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.