One Down, 3-5 to Go

Short update that I had my first chemo on Thurs. April 11th and am happy to report no reactions so far!!!  I must admit I was apprehensive that morning, but was immediately put at ease when I was greeted in the waiting room with open arms from the receptionist, James, and then my nurse.  From that point on, I felt no fear.  It was like a reunion to see all the wonderful smiling faces of the infusion nurses.  The initial chemo took a little longer (3.5 hours) because of the new drug, they must infuse slower to watch for allergic reactions.  It really went well and it was entertaining to watch the "Kool Aid" colored Doxil go in!  Felt like a party!

So now for two days I take the Dexamethasone and Reglan to help control allergic reaction and nausea/digestion.  Next chemo is scheduled for May 9th.  Dr. Chen has ordered 6 infusions, I thought it was only 4, so guess we'll be negotiating down the line!!!

Yesterday was John's 68th birthday!  He will be forever young!!  He celebrated in the morning with a 55 mile bike ride using his birthday present, a new cycle computer.  He came home with a big smile on his face!  We ran some errands in the afternoon and then celebrated with Chelsea at home.  John BBQ'd his favorite salmon and we made shrimp caesar salads, quinoa and asparagus.  Wine and champagne were the libations and carrot cake for dessert!  Our neighbors Jan & Dave stopped by with  a ribbon wrapped bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale!  It was a great day!  Happy Birthday to the best husband in the world, I love you so much!

Thanks for checking in!

The Plan

Thank you everyone for the calls, cards, emails, flowers, dinners, caregiving, ongoing love and support you have shown me and my family.  I am surrounded by so much love it's amazing!!

My surgery went well.  Dr Chen was very pleased when he went in--he was able to remove both tumors and scar tissue on my right side, probably from the IP port I had two years ago.  He was very pleased there was no "sprinkling" of visible cancer.  Although the smaller tumor was against my colon, it had not penetrated, so no resection was necessary!!  I spent three nights in the hospital and then was released on Day 4 for good behavior!!!  I must say, El Camino Hospital is ***** 5 STAR!  The staff are incredible and so friendly-loved them all.
My first week home was a little rough, but once I stopped the pain meds, my stomach felt better and I have been getting stronger everyday.

John flew to Austin, Texas over the Easter weekend to meet our new grandson, Felix!!!  It was a wonderful opportunity for John to spend time with Jonathan, Emily & Felix, and spend time with his two sisters, Anita and Liga.  Anita hosted a fabulous Easter luncheon at her home with all the family


   

Another Adventure 2013

I know it's been one and half years since my last post!!  We have been BUSY!!  I continued with the Avastin Clinical trial receiving an infusion of Avastin every three weeks until July 5, 2012!  During that year I spent a lot of time at the gym, rebuilding my strength and spending quality time with family and friends.  On April 5, 2012 we were blessed with our first grandchild, Matilda (Jennifer and Kyle)  We visited her in Boston in May and immediately fell in love!!

Three days after my last infusion July 5th, we flew to Europe. We spent ten days in Croatia for the wedding of Chelsea's childhood friend, Adrianna Marin.

Our two months in France with our friends, Janis & Tom Henderson, included several bike trips on our tandem, and a week running around in Germany including a couple days with our old friend Ingrid Aestal and her children, Jenny & Kevin, hiking in Garmisch and celebrating where John and I met and fell in love over 20 years ago!

We returned Sept 5th for my 6 ms. CT scan and again it was CLEAR!!  Now we were ready to begin our training for the Grand Canyon, which we did in October with the support of our cruising friends, Colleen and Bill Bouchard and my son Ryan.  We completed the Rim to Rim to Rim, hiking a total of 42 miles over a weekend (21 miles South to North Rim, two overnight rest and return 21 miles North to South Rim)

This was definitely a check off the old bucket list!!!
We were blessed with our second grandchild, Felix, on Dec. 9, 2012 (Jonathan and Emily)

Now we have one of each!!
We celebrated Christmas with our kids, Ryan, Chelsea, Jenn (Kyle) and Matilda here in our little condo--it was busting at the seams but so fun to be together for Matilda's First Christmas!

Dec. 28th I had my chemo power port removed at El Camino Hospital.  It was a personal choice as I wanted to be able to travel without having to have the port flushed every three weeks.
January 8, 2013 we flew to Tampa, Florida and on Jan 9th, we bought our l/y Don't Look Back (that's land yacht) a 2007 40' Tiffin Phaeton RV and her 'toad' a 2009 Honda CRV to begin our next adventure, land cruising!!  We are blessed to have such great friends, Al & Gayla Arnold, who stored our new l/y in their driveway in St. Petersburg so we could fly home to pack!!!!

We spent the next three weeks packing, organizing, and moving Chelsea into our condo.  We flew to Tampa on Jan 31st with our load!!

