on Wednesday. Pray that the blood I will receive will bring my numbers up without any side effects.
*Prayers of thankfulness for the people out there that donate their blood – I have always admired them and now have a new appreciation for them!
*That my energy levels will stay up this week. With the shots for my white blood count, the transfusion for the red blood count, potassium pills and iron pills, I will hopefully not get so physically down this time.
*That during my lower energy times this week I will remember to focus on God and spend more time reading the bible where all my inspiration comes from.
*Prayers of praise that my doctor and nurse are so wise and knowledgeable and yet sensitive to our needs and wishes

As always, thank you isn’t enough but it’s all I have so please accept our sincere gratitude!

Love,
Kristi