Kim may get to go home on Saturday. The doctor will see her and then let her know. Studies show that people heal faster in their home setting. I am sure she will be anxious to get down that road.
The doctors also had some surprising lab reports. After the surgery the surgical team thought they were dealing with an Ovarian “like” cancer. They didn’t think it was actual ovarian cancer because it was more in the tissue surrounding the ovaries. They did not hold the uterus in high suspect.
After the lab reports came back they told Kim and Shane that this is a rare type of endometrial cancer called: Papillary Serous Endometrial Carcinoma. This form is very aggressive and represents 5% of uterine cancers.
This staging is based upon the results seen at surgery by the pathologist. They had staged this at Stage 4 and will attack it aggressively.
In all likelihood the next steps are: Kim will get to go home this weekend then back next week to have her staples removed. She will remain at home to heal, be pampered by her family and friends and watch someone else vacuum. Kim will be meeting with her oncology team and have a check up before starting chemotherapy as an outpatient the last week of August. They will decide the chemo regiment in the next 2 weeks.
This is scary stuff. Kim has strong moments and some meltdowns. She is working hard at doing everything the doctors and nurses tell her to do and learning what it takes to beat this.
Jan Snyder
Friday, August 11, 2006
Thursday, August 10, 2006
A Better Day
I was visiting Kim yesterday when your flowering plant arrived. It really brightened her day. Kim's day was much, much better than the day before. In fact, she said that she was wondering if she was ever going to feel better. I will visit later today and hope I find she is doing even better.
She is still very tired. We all are..... but for a different reason! The family circled our wagons around her house yesterday. We did the kind of spring cleaning I always want to do at my own place but never get to. Mom and Dad brought in the pizza and we rolled up our sleeves and armed ourselves with scrub brushes, lawn mowers and dust mops. The guys even installed their new microwave oven above her stove. The guys had to redesign the upper cabinets in order for it to fit. She will be happy.
Things are looking good for her home-coming.
Thanks again for helping to perk up our Kim.
Jan Snyder
She is still very tired. We all are..... but for a different reason! The family circled our wagons around her house yesterday. We did the kind of spring cleaning I always want to do at my own place but never get to. Mom and Dad brought in the pizza and we rolled up our sleeves and armed ourselves with scrub brushes, lawn mowers and dust mops. The guys even installed their new microwave oven above her stove. The guys had to redesign the upper cabinets in order for it to fit. She will be happy.
Things are looking good for her home-coming.
Thanks again for helping to perk up our Kim.
Jan Snyder
Wednesday, August 9, 2006
Tuesday & Wednesday Updates
August 8
Becky is Kim’s niece and a nurse at UMNC and she said that Kim did well last night – still very sore. They met with the Dr. this morning and he said much of the same he said yesterday.
Kim said she remembered some of yesterday but it was all kind of a blur.
August 9
Note to friends and family from Kim’s sister:
Your flowers are beautiful. When I walked into her room yesterday afternoon, she immediately showed me your flowers. She has them on a wall shelf on the TV wall. She had a bouquet from people at work too. The flowers really brightened the room.
They had Kim up and walking to her door and back 3 times yesterday. She can not sit up, get out of bed or walk on her own yet. That will come. Her incision starts about an inch below her sternum makes a "round-about" around her belly button and then down about 6 inches more. It is amazing how much we use our stomach and abdomen muscle. We just don't give it a thought until they are cut through. The metal staples give the art-work a zipper like appearance.
We are in big trouble if we make her laugh. She is tender and does not like to cough or laugh or blow into that awful plastic thing that measure amount of wind. Speaking of wind......the doctor says NO FOOD until she can "toot" the Star Spangled Banner. She is getting her nourishment through her IV but it just ain't the same. Pity the person who enters her room with taco breath and holding a diet coke.
As a SURPRISE, the family is going to descend upon their home this afternoon to do yard work, cooking (and freezing) and cleaning. The doctor said absolutely no vacuuming or cleaning. Kim always did the mowing too. That will be out. We want to make it pretty and shine for her homecoming. The doctor is still saying she will be there until Saturday or Sunday.
Thanks again for brightening Kim's day.
Becky is Kim’s niece and a nurse at UMNC and she said that Kim did well last night – still very sore. They met with the Dr. this morning and he said much of the same he said yesterday.
Kim said she remembered some of yesterday but it was all kind of a blur.
August 9
Note to friends and family from Kim’s sister:
Your flowers are beautiful. When I walked into her room yesterday afternoon, she immediately showed me your flowers. She has them on a wall shelf on the TV wall. She had a bouquet from people at work too. The flowers really brightened the room.
They had Kim up and walking to her door and back 3 times yesterday. She can not sit up, get out of bed or walk on her own yet. That will come. Her incision starts about an inch below her sternum makes a "round-about" around her belly button and then down about 6 inches more. It is amazing how much we use our stomach and abdomen muscle. We just don't give it a thought until they are cut through. The metal staples give the art-work a zipper like appearance.
