Options

A person needs to know they have options. Whether it be schooling, career, or health....options give us hope.

So, I visited my oncologist last week to discuss my options. First of all, I needed to be clear about where the cancer had exactly recurred.

Dr. C described the area of all the tumor growth as the subcutaneous tissue outside my abdomen. "You mean I have cancer of my fat??", I asked. She replied flaty, "No, you have ovarian cancer. "It just happens to have recurred (as you so eloquently put it).. in the fat." "Can I have liposuction?", I asked. "No, Ramona......liposuction is not considered a cancer treatment." I was a bit deflated. I thought I was onto something there for a minute.

She pulled out a list of treatments and from the top, she read the list of possibilities I could try for my new chemotherapy, As she went down the list, it seemed as though I could have very easily just been ordering a meal from a menu.....I surveyed the information, and finally decided on Carboplatin with a side of Doxil...... "Are you sure you wouldn't like to try the Taxol?" she asked. "No thanks. I'm keeping the hair this time around."

So, in a couple of weeks, we will begin...again.

When I returned from the doctor's office, my family opened a bottle of champagne....to celebrate the fact that I still have options.....and with options, I have hope.