Mike said we should update the blog and my response was, "I don't want to update it until I have good news". But here I am updating all of you. I am a little late on this update because I didn't know if I was going to do it or not, but I decided I better do it. Things have been going on that some might want to know, I don't know, I do this mostly for our families and friends that are far away and that we don't see often enough to keep them updated.
So as you know, from our last blog post, I started the chemo medication called Methotrexate. This was just a weekly IM injection and after a few of those it really didn't bother me anymore. I use to be terrified of needles, and this experience has literally cured me from that fear. Anyways the Methotrexate really just made me tired and thats really the only side effect. Other then there were somedays I did feel just a little out of it. Every week they would draw my blood and look where my HCG levels were. The HCG levels are my tumor marker and the goal is to have them reach zero. I was told there would be 8 rounds of the methotrexate at the least until my levels hit zero. Well as lucky as I have been through all of this my levels decided to plateau at about 2500 and I was on round 7 when this happened. Pretty much my body became resistant to the methotrexate and it just wasn't working as well as it needed to be. They like to see at least a 10% drop in my levels every week and mine were not doing that. We knew that this could be a possibility where I would have to change up the chemo. At this point, yes it was frustrating but at the same time I feel like "I don't care what I have to do, I just want to be done", type of feeling.
My oncologist referred me to another oncologist because he is only in Utah Valley once a week and he wanted someone who could be there more often if I needed anything. We LOVED Dr Soisson so this was sad. But we were referred to Dr Rich. And guess what? We Love him too!! (Side note: we have been beyond blessed with every single doctor we have met, we have loved them all and they have all been so nice and have really cared about my care. Its been amazing!) The first time we met with Dr Rich he literally talked to us for like an hour and a half. Just making sure we felt comfortable and answered all our questions, told us many stories, he's just a great guy. We feel very comfortable with him and know he really wants the best for us.
So I have started a new chemo medication, it is called Actinomycin or Dactinomycin or for short we just call it ACT-D. This medication is obviously stronger than the Methotrexate. It has to be administered through IV but if the medication leaks out of the IV at all it can be very damaging to whatever it touches. They call it chemo burn. So Dr Rich said the best thing to do is either get a PICC line or a Port. He recommended either of them, but was more for the Port. Mike and I had already researched all of this so we knew It would be best to do either the port or PICC line as well. We decided that the Port would be best. The port is placed right under my skin and there is a catheter that goes directly to my superior vena cava (largest vein dumping right into the heart). They can administer the medication through it safely and they can also draw blood from it. So Its actually really nice because it literally is saving my veins from all the poking they have been through. So Anyways I got the port placed and had my first round of chemo with it and it was really pretty awesome I think everyone needs a port! :)
Dr Rich also wanted me to get a CT scan and MRI to make sure again that nothing has spread outside of my uterus. He wanted to know exactly what we were dealing with which was actually a big relief because we were both wondering if things were still ok. All the scans came back normal and nothing has spread which is great news. I also had blood work done to make sure my liver was ok and that my blood counts were all good, and everything was good!
With this new medication I am more likely to have more side effects. The biggest one is that I could be more sick with this. I had my first round already as I have mentioned and I have been good so far. Thanks to all the anti nausea meds they have given me. My hair will continue to thin but I shouldn't lose all of it and I have continued to be tired and just kind of out of it sometimes. I receive the medication every other week, and then on the off weeks I meet with either Dr Rich or his NP to make sure everything is going ok and to have my blood work drawn again checking the same things as mentioned previously. They are keeping a good eye on me and really want to make this experience as comfortable as it possibly can be.
Mike and I are doing good!! We try really hard to stay positive and to keep busy. We have many things planned and many changes coming our way that make it a little easier to get our minds off of the situation we are in. Even though there are many times we look at our life at think "What in the World?" It really is the most bizarre situation ever and never in our life would we have thought that all this would happen from just trying to have a baby. There are many times where we just sit and laugh at everything that is happening because laughing is better then crying. We know that things could be much worse and that people are going through really hard times in there lives right now and ours isn't nearly as hard as theres might be. This has all been a really humbling experience. Siting in the room getting my treatment with so many others that are literally fighting for their lives was an eye opener. I am grateful that what I have is pretty much 100% curable and that I know that things will all be ok in the end and I know I will be able to move on and live my life. We know that one day we will be able to look back at this experience and be able to say that it was all worth it. But until then we take one day at a time, one dr visit at a time and keep on keeping on!
I have been thinking about all that we have been through and all of the things we have actually gained from this experience. First and most importantly we gained our little baby who will be our little guardian angel and who will forever be apart of our family. I have gained a stronger connection and relationship with Mike. Not that our relationship before was bad, but it has grown so much! I will forever be grateful for that. We have both gained a stronger relationship with our Heavenly Father an our Savior. These are just a few examples of what we have gained from this experience. Whenever I start feeling down and feeling like "why me", I always try to think of the positive and what I have learned and gained from this experience. We can always learn something from every situation in our lives, even the situations and trials that seem so terrible at times, we are always learning and always progressing thats what is so awesome about this life!
We love all of you and are so grateful for all the kind words and support we have received. We will forever be grateful for the generosity and kindness of those around us!
Mike & Amy
