World Ovarian Cancer Day

Today is also World Ovarian Cancer Day! We are so amazingly proud of Jane and all that she is doing to spread awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms and research. Thank you for fighting so hard, Grandma Jane, and for being a life-saver to so many women. What an amazing example you are setting for Lydia and the rest of us. We love you!

Please share this card and the symptoms of ovarian cancer with all of the women in your life.

Also, we should also share that Jane is done with 4 chemos!! Yay! She's more than halfway done! The week after treatment is rough, and the effects are cumulative, so this last one was harder. But in between treatments she is getting her energy back and staying busy. Please keep sending those healthy thoughts and prayers her way!

2 down, 4 to go

Hi all! Happy almost St. Patrick's Day! Jane has finished two cycles of chemotherapy, with four more to go. The first one went well with no complications. The second one was this past Monday, March 9. Her ca-125 score is now down to 13, which is great news! It was up to 26 before surgery, so to have it come down that much with just one round of chemo is great. The doctors prescribed steroids for her to take the first few days after chemo, which is standard protocol now but it is new to Jane from last time. It gives her an energy buzz for the first few days, and then she starts to feel bad by Friday or Saturday after the Monday of chemo. She is very productive during these few days, and then crashes by the weekend. Last time she watched a couple of movies, and we predict the same plus some basketball for this weekend. She wanted us to thank everyone for all of the well wishes, cards, prayers, gifts, and other offers to help. She and Randy are both so appreciative! Please keep the prayers coming for continued complication-free cycles, and we'll keep you posted if anything changes.

Jane also would like to remind you to write your Senators and Representatives to ask for cancer funding. Here is the e-mail she sent me:

Now is the time to write for funding for ovarian cancer.  Survivors were in DC yesterday.

There is an easy form letter on facebook you can use: Ovarian Cancer National Alliance site, Take Action.

Thank you!

I did that form letter and my own:

Dear Congressman Loebsack,  

I have Ovarian Cancer.  I was diagnosed in Dec, 2011, at Stage 3C. I was cancer-free for 2.5 years.  It is back now.  I had more surgery in January, and I am now doing 5 months of chemo again.  Ovarian cancer always comes back.  Statistically, I only have a 44% chance of being alive next year, 2016.  That is the 5 year survival rate.  If we had a screening test for Ovarian Cancer like we do for cervical cancer, prostate cancer, and mammograms for breast cancer, we would be diagnosed at stage 1 or 2 and have a 92% survival rate!  It is 2015, and we don't have a screening test for Ovarian Cancer that kills over 14,000 women in the United states every year!  We need monies to go to research for this killer of our daughters, mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, and friends.

This year, we had 2 new drugs approved for Ovarian Cancer.  These are the first new drugs in 30 years for Ovarian Cancer!

We need research monies for Ovarian Cancer.

I beg you to support the following:

- $20 million for the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program - Ovarian Cancer Research Program

- $7.5 million for the Ovarian Cancer Control Initiative at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

- $5.5 million for Johanna's Law at the CDC

- Robust National Cancer Institute funding, ideally reaching the Professional Judgement budget of $5.75 billion

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Mary Fleming

Chemo scheduled

Hi everyone! A quick note tonight to let you know that Jane's first chemotherapy session has been scheduled for February 16. The cycles are three weeks long, so six sessions will put her roughly at June 1 for her last session. That would be best-case scenario, with no setbacks or schedule changes. We'll continue to pray for that best case! Randy and Jane don't need anything at the moment. As we've said before, they are so very thankful for all of the prayers and well wishes. Please keep them coming. Stay warm!

Recovery Road

Hi all! We wanted to let you know that Jane is home from the hospital and doing well. She came home last Wednesday (the 21st) and has been recovering well at home. No complications and lots and lots of sleep have done her well. Thank you all for the well wishes and prayers you've been sending her way. She has a follow-up appointment with Dr. Bender next Monday, during which she will learn her chemo schedule and any other next steps.

