[2021-02-11] Phase 3
Phase 3 of my treatment starts tomorrow. I will begin taking olaparib (marketed under the name Lynparza). This drug helps to kill cancer cells, as I explained in Carrying on, and is considered a maintenance therapy following surgery (Phase 1) and chemotherapy (Phase 2).
In advance of starting the new medication, I did blood work at The Ottawa Hospital today and received the results via the MyChart app this afternoon. Reading lab results is like looking at a report card.
Perhaps most positive is that my CA125 remains low. This is the measure of Cancer Antigen 125 in my blood; anything below 35 is normal. Before chemotherapy, my CA125 was quite high: 920 on July 29 and 862 on September 24. Since the start of chemotherapy, my CA125 has dropped considerably: 19 on December 3, 10 on January 14 and 8 today.
Also positive is that my level of neutrophils has risen to 1.6, which, while still below the normal range of 2.0 to 7.5, is the highest it's been since September. Similarly, my white blood cell count is at 3.0, which is also slightly below the normal range of 3.5 to 10.5 but, again, is the highest it's been since September. All other results—with the exception of platelets and hematocrit, which are slightly low—are within the normal range.
With these results in hand, oncology nurse Jacinthe gave me the green light to start taking olaparib. She indicated that the most common side effect that other patients report is nausea, for the first month. The list of potential side effects is much longer, but I'll wait to see how I do.
Today's results bring to mind a quote a friend sent me the other day. It seems appropriate. "Trust your journey. Your speed doesn't matter. Forward is forward."
