Hi Friends and Family-

I want to thank everyone for checking in on me! I cannot even begin to express how much it has meant to me and how much your support is helping my recovery.

I am now 4 weeks out from my surgery. It has been the worst experience of my life. The surgical team removed 27 tumors. They removed my omemtum, uterus, Fallopian tubes, ovaries, half of my colon, part of my bladder, and my spleen. 

Fortunately, my lymph nodes were clear of disease! And, hopefully, the hot chemo has taken care of any rogue cancer cells in my abdomen.  

Because this cancer is so aggressive and elusive to tests, I will begin a 6 month course of chemotherapy in July.  I will have a port inserted in my chest on July 1st.  

I am nervous to start the chemo because I did experience a lot of side affects from the chemo I received during surgery.  The mouth sores were awful and my hair thinned so much that I got a short haircut.  I also experienced hand and foot neuropathy.  

On top of all this, I have had to receive iron infusions due to the blood loss during the surgery.

Mercy Medical has a satellite office in Glen Burnie where I will go for my chemo.  This will be so much easier than driving into Baltimore.

The pain I am experiencing has been the biggest surprise to me. It keeps me up at night.  Reading posts on my rare disease group helps, as most people with this disease have the same issues.

I want to thank my parents. They have been completely selfless and a true testament of love and support.  They have been with me 24/7 for the past month and I can never thank them enough.

I hope to return to work as soon as I know how the chemo will affect me. I am shooting for July 15th. 

I will post again after my port is inserted! 

With gratitude,

Katherine