 The first week of February was spent provisioning our rig with our "must haves"and enjoying time with the Arnold's.  We departed St. Pete's on Feb 10 for our first voyage!  We drove to Punta Gorda where we parked in the cul-de-sac of our friends, Steve  & Judi Ferguson(our first buddy boat when we crossed to the Bahamas in 2008), and spent four days biking, eating, and catching up!

Next stop was Pine Island, Ft. Myers, Fl.  We stayed in our first KOA campground, biking around the area and driving to Ft. Myers Beach for lunch with old cruising buddies, Sally & Conrad s/v It's About Time, Kathie & Charlie s/v My Time Too and Lee s/v Sporting Lee!  It was so fun to reminisce about the fun times we had in Vero Beach and the Bahamas!

Next stop Aztec RV Resort, Margate (Ft Lauderdale)  What a beautiful resort, complete with two pools, tennis, pickleball courts, horseshoes, full service gym with trainer, and all Class A rigs.  A large French Canadian community and a great American English Group(AEG) fill the Resort.  Each site is large and fully equipped.

We made two trips to Miami to see cruising friends.  Lunch with Jane and Roger s/v Sereno 55 at a local Cuban Restaurant was a real treat!
Our next visit was brunch at the Greenstreet Cafe in Coconut Grove with Dorene and George s/v Delicia.  So fun to catch up with both couples!

It was very exciting to tune in the TV to the show "Criminal Minds" on Feb 20th and see my son, Ryan Caltagirone on the episode titled "Broken"!!  So proud of him!
Feb 28th we put the rig in a storage area of the resort so we could fly back to Calif. for my 6 mos. CT scan, my 59th birthday, my daughter Chelsea's 30th birthday and the wedding of our good friend, David Lind.  Chelsea's friends threw her a surprise party on a Cable Car in SF complete with bar and we were lucky to be invited!  The theme was 1980's so it was fun to see the different outfits!
What a fabulous week with all these celebrations!!!

Which brings us to present!  Unfortunately, my CT scan came back with the growth of two small tumors in the same area of my Ovarian cancer two years ago.  After a long consult with my GYN Oncologist, Dr. Dwight Chen, I will have surgery tomorrow March 18th at 11:00am at El Camino Hospital in Mt. View.  Dr. Chen will do an exploratory laparatomy, opening my original incision, removing the tumors and perimeters and doing debridement.  If there is any bowel involvement, he will do a resection.  I will probably be in the hospital for a week, then depending on the results, possibly chemo again.  Needless to say, we were disappointed with the news, but our spirits are high and we are determined to meet this challenge head on so we can hurry up and get back to our  'Next Adventure' in the RV in Florida!!  I have the best family, friends and greatest husband and I know I am a very lucky girl. Thank you all for the prayers, love, calls, dinners, and show of support to me and my family.  Keep me in your prayers and I'll look forward to posting I am Cancer Free again real soon!

I am Cancer Free!!!

Hi Everyone!
I apologize for being so tardy in posting, but it's been a busy month!  We have spent the last three weeks moving into our new home!  We love it!!!
Our first night spent here was with our good friends, Janis and Tom Henderson from Boston/France.  They were on a West Coast trip, beginning with our daughter Jenn's wedding.  We celebrated with champagne on the patio and dinner, then we were all in bed by 9:00pm!!  It was wonderful to share this memory with special friends and now they will be able to relate when we talk about our home.

My last chemo treatment was Thurs. Sept 8th!  We brought brownies to celebrate!  All my girls there have been special and although I am glad it's behind me, I will still be receiving Avastin infusions every three weeks, so I get to see the girls!! And Al !! Special thanks to James, the receptionist!  Here's some pictures of them!

Monday Sept 12th was my CT scan at PAMF Mt. View Center.  It's the first time I have had any medical appt. that I was taken, the test completed and released before the time my appt was to begin!!
Tuesday Sept. 13th our new livingroom furniture was delivered!  It's beautiful and I promise to post a video when the pictures get hung.  Chelsea came for dinner that night.  We got a phone call that her grandmother, my ex mother in law, had been diagnosed with liver/lung cancer and she was not doing well.  Chelsea and I drove up to her home that night in Santa Rosa.  Annabelle Caltagirone passed away the next morning with her two children, Cindy & Gary, Chelsea and myself by her side.  It was so sad, but so peaceful and she didn't suffer.  Here is a great picture of her with Cindy, Ryan and Chelsea at Ryan's 30th birthday in July!

