CA125

Wednesday February 3, 1993

I slept fitfully taking Tylenol every 3-1/2 hours all night. After my shower I feel sick and terrible with chills. I crawl back into bed for 40 minutes. Frank brings me medicine, toast and orange juice. Finally, I'm ready to go to the doctor about 9:20. I feel a little better but lay down all the way to Hollywood. They check my blood and I get my new medicine. We come right home and I go to bed. When I awake an hour later I feel some better. I come down at 1 p.m. and eat sardines and crackers.

My CA125 blood test was 1260 3 weeks ago. Normal is 30 or less. It measures cancer but not considered too reliable. This is really bad. The worst I had before was 600.

I feel pretty good at 7:00. We pick up Gary and go out for a burrito. We find Marty and Kathy there. Maria has a bad cold. Gary takes food home to her. We had a good time.

I did a little research on the blood test CA125. It actually is used to monitor ovarian cancer patients to see how well their treatment is working. But is is not a good screening test to detect ovarian cancer. MedicineNet.com says, "Some women with ovarian cancer (up to 20%) never have elevated CA 125 levels, while most women who do have elevated CA 125 levels do not have cancer. In fact, because CA 125 can be elevated in so many non-cancerous conditions, only about 3% of women with elevated CA 125 levels have ovarian cancer." Even today 20 years later there is no screening test for ovarian cancer.

Ovariancanada.org lists the most common warning symptoms of ovarian cancer:

Swelling or bloating of the abdomen
Pelvic discomfort or heaviness
Back or abdominal pain
Fatigue
Gas, nausea, indigestion
Change in bowel habits
Emptying your bladder frequently
Menstrual irregularities
Weight loss or weight gain
Mass or "lump" in your pelvis that you can feel
Inability to eat normally
Pain with intercourse
Vaginal bleeding

I Love The New Boat Shade

Thursday July 16, 1992

Slept in, resting til 7:30 a.m. Not my best morning this week. I have no energy and still have a pain in my chest for some unknown reason, right side under the breast. Maybe I pulled a muscle trying to get back into the boat. The ladder we bought just won't work on our boat. I had a terrible time getting back into the boat out in the deep water.

I love the boat shade. I have no problem riding in the boat during the heat of the day.

Maria and I help Marty and Kathy haul their stuff back to the marina. I call Chris and Justin talks to her about his new baby brother. Chris is feeling some better from her C-section.

Later, we all take a ride to Mocassin Point Marina, Donna, Bob, Heather, Dan, Gary, Maria and kids.

I can't imagine how Mom went 30 years without a shade for their boat. When Ric and I go boating on a hot day, the shade goes up first thing. It keeps us cooler and prevents sunburn. The bimini top probably looked a bit like the one pictured above. Since I wasn't on this trip, I didn't see it myself. Mom always got into the boat by stepping onto the ledge on the outboard motor just above the propeller, grabbing onto the back of the boat, and pulling herself up. She was the only one who did this and every time I would cringe. One slip and her foot would be sliced by the propeller. Everyone else got in by hoisting themselves over the side near the back of the boat, where it was just over a foot from the water. This required good upper body strength, though, something I no longer have, and neither did Mom. The boat that Ric and I use in the summer has a built-in ladder on the back, which makes it much easier to get into the boat, even from land.

The Crystal Cathedral

Friday December 27, 1991

Up early to get Chris and Ric fed and off for home at 10 a.m. Then we head for Kaiser where I have a CT scan. From there we go to Marty and Kathy's. We all leave at 4:30 for The Crystal Cathedral to see "The Glory of Christmas". It's a great show! Afterward, we all go to dinner at Baker Square. We go to Marty and Kathy's for dessert and to watch a video. It's a really nice afternon and evening.

Located in Garden Grove, California, the Crystal Cathedral is still in operation and has a congregation of over 10,000 members and the internationally televised "Hour of Power." Although not as large as the Crystal Cathedral, I recently found out that the church I attended as a teenager in the late 1960s (First Baptist Church of Van Nuys) dissolved in 1989. It seated almost 2000 at each service.

74 Year Old Rebel

Monday December 2, 1991

Well, I'm not going home today. I ate some scrambled egg and toast. Then Dr. Russack came in and decided no food or water for another day or so. Dr. Bix is not here today. I hope she'll be back tomorrow.