Post-op day 3

We think Jane turned a corner today. Last night and this morning started a little rough as she spiked a low grade fever overnight and had to have some testing done. There was some concern about her white blood cell count and platelets as well. Her doctors think the abnormal counts may be related to anesthesia or the antibiotics she received during surgery and are hopeful they will improve over the next couple of days. Her fever resolved early in the day and then things began to look up. Jane said she felt more energetic and was able to sit up for longer periods of time. She had a bath today, which also helped her spirits. Overall, things are becoming easier and she's even getting her spunk back.

Because of her low white blood cell count and the need to limit her exposure to germs, Jane should not have visitors. We will let you know when this changes so that you can come visit if you want. She is beginning to check email and texts so feel free to communicate with her that way. I think she would enjoy them.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. Keep them coming.

Post-op day 2

Hi all! Sorry for the infrequency of posts. I think we were better at getting out more updates after Jane's last surgery, but this time we have two kids, which leaves little time for much else! Jane is doing well. She is tired--she didn't sleep well last night (Saturday)--but that's not unexpected. Her spirits are good, and she has been walking a lot and sitting in the chair in her room. The doctors are pleased with her recovery so far. The biggest thing she needs right now is rest and sleep. She has started to eat bland solid foods, which is also right on schedule. As is the case with most post-surgical patients, the doctors want her to pass gas. Of course, Connor and Jack get quite the kick out of that, and we have been talking about Grandma Jane and her farts most of today! Lucky us!

All in all, we are thankful for a right-on-schedule recovery so far, and thankful for all of the messages and prayers you've been sending. Thank you! To highlight your day, here's a cute video of Jane and Randy's grandkids at the park today:

Out of surgery--all good

Hi all! Jane is out of surgery and in recovery. Surgery took about two hours and went well. Dr. Bender got the nodule that had recently shown up, as well as another one that had appeared on her CT a while ago and hadn't really grown but was suspicious. He was able to get all of both areas, leaving her with no visible cancer inside her abdomen (yay!). She will be in the hospital for about five days, and we'll keep you posted on her progress. Your prayers and thoughts are being felt, and we thank you!

Jane is in surgery

Hello everyone! Jane is in surgery. We just got word that they started surgery about an hour late, so it'll be around 4 p.m. before we have any updates or know how she's doing. Thank you for all of the prayers and good karma you're sending into the atmosphere today. Everyone here is doing well.

Deja Vu all over again

Well, we're back. Jane's cancer is back. Last Sunday was the three-year anniversary of Jane's first surgery, and a day later, she learned that the cancer has returned. A scan in September showed a possible nodule, and a new scan in December showed continued growth of that nodule, which now is about 2 centimeters. The good news is that it's in a location Dr. Bender feels will be easy to remove. The plan will be the same as last time, with everything occurring at the exact same time of year. Everything feels very familiar. Jane will have surgery on January 16 to remove the cancer, and a few weeks later she will start chemotherapy. The cancer responded really well to this chemo regimen last time, and we have every expectation that it will respond well this time too. It just makes for a crappy six months ahead.

Thank you already for all of the wonderful support and prayers that you are sending Jane's way. Through the wonder of facebook, you've probably already heard everything, but we thought this would be a good way to convey more detailed information and another place to gather positive energy. Please continue to send healing thoughts and prayers Jane's way. We will keep you posted. Feel free to also contact Jeff or Nike if you'd like (jeffandnike@gmail.com). In the meantime, enjoy a few pictures of the grandkids at Christmas. This time around, Jane has three grandbabies that we can share pictures of!

Lydia enjoying her new book

Jack, Lydia, and Connor with their new raincoats from Grandma Jane and Grandpa Randy

Grandma Jane help the kids open their presents

All three grandkids got fartblasters from the movie Despicable Me for Christmas!

Grandma Jane bought Liddy her first doll and buggy.