Thursday Sept. 15 was my appt. with Dr Chen for my scan results!!  My blood pressure was up a bit, but maybe I was nervous?  Also, it's a side effect from the Avastin.  Dr. Chen said my scan was clean!  WOO-HOO!!  I asked, does that mean I'm gonna be ok?  He answered, you're not gonna, YOU ARE!!!
We will continue in the clinical trial with the Avastin (Cycle 7 after this appt) until next July.  It's a failsafe and will prevent capillaries from feeding any possible tumors in the future.  I am a happy girl!!!
We celebrated with a picnic lunch in the Cuesta Park before my Avastin infusion, which only took a total of one hour with pre and post port flushing and 30 min. Avastin infusion--what a piece of cake!  Thank you to all my wonderful nurses at PAMF Mt. View Infusion Center.  After the infusion we talked to Katie, our clinical trial coordinator.  I asked if it was ok to say cancer free, she replied, your scan shows no evidence of disease, you ARE cancer free!!!
I must say, I have never slept better in the past week!  I am slowly gaining more energy, celebrating everyday how lucky I am to have all you wonderful friends and family in my life!!  I could not have done this without your ongoing support and cheering!
We celebrated Annabelle Caltagirone's life on Wed. Sept 21st here's a picture with my two beautiful children, Chelsea and Ryan.

I have joined the 24 Hour Fitness Super Sport and will begin some personal training sessions next week with a gal that has worked with cancer patients.  I look forward to rebuilding my strength and to be back riding our tandem bicycle next summer in France!!!
I will continue to update after each Avastin treatment and keep you posted!  Thanks for the love!

Busy is Good!

Hey Everyone, will try to catch up the last three weeks events.  Our daughter, Jenn Viksne, arrived during my infusion appt on Aug. 4th.  John picked her up after getting me settled.  It was so fun to see her and we enjoyed catching up on all the wedding plans.  Jenn and Chelsea had a ball together, as they get older, the five year age difference disappears!  We had dinner at our favorite Celia's.

Sat. I attended a Memorial for a high school friend, Johnny Schmidt.  It was like a high school reunion and we enjoyed sharing stories of Johnny and catching up.  My friend Karen Horn Cooper drove me and we ended the evening with dinner at Vivace with our friend Joyce Rolletto Faulknor.  It was so fun!

Sunday we had a small wedding shower for Jenn at Lisa's Tea Adventures in Menlo Park.  It was so fun to play dress up and enjoy the dainty sandwiches and different teas, not to mention the desserts!  Might be what's attributed to my healthy weight gain!  Afterwards, Chelsea, Jenn and I went to Stanford Mall and found her blue shoes and make up for the wedding.  Love my daughters being here together!

We enjoyed giving Jenn a keepsake necklace from us before the wedding and were thrilled that she liked it.
Jenn and John enjoyed a bike ride, and a couple good hikes at WaterDog Lake and Old La Honda.
I laid low a couple days due to fatigue.  Amazing how it catches up with you, but also in talking to my chemo nurse, she assured me it's a normal reaction at this point of my treatment.  I just slept a lot and rested and Tues. we were out to IHOP and Wed. we had a nice lunch together before Jenn flew to Oregon to meet her fiance Kyle.
Sunday John and I began our road trip to Oregon.  The ride through the Presidio SF was so beautiful with the fog layering the spans of the GG Bridge.  We stopped for breakfast in Novato, where else, IHOP!!  We had promised my nurse we would stop every two hours for me to stretch my legs.

We had a picnic lunch along the river in a campground.  The sun was shining and it smelled so fresh out.  I believe my senses for nature are so keen now--I appreciate the flowers and trees so much more.  We took the 32 mile drive through the Avenue of the Giants and loved the big redwoods.
We spent the night in Fortuna, Ca. because the hotels were booked in Ferndale, but we drove there and walked around town looking at the Victorians and enjoyed yogurt at a local shop.  We met two gals working at a boutique and they gave us a name of a great local Mexican restaurant in Fortuna.  We did go there for dinner and it was awesome.
After breakfast we were on the road again,  now speeding along the coastal route-it was gorgeous!  We picked up wraps at a market and had a picnic lunch along a beach.

 Priceless views!  The climb through the mountains to Oregon was breathtaking.  It's such a beautiful drive up Highway 101, you must do it!!
Following Jenn's directions, we took the 7 Devils Highway to Charleston, but were amazed at how rural it was, unpaved, gravel and steep grades.  We found out later we took the OLD 7 Devils, and that ran into the NEW 7 Devils!!!  We arrived in Coos Bay and after passing it twice, we found our beach house in Charleston.  We were really pleased with our choice and the view from the entire back of the house, including our master suite, was breathtaking of the ocean!  We saw a whale the first day!!!
After unpacking, we drove to the Casino and picked up our son Jonathan.  He spent the afternoon with us hiking around and we had a nice dinner together.  He checked out of his hotel the next day and spent the remainder of his time with us.
Jenn and Kyle's beach house was just across the street, so we were able to work on wedding things easily.

