What does a friend say at a time like this?

March 23, 2023

I had a good meeting with Dr Robinson today.  

He told me that he has had several patients with GCT, but I am the first patient he has encountered with recurrence.

He told me that my cancer is manageable but not curable.  

He said chemotherapy is my best course of action.

He told me that I have many options with surgery as the PET does not indicate cancer in the ovary.  However, given the size of the cyst, he still recommends removal as torsion could happen at any time.
The PET scan does strongly indicate I do have a cancerous spot very low in my pelvis, possibly attached to my uterus or my lower digestive tract.  It's impossible to know from the PET scan if it can be removed or not.  

Of course, we already know the spots in the subcutaneous tissue are cancer because we biopsied them.

He said that I might be able to maintain an active lifestyle during chemo.  He said that the fact that I am active and otherwise healthy increases the chances of that. 
He has no problem with me going to Haiti - even the week after surgery or during chemo.

I signed off on the surgical release forms for having my uterus, left ovary and fallopian tube, subcutaneous tumors and the tumor in the lower pelvis removed.  However, I can change my mind, and since we're doing chemo he doesn't necessarily believe we need to do that much surgery.

Right now I am leaning towards the least amount of surgery possible and then chemo and praying that does what we need it to do.
Because GCT is such a rare form of cancer, there are not clinical trials in progress we are aware of.



March 24, 2023

Best reply to the above message:

That is a lot....Thank you for sharing with me. My love and prayers are with you and all those who love and care for you 💙

I am very confident you will make the right decisions at the right time. I know that the Lord is and will continue to lead.  

Am assuming you will still have surgery on the 14th. Am so grateful that you should be able to travel to Haiti.  Your people need you and you need them💙 You are not alone.