Vicki Volick

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The last 3 weeks have been a whirlwind of events that we never thought would be a part of our lives.  Since Christmas I have been feeling extremely tired.  Didn't think much of it because the holidays are exhausting, I am getting older and January is always my busy time of year at work.  We planned to leave the first of February to go to my "Eden"  for the month of February.  I was looking forward to leaving because it's so relaxing for me in Utah.  The week before we left I just wasn't feeling myself and I had some shooting pains but still didn't think much of it either because it would come and go.  I even had my  annual physical the end of January and everything was fine and all blood test came back with good results so again I passed it off as just getting older and I needed a break.  We left first of February and our good friends came with us to ski for 5 days.  We skied several days in a row and by the end of each day I was exhausted but thought I am so out of shape and it's to be expected.  But I also notice that I was gaining weight and my abdomen was swelling which was strange because Tom and I had cut sugar out of our diet and we were eating very healthy.  By the forth day of skiing I took one run and could hardly make it back to the lift.  I told Tom at that time I thought something was wrong and I needed to go to the ER.  I thought maybe I had an ulcer or something wrong with my stomach.    We went to the ER in Ogden Utah and they did blood test which all came back normal but the Dr. felt something was wrong and he did a CT Scan.  He had to deliver the bad news.  I had many tumors in my abdomen and it did not look good.  He was the most compassionate Dr., he hugged me, cried with us and stayed with us while we digested the news.  He said this is very serious and I needed to see an oncologist ASAP (he had already set an appt for me for the next day in Utah).  We decided to pack up and come home the next day.  Tom has been very proactive and he knew my uncle has been very involved in the cutting edge medical industry so he contacted him,  Tom sent him my scans and he immediately took action and said you need to come to MD Anderson.  He has been on their board since the 80's.  He talked to several of the Doctors and showed them my scans and within 24 hours he set me an appointment.  So for the last 3 weeks we have been to Houston for many tests, scans, biopsy and draining the fluid (5 liters!).  At this point they feel like it's Ovarian Cancer stage 3 and has spread to many areas in my abdomen.  My doctor was hoping to do surgery to remove the tumors first but I have one that is intertwined in my lower intestines so that one is impossible to remove right now.  The plan of action is to do 9 weeks of Chemo, Surgery and then 9 more weeks of Chemo.  The best part of getting into MD Anderson is they are cutting edge and want me to get into a clinical trial.  We are just waiting to hear if my insurance will allow me to be a part of it.  This brings us up to date and we are just waiting on the results of the biopsy and waiting on the approval from my Insurance.  As soon as we hear, I will start the 9 weeks of chemo.  Please pray that these treatments will kill and shrink the turmors so that the Doctor can remove them in 9 weeks.  Also please pray for my family....this is so hard for everyone, not just me. 

I appreciate everyone's love and concern and PRAYERS.  I know miracles happen and I will be one!  Tom and Alison will be posting updates and keeping everyone informed as soon as we know anything.  I love you all and know we will all grow spiritually through the hard days ahead of us.