Wed. night was the Meet and Greet the Parents dinner at the Tide Waves restaurant.  It was fun to meet Kyle's family and see Jenn's mom Janet and meet her husband Ed.

Thursday morning we shopped for groceries for the Viksne Family dinner that night.  In the early afternoon Jenn, her college roommate Danni, Jonathan, John and I went for a tour of the Coquille Tribe Plank House and grounds.  Kyle is a member of the tribe, so Jenn will be a spouse of the tribe.  She worked for the Tribe four years ago as an Archeologist.  We visited the Bastendorff Beach where the Rehearsal Bonfire would be held Friday night.
Throughout the afternoon, everyone arrived.  Chelsea, Janis and Tom Henderson drove down from Portland Airport.  Anita Viksne Davis and our nephew Joe Byrne arrived from Eugene Airport.
Along with Jenn and her two bridemaids Danni & Monica, we had a beautiful dinner of BBQ pork tenderloin and London Broil, baked potatoes with all the fixings, salad, bread, spinach dip, hummus, sauteed mushrooms and onions and ice cream for dessert.  It was fun to catch up with everyone!!  My sister Debbie and David arrived about 10:30 that night and enjoyed leftovers!!
My son, Ryan, wasn't able to attend as he had booked and filmed a commercial for Verizon all that day and Friday.  While disappointed, we were thrilled he got an acting job.
The Bonfire Party was a hit!!  Although the weather had been foggy and windy, it was really nice at the beach that night and the huge bonfire kept us warm.  We had sausages on a stick, the best fried chicken and potato and macaroni salad, pesto salad and watermelon.  Dessert was S'mores!!!  And so fun making them yourself!  A Viksne tradition was performed that night.  John's sister Liga writes a song about the Bride and Groom and we sing it!  It was a lot fun and Jenn and Kyle were definitely thrilled.

I was especially happy to be able to stay at the beach the entire evening!
Saturday everyone helped set up for the reception.  Jenn and Kyle had changed the location from our beach house yard to theirs as it was more protected from the wind and better access from the kitchen to the yard.  I laid low that morning, but everyone else enjoyed helping with the flowers, tables and linens.  As my daughter Chelsea said, you really felt like part of their wedding by participating!  The ceremony was magical!  Jenn and Kyle had so many little personal touches throughout the day.  The fog seemed to lift during the ceremony and recede back so the photos were perfect lighting~after the ceremony, we were served champagne, sparkling cider and three wheels of different cheeses that the kids love.  It

was a chance to visit with people while the wedding party took photos.  When they wanted different families for photos, we just walked across the street.  The reception began at 3:00pm and was perfect!  We danced, the food was prepared by their friend Chris, who teaches at the Culinary Institute!  He even made an ice carving of an octopus at Jenn's request!!

The cake was spice, yellow and chocolate cherry!!  I ate a piece of each!!!  That probably again has attributed to my weight gain!!!  At dark, Jonathan lit 108 luminary bags along the yard--it was magical!

We later changed into warmer clothes and continued dancing until about 9:00.  We left the kids still partying at that time and called it a night!  They had a ball!!
Sunday was a lay low day, just relaxing.  We combined both houses food and Tom Henderson managed to make an excellent meal along with clam chowder from the Tide Waves restaurant.  It was fun to have all the kids for dinner and all that leftover cake!
Monday we said our goodbyes after a hike down to the beach below our house.  We drove back Highway 5 marveling at the view of Mt Shasta as we entered Calif.  We drove to my brother Bill's house in Anderson, Ca and spent the night.  We enjoyed catching up, seeing my nephew Michael, Angela and their five kids!  After they left, we went out for burgers.  In the morning, we had coffee in their gorgeous garden while Kathy made us blueberry pancakes with homemade blueberry syrup.  It was a nice ending of our trip.  We made it back to San Mateo by 2:30.
My doctor appt. yesterday was great, just a little infection in an old laparoscopy incision, so they have removed the scab and filled it with incision glue and I'll take another ten days of antibiotics.
Yesterday was my last "big chemo" of taxol, carboplatin & Avastin.  I had to laugh, they had to increase the Avastin due to my weight gain!!  Ok, I started tracking my food again!  It seems my taste buds are affected now and the only thing I taste well is sweets!!!  Chemo went well though and I now have the date for my CT Scan~Sept. 12th. and I continue with just Avastin on Sept. 15th and continue every three weeks!  That will be a new life for us.  We enjoyed the road trip to Oregon so much we are talking about where else we want to travel to!!

Today, we do the walk through on our condo, it's been cleaned and carpets are done, so we will receive the remaining keys to the pools and John plans to start working on some projects this afternoon.  I will start lining the shelves and we hope to be sleeping there by the end of next week.
This blog was a bit long, but so many fun things to share, thanks for checking in!!