Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Just as I was skipping along the Yellow Brick Road, the flying monkeys came and took me off to see the Wicked Witch of the West. And as we all know from, "The Wizard of Oz", after Dorothy killed the Wicked Witch of the East, she learned the Wicked Witch of the West was worse than the other one.

That may be what I am facing. I killed the Witch of the East, but I now may be facing the Witch of the West. My gut says, "No." But my CA19-9 says, "Maybe."

Dr. Awesome, had me have another CA19-9 drawn on Monday. As you may recall, the last one had risen to 24 (normal 0-37) from 19 at a previous visit. This was done along with my first CT scan post chemo. The rise in the CA19-9 was a bit of a concern, but my scan was clean. Based on that slight increase, he wanted me to return in 6 weeks for another check.

Well, in 6 weeks, it's gone from 24 to 54. Dr. Awesome has gone from being a bit concerned to "nervous." It doesn't seem like much, but if it's making my Oncologist, Dr. Awesome nervous, I'm pretty darn scared.  A) it's above normal now B) it's a 30 point increase in 6 weeks but more importantly, C) it's 125% increase. I've read thats what's important with the CA19-9, the percentage increase.

So, not to jump to conclusions, there are several possible causes for the rise in my number.  Of course, the most concerning is a recurrence, or the Wicked Witch of the West. To rule this out, I am undergoing a CT scan on Friday. IF the CT scan is normal, I will move forward with a PET scan sometime next week. If it's not normal, well, I'll deal with that when I cross that bridge. I'll let y'all know which direction we have to go next week.

Yet again life is showing me, the only thing you can expect, is the unexpected.
Just as I was cruising along, back at my amazing job, & my new normal life, getting back into my groove and BAM!
Life says to me, "Not so fast, you hit a speed bump." Fortunately, I have the mighty and powerful Oz, aka, Dr. Awesome! He's proactive and aggressive. As my local Gastro said, "I'm impressed with him! He is really on top of things!"

As always, thank you for your continued support, love & prayers.
I still have so much to be grateful for! I'm a blessed girl!

I'm thinking poppies...I'm getting sleepy & tomorrow is another day!
Good night...