@lindybowers I was diagnosed with HGS ovarian cancer, stage 3c, in August 2010. I had taxol/carbo every 4 weeks. The infusions were very difficult each time, with my veins reacting to the taxol. I had to have the taxol diluted by saline and I could never get to the top speed. Consequently, the infusions were always longer than supposed to be.
It came back in 2014. It was in lymph nodes spread throughout from armpit to lower abdomen. That time I think I was in shock, and just existed! I had carboplatin only, every 3 weeks. The same thing happened in 2016, with only carbo.
The cancer was back straight away in 2017 and I was given weekly taxol. That gave me another 3 years. It came back in 2021, so I had weekly taxol again. The problem this time was that the cancer grew between cycles 3 and 6! I was advised that surgery was my only option.
July 2021 I went to hospital to have 3 lymph nodes removed. One of them was growing on the outside of the pancreas and through the wall of the small intestine. That was problematic! I ended up having to have a second surgery called a Whipples procedure which removed more than just the lymph node!
The cancer returned in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Each time I was given Caelyx/carboplatin. In 2024 I had to have 9 cycles because the cancer was still there after 6.
I was diagnosed with sarcoidosis in May 2025 and have had biopsies done to confirm that. It’s an autoimmune disease that behaves like cancer, but it’s not. My oncologist advised watch and wait until this year.
I’m on topotecan at the moment. The infusion is for 3 consecutive days, every 3 weeks. I’ve just completed the 4th cycle. That means I have had a total of 55 cycles so far, with no end to this regime in sight.
Throughout all that I have kept teaching. I have a reduced workload because of the chemotherapy though. Teaching has helped me stay sane and God has blessed me in ways that I thought would never be possible.
When people ask me how can they pray for me, I tell them I need courage. That’s why that quote meant so much.