18 Months & Changing Course

Well, I made it to a year and a half with stage 4 pancreatic cancer yesterday which feels like a milestone, even if it is only half of one.

I'm also going to be taking a brief break from chemo for a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Just when I got the pronunciation of daraxonrasib down pat, there's this.

I have had ovarian cysts throughout treatment which grew very large, and had to be drained (over a liter!). The cytology showed some abnormal cells but not enough to biopsy. We are not panicking or making assumptions yet, the plan is to remove the ovaries and see what the pathology says and continue with chemo after unless there is an unexpected finding.

I've had clear PET/CTs for a year now, and have remained on chemo with the thought that I almost surely have microscopic disease that just can't be detected in imaging. My ctDNA came in today as negative again, which is not reassuring but also not bad news.

The good news is that there does not seem to be any solid mass, and no hypervasculature/hypermetabolism. I also wanted to get rid of my ovaries anyhow since the return of my cycle has been a huge challenge through treatment and I have a lot of familial risk for ovarian cancer too.

So, I just finished round 37 of chemo and will wait until 2 weeks after the end of my infusion for surgery, resuming again 4 weeks after surgery. I am nervous about it, but also interested to see what happens with my markers and scans in the next couple of months.

I just got back from The Seena Magowitz Foundation's event in Milwaukee and was grateful to talk to so many other women with pancreatic cancer who have been through the same thing, including chemo breaks for other health issues and recurrences that were managed with surgery.

It will be scary to be off of chemo, but I am also looking forward to some aspects of it. We have a huge garden this year and dozens of tomatoes are ripening every day. I am really excited to have some time without all of the mouth sores from chemo to enjoy all of the caprese salads and sauces as I go through surgery.

I'm also just kind of grateful to be eligible for any surgery at all. A year and a half ago it would have been unthinkable. At the moment it feels really manageable and like a positive step forward.

Sending lots of positive thoughts to all of my fellow patients and those of you taking care of us. 💜