OC stands for Ovarian Cancer (not that awful TV show that pops up on MTV every so often!).
First post in my new online diary. Hell, maybe I'll publish it if I'm still alive at 40!
I'm 35 now and was originally diagnosed with stage 3c Ovarian Cancer in January 2004, when I was 31 coming up on 32.
Had 7 cycles of chemotherapy (carboplatin) and a total radical hysterectomy (and I've got the scar to prove it - I'll post a photo sometime to scare people with!). That got shut of the stuff for 12 months, then it came back so we tried carboplatin combined with Gemcitabine. That didn't last long due to allergic reaction to Carboplatin, so it was onto Caelyx last year. That lasted six months after finishing so we tried cisplatin. Inpatient overnight stays every three weeks - SUCH a fun way to spend summer! And on top of all that, all it did was stop the damned cancer for a mere two months, so as of 17th September this year I am back on the Caelyx again *sigh*.
The hope is that Caelyx will shrink it enough to give Tamoxifen the three months it needs to kick in and stabilise the damned tumours - at the start of chemo this time I have four. Hopefully the smallest has expired (can't feel it anymore up by my spleen so fingers crossed) and the other three are shrivelling up in a hideous and hopefully painful (for the tumour!) manner. As my oncologist said, we aren't curing it now we're controlling it, but frankly that'll do for me - its been 4 years now since the symptoms first showed up and so far so good, its still here but its still limited to my abdominal cavity and hasn't metastatised (probably spelt that wrong) anywhere else which is just as well as otherwise I probably wouldn't have made it to 35!

Just want to write a diary - been meaning to do this since 2004 and I'm more likely to stick to writing it if it's online rather than just buried in the depths of my PC. Hell, still ain't finished my half-completed novel from last years NaNoWriMo and this year's starts in November 8|

So, this might be funny, there will probably be quite a bit of ranting on it depending how many times lately my mother's phoned to make sure I ain't keeled over dead overnight, or I might just end up waffling on about what I'm reading/knitting/crochetting/watched on TV lately or what stupid idiot thing my cats have done lately. Probably mostly the latter - obviously can't have kids (not that I ever wanted them - uck!) as now missing several fairly vital bits so my cats are the nearest I'll ever get to babies!

Unless my sister finally gets round to providing me with nieces/nephews - if she does I'm going to get a half-open zip tattoeed down my scar and pretend to unzip my stomach to scare them! Should be a laugh :D

What are aunties for but warping the next generation, huh? Apart from feeding the kids full of sugar & E numbers til they are bouncing off the walls, that is. As my brother in law does to his nieces now - look out Dave revenge will come!

Anyway need to keep my typing speed up whilst off on the sick both for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and for when I get the damn chemo over with and can go back to work next year. Have to live up to my reputation as fastest typist in the West, after all!

Anyroad, reckon that's a long enough first entry complete with adding scary photo to profile - eek, run for the hills! IT'S ALIVE!!

Must try and remember to post every day - set a reminder mebbe, hmmm...