3.5 year post chemo follow up

Today I had my 6 month followup, which marks 3 and a half years since the end of standard chemotherapy. Because I packed the CT and exam into the same day, the official CT reading was not back yet. But reviewing it with my doc, the usual ambiguities apply but the exam was good. Last CA-125 was 2 months ago and still hanging at 5.6 (anything below about 30 is within normal limits). Next CT and exam in two months - which puts them in December in between my birthday and Christmas. What a busy month!

April 11, 2013 - last every 3 month follow up

Today I again had a CT scan, physical exam and CA-125 blood test as part of my last routinely schedule every 3 month follow up exam. This marks 3 years from the end of the platinum (routine) chemotherapy, and 2 years since the end of the investigational Avastin therapy. All results were clean! CT and exam unchanged, CA-125 remains 5!!!! This means my follow up drops to half - an exam, blood test and CT every 6 months for the next two years. I still have my port, which needs to be flushed every month or, when it fails to flush easily like today, every 2 weeks. But if that becomes an inconvenience or limiting for a job, the doc says we can consider taking it out. (probably unless there are problems it would stay in place for another 2 years or more). So that is all great news! And means that now I have to get serious about losing all the chemo weight instead of, whenever confronted by chocolate, just deciding it does not matter because what if I pass up this perfectly good chance to eat chocolate and then discover at my next follow up visit that my cancer is back? Well it was a good excuse while it lasted.

Next to last highest risk period check up Jan 3

Still a clean bill of health. Doc says recurrence almost univerisally within the first 3 years after finishing platiunum based chemo. For me that will end mid-late April. So only one more follow up during the highest risk period for recurrence, then follow up drops to every 6 months. Fingers crossed.