NYC Update

Well, NYC and MSKCC was a great experience all around. The visit to Dr. Sabbatini was enlightening and gave us hope that there are options for me in the future. The vibe was great there – everyone from the valet parker to the people who check you in to the doctors was amazing. As a result of the visit, I have decided to postpone the PARP trial and keep trying Doxil to determine if it is working for me. There is no crystal ball and so no doctors can tell me anything definitively and so it is up to me to determine the best way forward. I feel good about the decision and I had my second round of Doxil yesterday. We will know if it is working sometime near the third dose next month.

The apartment in NY was great. We had a great time there and the location was perfect (57th and 3rd Ave). We took a horse carriage ride in Central Park, saw “30 Rock”, 5th Ave shops, Ed Sullivan Theater, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Wall St, Ground Zero, Little Italy, Bryant Park, NYC Library (from Sex and the City Movie),etc. Not bad for someone who isn’t feeling the greatest. It was wonderful to get out and get some perspective in general.

So now it is a waiting game to see if the Doxil is working and to continue to take care of myself in other ways. I guess it is time to think about the holidays (yikes) and what we will be doing. We really can’t plan too ahead of time but I think it will be Michigan with Sean’s family for Thanksgiving and Christmas in Florida as usual. Sounds nice to me and I let myself plan a little just to have something to look forward to.

I am feeling pretty good considering I had chemo yesterday which is a blessing. I have a dear friend from Paris coming to visit me for two days… she is crazy. Ariane comes next Friday and leaves Sunday (I hope to get her to stay a little longer). We have a beautiful bond from spending time together in Paris years ago and I cannot wait to see her. It is heartwarming just thinking of it. I have so many friends around the world who are thinking of me and somehow I feel that this global coverage gives me some leverage here. I do feel more confident these days that I will manage with this disease and get back to some sort of normalcy in my life. Sometimes it is difficult to see in these uncertain times, but it is literally one step, one moment, one day at a time. I will wake up one of these days and say “I’ve made it”.

Love,
Marissa

NYC - Here we come!

We’re off to New York City today! My parents are meeting us there and I have an appointment at Memorial Sloan Kettering tomorrow with Dr. Sabbatini. MSK is one of the best cancer hospitals in the country and we have been wanting to go for awhile now. We decided to take a few days in New York and so we rented a two bedroom/two bath apartment in mid-town until Sunday. It is actually less expensive then two hotel rooms and the apartment is about 1300 sq ft. Should be fun!

I haven’t been out of the house much these past weeks so I am a little apprehensive about traveling and being away. Isn’t that crazy? I used to travel for my work all of the time and always loved it. I do have that excited feeling about getting on the airplane today and going somewhere different. I have been to NYC many times but Sean has not and so it will be fun to see it through his eyes.

What I hope for during this trip is to get another perspective from an expert doctor. When we realized the Carbo/taxol wasn’t working in September we talked to Dr. Sabbatini on the phone and his first comment was that I hadn’t tried that much yet in terms of treatment. From my perspective, I felt like my options were quickly running out and after I talked with Dr. Sabbatini, I felt more hope. I would also like to have some fun, take my mind off of the situation and enjoy.

As far as the Doxil is concerned, I do think it is working because I was starting to feel bloat and pain in my abdomen and now, it feels like it is loosening up a bit. I am cautiously optimistic about it as I seem to feel different day to day, but I do feel better overall. Not as good as I did this summer, but I think it is improving. This would be really incredible because then I know I have this option if the PARP doesn’t work for me.

I will give an update next week…

Love,
Marissa

P.S. Thanks so much Bonnie for the lovely flowers and to Margaret for always thinking of me and treating me to dinner every now and then!