We are in big trouble if we make her laugh. She is tender and does not like to cough or laugh or blow into that awful plastic thing that measure amount of wind. Speaking of wind......the doctor says NO FOOD until she can "toot" the Star Spangled Banner. She is getting her nourishment through her IV but it just ain't the same. Pity the person who enters her room with taco breath and holding a diet coke.
As a SURPRISE, the family is going to descend upon their home this afternoon to do yard work, cooking (and freezing) and cleaning. The doctor said absolutely no vacuuming or cleaning. Kim always did the mowing too. That will be out. We want to make it pretty and shine for her homecoming. The doctor is still saying she will be there until Saturday or Sunday.
Thanks again for brightening Kim's day.
Monday, August 7, 2006
Letter to family & friends:
Letter to family and friends:
Kim went to the doctor a week ago because of discomfort and bloating. After test results, they suspected ovarian cancer. Surgery was scheduled for Monday August 7, 2006 (yesterday) morning.
Yesterday was a good day and a good day to have behind us. Kim’s surgery went well and Dr. Remmenga from the University Med Center was pleased with the results.
Kim’s surgery actually got started around 8:30. They took 5.5 litters of fluid out of her abdomen area before they could start to remove the tumors. She was in recovery about 2pm and to her room by 4pm. Her cheering group took over both the surgery waiting room then the 4th floor waiting room down the hall from her room. She may not remember much about the day. She was in quite a bit of discomfort and liked to push her pain button but she was able produce a few cute little one-liners to her family.
The goal of surgery was to remove as much malignant material as possible. The surgery involved removing ovaries, the uterus, fallopian tubes, and the omentum, a layer of fatty tissue that covers the intestines, affected material near her pelvis and her appendix.
Kim had three tumors. One was surrounding an ovary, one involved the omentum and the other lay on her pelvis. They also removed her appendix because it was suspect. Everything was sent to lab and results will provided the answers to identifying her actual stage and plan for follow up chemo.
The Doctor indicated that he now believes she is in Stage IIIC but that may change when the lab results are back.
Kim will be in the hospital for the remainder of the week. They originally planned to keep her about 3 days but because of the extensive cutting they want to watch for “leaks” and internal bleeding. The tumor on the omentum had attached to the outside of the intestine and the doctor needed to cut into the outer wall. They called in the doctor that did her colonoscopy to consult. They decided to fill her with air to check for leaks and found none and they want it to remain that way through the beginning of the healing process. They also needed to do a lot of scraping on the pelvis and wanted to make sure there would not be internal bleeding as a result.
Kim will need to take it easy and heal for about 4 to 6 weeks. The doctor would then like to start chemotherapy. Typically, surgery is followed by chemotherapy.
During and after chemotherapy, doctors monitor women's progress via pelvic exams, and with the CA-125 blood test. While the CA-125 isn't a fool-proof screening test for ovarian cancer, it does reliably indicate whether the disease is recurring in women who have already been treated.
Kim went to the doctor a week ago because of discomfort and bloating. After test results, they suspected ovarian cancer. Surgery was scheduled for Monday August 7, 2006 (yesterday) morning.
Yesterday was a good day and a good day to have behind us. Kim’s surgery went well and Dr. Remmenga from the University Med Center was pleased with the results.
Kim’s surgery actually got started around 8:30. They took 5.5 litters of fluid out of her abdomen area before they could start to remove the tumors. She was in recovery about 2pm and to her room by 4pm. Her cheering group took over both the surgery waiting room then the 4th floor waiting room down the hall from her room. She may not remember much about the day. She was in quite a bit of discomfort and liked to push her pain button but she was able produce a few cute little one-liners to her family.
The goal of surgery was to remove as much malignant material as possible. The surgery involved removing ovaries, the uterus, fallopian tubes, and the omentum, a layer of fatty tissue that covers the intestines, affected material near her pelvis and her appendix.
Kim had three tumors. One was surrounding an ovary, one involved the omentum and the other lay on her pelvis. They also removed her appendix because it was suspect. Everything was sent to lab and results will provided the answers to identifying her actual stage and plan for follow up chemo.
The Doctor indicated that he now believes she is in Stage IIIC but that may change when the lab results are back.
Kim will be in the hospital for the remainder of the week. They originally planned to keep her about 3 days but because of the extensive cutting they want to watch for “leaks” and internal bleeding. The tumor on the omentum had attached to the outside of the intestine and the doctor needed to cut into the outer wall. They called in the doctor that did her colonoscopy to consult. They decided to fill her with air to check for leaks and found none and they want it to remain that way through the beginning of the healing process. They also needed to do a lot of scraping on the pelvis and wanted to make sure there would not be internal bleeding as a result.
Kim will need to take it easy and heal for about 4 to 6 weeks. The doctor would then like to start chemotherapy. Typically, surgery is followed by chemotherapy.
During and after chemotherapy, doctors monitor women's progress via pelvic exams, and with the CA-125 blood test. While the CA-125 isn't a fool-proof screening test for ovarian cancer, it does reliably indicate whether the disease is recurring in women who have already been treated.
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