Sunday, November 29, 2015

Update:Lynparza. Magic Bullet?

Hello everyone. Hope you all had a lovely holiday.
I did. Except for the sleeping part, which apparently I do quite a bit of now that I've started Lynparza as my main defense against ovarian cancer.

My package of pills arrived via FedEx last week from a pharmacy in North Carolina. Only a handful of pharmacies in the states dispense this drug so it must be shipped.
I began them the following day after filling up my pill dispenser so I won't forget to take a dose.
They are a white capsule that go down easily. Which is good, because I have to take 16 of them daily. I take 8 in the morning and 8 more, roughly 12 hours later. I'm trying to stay within the same time frame at least with an hour leeway either way.

Lynparza was fairly recently approved here in the US for treatment of ovarian cancer for BRCA positive women who have had 3 or more different types of chemo in past treatment. Lynparza is classified as a PARP inhibitor. Skipping a bunch of long-winded medical jargon here, it works directly on the DNA of the mutated cells to prevent them from repairing themselves, thus causing them to die. Which is the goal. Cancer cells being the damned little mutants that don't need to be going forth and multiplying.

 I never did get my CA-125 down to 35. Not quite. Stuck at 40 last time it was checked, though I was assured that 40 was really no worse than 38. But it matters a great deal to me.
 Dr. B. decided to give me a break from the in-hospital chemo sessions, and started me on the Lynparza  which will hopefully drop that number for me.

My biggest side effect issues right now are extreme fatigue, (I'm talking 4 hour naps here) and increasing shortness of breath on exertion. The daytime napping naturally leaves me with insomnia at night. Which is now becoming problematic as it is difficult for me to get things done.

The shortness of breath is definitely not good either. I can't climb stairs without stopping halfway and sometimes even walking from room to room leaves me exhausted. I'm going to set small goals for myself. Like writing this blog update. Only began it 3 hours ago but I am seriously tired here so I've taken frequent breaks to lie down.

Now true, It's not like I've written my college thesis here, but I really feel like I've accomplished my goal today as soon as I hit publish. Maybe tomorrow I'll manage to get dressed.

Update completed.
Goal completed.
Have a wonderful evening all. Blessed to be here!
Love,
Dixie
My Thanksgiving Day photo complete with new hairdo thanks to Keri!


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