Monday, December 15, 2008

Third Protocol and CT-Scan results

My third protocol and CT- Scan Result. This was done at the hospital twenty four hours for five days. The chemo drugs that I was on were Ifosfamide, cisplatin and mesna. By the second day I am ready to get out of there. I can’t sleep, can’t rest, feeling so nauseated and ready to barf. My husband is there with me everyday trying to make me feel better and consoling me to hang in there and that I am going to get better. My friend Margo she’s there every single day at the hospital and staying for hours. We talk everything that we can think of including politics during the election. We had a good laugh. She’s an amazing person, very supported including her husband Paul and her two daughters.

The CT-Scan was not good at all. The 18 tumors in my lungs got bigger; the good news is that there were no new ones. So my doctor recommended that I should try this drugs for lung cancer ( I forgot the name of it.) and the downside is that it’s not even approve with the kind of cancer I have, not to mention it’s very expensive. I suggested to my doctor what about going back to my original chemo drugs which is gemzar and taxotere; he said that’s a good option too. Then I went to see my second opinion doctor he’s amazing. I asked him about going back to my original chemo drugs? He agrees with me because we have seen a significant shrinkage in my lung tumors which my first doctor thought was a scarring tissue because the biopsy result was negative. I felt that he drop the ball when it comes to my treatment.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Hi! I am sending a message to Sharon from San Francisco, I would love to contact you and find out all the URL and treatment for LMS. I am new to this blog creation so I would appreciate it if you can e-mail me. clemenciawalker@yahoo.com. Thank you so much for leaving comments and really point me in the right directions.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

When I got diagnose

Before I was diagnose with cancer I participated in Seattle Marathon in November 2006. I joined Team in Training for Leukemia Lymphoma Society. I raised money for their cancer research, and at the same time this was a way of honoring my father who died of cancer. (Actually today is the day that the Seattle Marathon is being held.)

In May 1, 2007 I went to see a doctor because I woke up with a sharp pain on my pelvic which I thought was odd. She examined me and sent me to have a CT- Scan that morning and by afternoon she called my house to tell my husband that she thinks I have cancer and it metastasize to my lungs. My husband didn’t tell me until the next day.
After the initial shock wore off I immediately phone the oncologist office that my doctor recommended only to be told that he was on vacation and would not be able to see me for three weeks. Obviously three weeks was too long to wait for something this magnitude.

I called my employer to tell her the news not knowing how it would affect my employment with her. After consoling me she began making phone calls in hopes of helping me battle this illness and defeating it.
Within hours she phoned me back informing me she had talked to a specialist at Swedish hospital and that I was scheduled to see him the next day. After being examined by him and studying my CT-Scan I was diagnosed with Leiomyosarcoma and scheduled to have an operation the very next week.


I have never heard of a cancer such as this, and according to my doctor it is very rare only effecting 4 out of 1 million women. This was happening so fast that I had no time to think at all. I stayed at the hospital for four days. The recovery from the surgery was extremely painful. On May 25, 2007 I started chemotherapy. I was on Gemzar and Taxotere. After my first session with chemotherapy I was exhausted and felt so nauseated that the nausea drugs sometimes didn’t work. Two weeks later my hair started to fall off. I cried so much because reality began to sink in. I had a lot of emotional ups and downs.

I am incredibly grateful to my family especially my husband who is there for me through thick and thin, to all my good friends and last but not least my employer who’s my friend and my angel. She’s been incredibly supported to me and also very generous. I don’t know what I would do without her support. I thank her from the bottom of my heart.

Everyday is a challenge especially the side effects of the chemo drugs. I tried to fight every step of the way. I also try to be positive and look for a good thing, my situation could be worse, thank goodness that it was detected at the time that it did not do a lot of damage in my other organs.

When I first diagnosed with cancer

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Hi! I'm sorry that I have not written anything this past week, I have been so busy. Today I went to farmers market to buy organic fruits and vegetables, I am preparing to cook some of my comfort food before I go to the hospital to get my chemo, I will be there for five days. This will be my third round of chemo on a third protocol. I'm hoping that this chemo is working for me.
What helps me also is that I drink fresh vegetable and fruits juices everyday, and it get rid of my puffiness on my face quicker than before I started juicing.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Why I created this site...

When I first found out about my cancer diagnosis last year, I started researching it on the web. I couldn't believe it.... of all the cancer info sites out there, I couldn't find any real information about my rare type of cancer.

My purpose in starting this blog, is to share my experience with battling Leiomyosarcoma with others. I plan on journaling about my drug treatment plans, experiences with treatment side effects and how I deal with those side effects. Plus, I will explain the natural remedies and other advice I have gained throughout the past year and a half.

Above all else, I hope that this blog will help other Leiomyosarcoma patients relate their experience to mine and know that they are not alone in fighting this rare disease.

I would also love to get support from other people going through this, and swap ideas and stories. There is always strength in numbers, and I know I am not alone in this.

Together, we can knock out this cancer.