Beth Watts

Friends
Some of you know the full story about Beth's cancer and some don't.  I'll give you a brief overview.  In July 2014,a CT scan revealed 2 large masses in Beth's abdomen--one the size of a grapefruit and the other a baseball.  On August 13, 2014, she underwent a total hysterctomy at which time they confirmed that she had stage 3 C ovarian cancer.  About 4 weeks after that surgery she began an 18 week regimen of chemo, one infusion per week.  In early January 2015, after the 18 treatments, a PET scan revealed that the treatment had not been successful so she began a new 3 month treatment regimen of chemos every other week. In April 2015 another PET scan at the end of this process indicated very little progress.  She then took an oral chemo agent for 2 months without any signs of improvement.  At this stage, in May 2015, she transferred her care over to the Moffiitt cancer center,  an NCI Designatd cancer center in Tampa and is the only NCI designated center in Florida.  In June 2015, she took a brief break from chemo but in July they discoverd another tumor.  She started another 3 month regimen of weekly chemos.  In October, it was determined that this regimen had not stop the tumor growth.  She was then enrolled in a clinical trial for a promising new immunotherapy drug called Keytruda.  This drug was very helpful for several types of cancer and she was the first ovarian cancer patient in the US to get this drug.  Unfortunately, in March 2016, after 6 months of chemo with the new drug, it was concluded that it had not worked either. She then began an new regime with an oral chemo agent.  We are now hoping that it will stop the tumor growth.  Unfortunately, during this time, the tumor grew enough to begin to put pressure on her internal organs.  She has little to no normal bladder function and the most recent event was the bowel blockage.  She had the colon resection on April 25, 2016 and is now recovering.  She is also in considerable pain so tomorrow, April 27, they will install an internal pain pump.  She has been an unbelievable and inspairational fighter.  She doesn't let it get her down too much and now she tells everybody that she "brownies to bake and castles to explore" --all for her beloved grandchildren.  If your inclined to, please say a prayer for her.  She fully believes that her life is in God's hands and that is what sustains her through all of this.  What an incredible trouper who we love with all of our hearts. God Bless her!!!