Just another day in paradise. Evelyn got her tubes out. We went for a walk. She stopped at the restroom and smoked a cigarette. She's a 74-year-old rebel. She knows it's against the law.

My stomach feels fine all day. I feel good. Kathy calls and may come to visit again. Frank visits from 3 to 5 p.m. I'm sure he's tired of driving over here every day.

Evelyn has trouble with controlling her bladder in the evening and dribbles from her bed to the bathroom. I can't get someone to clean it up for 2 hours. After one hour I clean it up with a towel. I'm angry. They're very busy with new patients coming in tonight.

Mom was not too patient and never did like messes.

Dinner with Marty & Kathy Murphy

Thursday October 24, 1991

Marty & Kathy Murphy have invited us to dinner tonight. We are out and about only to go to lunch. I felt ill at lunch and couldn't eat it. I spent the rest of the afternoon lying down. I guess I overdid it this morning moving all my summer clothes to the other room closet and moving all my winter clothes in. Then I went outside to water all my patio plants.

By 4:30 I'm feeling well enough to go to dinner. Kathy has prepared a lovely dinner and we really enjoy it. My appetite has really returned. We stay to watch the world series game and head home about 9:00 feeling good.

Marthy Murphy worked with mom before she retired and they both continued to be friends for many years. In fact Kathy was at mom's bedside at Kaiser Hospital in Woodland Hills almost everyday for the last 2 weeks of her life. That is a faithful friend. I heard that they moved to Arizona a few years after mom passed away, but I have been unable to find them. I love Facebook for finding old friends, but a friend with a common name like Murphy is hard to find, even if they are on Facebook, which of course many are not.

Exchanging her closet full of summer clothes for her closet full of winter clothes was indeed a big undertaking. Mom had a huge walk-in closet and it was full. One of the guest bedrooms had a closet holding all her off-season clothes, plus a rack devoted just to her square dancing outfits. Mom always loved to shop, and she usually dragged me along with her when I was a little girl. Perhaps that is why I hate to shop!

We'll Start the Diet Tomorrow!

Sunday July 21, 1991

We leave early stopping to visit Marty and Kathy Murphy and shopping before going to Henry and Jan Alent's house for dinner. We meet his daughter. She's very nice and stays for an hour or so. Jan serves us a wonderful turkey dinner and dessert. Our diet is shot but last night we ruined it with chili fries and Friday night we had Chinese dinner with Judy and Paul.

We are quite tired today. We stayed up late last night and couldn't sleep in so had about 6-1/2 hours sleep.

We're in bed at 9:30 and right to sleep.

Marty Murphy was mom's boss when she worked as a purchasing agent at a medical supply company. Never heard of Henry and Jan Alent. Perhaps they belong to their square dancing club. They made many new friends there.

Today Would Be our 40th Wedding Anniversary

Sunday June 9, 1991

If I'd stayed married to Bob Lucky, today would be our 40th anniversary. Odd huh?

We decide we need a walk so the four of us walk to Eggs & Things for breakfast. Then we window shop and head for Mervyns where we buy several things to have to lug home. It's a great walk. We all enjoy.

At home again, we relax; they pack. About 2:00 we go to the chili cook off at the church. We run into Gary and Jerilyn, friends of Donna and Bob.

We drop them at the Fly Away bus in Van Nuys at 4:30 after a stop at Trader Joe's.

We stop at Marty and Kathy's and have a wonderful visit. Later at home we snack. Breakfast really stayed with us.

Mom and Dad married June 9, 1951. Mom was 17 years old and still in high school. Her best friend Donna was already married. It was more common in the 50s to marry your childhood sweetheart, often before graduating high school. Dad owned a printing business, mom was a stay-at-home housewife until I was 12, when she got a job with the Unemployment Department for the State of California. Dad worked hard and provided a good home for us. As a 50s Dad I think he thought of himself as the provider and he never could get used to the idea of his wife getting a job outside the home. Mom was very outspoken and could be domineering. Their life together was filled with friendships, parties, and Sunday outings. I have very fond memories of my childhood. When Dad announced he was leaving her she was caught completely by surprise. I was 19. My brother Gary was 16. We were celebrating his birthday at a Mexican Restaurant when our parents broke the news to us. They were getting a divorce.