The chemotherapy treatments I have been using are not working, and since I have completed my third chemo cocktail, I am eligible for the new Olaparib drug that just became available this February. My genes keep repairing the cancer genes in my body, because that is what the Brcha gene does. So now this drug is supposed to stop that repair from happening, which means hopefully the cancer will stop spreading.
I pray this drug works. It is 8 pills in the morning and 8 pills at night. I am terrible at remembering to take pills, so I am going to be sure to set alarms for myself. I was kind of looking forward to this treatment because the last, Doxil, was not very good. I had huge blisters on my feet and in the last few weeks I developed huge mouth sores. I had blisters all over the roof of my mouth and every food tastes spicy. I usually love spicy food, but my mouth was on fire with almost every food I ate. Including plain old crackers just this last Tuesday. I am still looking forward to this treatment in hopes that it will keep me alive and all. But with every drug there are the dreaded side effects. Here they are: diarrhea, nausea, and Leukemia. Yes, Leukemia. 2% of participants in the trial ended up with Leukemia. When I heard that, it was like a punch to the gut. I do not even want to think about getting Leukemia on top of the Ovarian.
So here I am on the eve of this new drug. Hoping the side effect of diarrhea does not happen in the middle of my social studies class tomorrow!