Jane Copes Jane Snell Copes

UPDATE January 2024:  I have a reprieve with next scan scheduled for six months from now in July.  More than a year of remission is a tremendous blessing.  This is a recurrent disease, and it will return.  But not today!

UPDATE  May 2023:  Good scans in February and April, minimal drug side effects, steady blood test numbers -- it all sounds like remission for these last six months.  Next scan is in July.  Meanwhile, we celebrity your friendship, more dancing, and the garden season!

January 2023: Three years into this voyage, and this month's PET scan again looks good.  There is no collection of cells that look "avid," or overly happy to take up labeled glucose.  Will continue another three months with an oral drug (no side effects so far) and continue to celebrate being well.  If you look back at these updates, you will detect good news coming and going.  Not surprising.  Hard times will come again eventually.  But for now, we sing and dance and keep on.

UPDATE October 2022:  Now we combine my feeling strong and well with a new maintenance drug and a break from the heavy and frequent chemotherapy.  Scans and decisions will come in  January 2023 unless the drug is totally awful.  This is not a cure.  There probably is no cure, but I'm able to dance and think and plan ahead and send gratitude to the Universe.

MAY 2022:  November through April with a "maintenance" drug brings us to .  .  . a PET scan and more chemotherapy infusions for the next three months.  This is part of my life but not all of it.

UPDATE DECEMBER 2021:  Six months of heavy drug infusions have brought us to No Evidence of Disease!  Scans early this month look good, and blood work looks good.  We continue with several more infusions of a drug whose job is to keep cancer cells from building up the blood supply they love to have.  Will take another scan look in February.  Celebrate with us!

UPDATE JUNE 2021:  Spring 2021 has brought several occasions of pleural effusions (fluid around my right lung), which have been painful and concerning.  Scans of many kinds have been inconclusive, but an abdominal biopsy in June shows cancer cells like those of the original tumor.  We resume drug infusions once a month for six cycles.  Perhaps it will be easier this time.  

UPDATE AUGUST 2020:  Got the all-clear from my surgeon.  Scans look completely normal, and drug therapy is done for now.  If we can get genetic testing results (complicated because few cancer cells were available from surgery), we may have more to do.  But good for now!!  Celebrate with us.

DECEMBER 2019:  We are starting a voyage to survive metastatic ovarian cancer, just diagnosed in December 2019.  We know it will be heavy sledding ahead for us.  There's no way to make it sound easier, except that your love and care keep us buoyed up.  Thank you for visiting!  Jane and Larry