Journal Entry #2- 12/31/05

Good news! Mom went to the doctor yesterday and found that all of her vitals are excellent and will be able to be treated with chemotherapy. Her treatments start on Tuesday morning (1/3/06) at Rahway Hospital where she is expected to stay for a few days to recoop.

I'm staying the weekend up in Sparta at Laura's house but when I get back on New Year's Day I'll try and get some pictures up. Happy New Year everyone!

Extremely Helpful Ovarian Cancer Websites

To learn about Ovarian Cancer, treatments, symptoms, new practices and studies, how to get involved and much more, please visit one of the following websites.

The National Ovarian Cancer Coalition
http://www.ovarian.org

The Ovarian Cancer National Alliance
http://www.ovariancancer.org

The Gynecologic Cancer Foundation (GCF)
http://www.thegcf.org

Johns Hopkins Univeristy Ovarian Cancer Page
http://ovariancancer.jhmi.edu/home.cfm

Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE)
http://www.facingourrisk.org/

National Ovarian Cancer Association (Canada)
http://www.ovariancanada.org/

Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF) http://www.ocrf.org/site/c.kwK0JbNTJtF/b.574943/k.CBC0/Home.htm

DOD Ovarian Cancer Research Program
http://cdmrp.army.mil/ocrp/default.htm

National Cancer Institute
http://www.cancer.gov

MAMM: A Magazine for women dealing with cancers
http://www.mamm.com

SHARE: Self-help for women with breast or ovarian cancer
http://www.sharecancersupport.org/index.php

Cancer Links: Ovarian Cancer (Another site with a huge list of links!) http://www.cancerlinks.com/ovarian.html

(NEW!!) Ovarian Cancer: Personal Stories (from the Johns Hopkins Website)
http://pathology2.jhu.edu/ovca/personal.cfm

There will be more to come!!!

Journal Entry 1: How this all began...

Earlier this fall, my mom Janice started to act a little bit out of sorts. For the past 22 years of my life, I have known my mother's routine to consist of waking at the crack of dawn, cleaning our house top to bottom, and running all over town before and after work on different errands necessary for our family. Mom did this all without breaking a sweat and without much time to rest. But sometime in November, she started to complain that she wasn't feeling well. She complained of nausea and some back pain. I should've realized right away that something was fishy because she rarely complained about being sick or tired, and if she did complain, it rarely slowed her down. Before you knew it, she wasn't running as many chores and would lie in bed for hours during the day. This NEVER happened before...ever! She would literally say "I can't believe those lunatics who lay in bed and take naps during the day!". This constant sickness and fatigue lasted for a few weeks but my mom fought it silently at home. About 2 weeks ago my mom finally revealed to the rest of us that for a few weeks her stomach had started to harden and expand. Her belly honestly made her look like she was 3 months pregnant. She had first told this to my dad and brother who convinced her to see a doctor right away. The next morning she woke in excruciating pain and was rushed over to Rahway Hospital. Three days later mom was told that she had Ovarian Cancer and had a hysterectomy.

As of today we are still waiting to find out when she will be starting chemotherapy and more specifically what kind (we will hopefully have some news on that by tomorrow). Mom is still her same old stubborn self and is ready to fight. Her strong spirit has already proven to work to her advantage because if you ask anybody that's seen her within the past week, they would all tell you that she does not look like somebody who just went through a major surgery only days ago. We're all real proud of her and will continue to be with her every step of the way.

I'll be writing again shortly! Please stay posted!