I am Karri's Abdomen!

Dear blog readers,
You absolutely DO NOT want to be Karri's abdomen right now. I am a real mess - but I am told that I am going to improve over time with chemo. When the cancer was diagnosed and I had surgery, it was discovered that the tumor had grown from the endometrial lining both into my uterus and out into the wall of my abdomen. The inner organs were removed, including parts of the liver and diaphragm and the wall of my abdomen was scraped. (The good news is that the liver will re-generate.) However, cancer cells remained embedded in the lining of the abdominal wall and continue to wreck havoc in the abdominal and gastro systems. The most obvious effect is the ascites fluid that the cancer cells produce. In my weakened state, the fluid they produce is not absorbed and circulated through the cellular and vascular systems as it should be - so it fills up in my newly vacated abdominal spaces, pressing onto the remaining organs - lungs, stomach etc. This makes Karri feel wretched and she has trouble breathing. It is also one cause of her nausea.

But Karri's nausea has other factors as well. The first is the severe gastritis that is the result of all the antibiotics and other drugs Karri was given in the hospital to combat the wound infections from surgery. If you were me, you'd be able to see her poor esophagus - it is irritated big time! The second additional cause for her nausea is the rearrangement of her innards after surgery and the major distress it caused in her gastro-intestinal system, which by the way is second in sensitivity only to the nervous system. Ouch! Finally, Karri's nausea is also caused by the two chemo drugs she is being infused with. Yup, the same ones that are going to cause her hair loss and that make her feel like she has been hit by an 18 wheeler for at least the first week after chemo every 21 days.

Sooo...what is an abdomen to do? In my case, it takes a pharmacy to heal! I am taking antacid for the gastritis, a drug to increase the ability of my intestines to function properly (they don't like digesting too well anymore - they are having to be retrained to do their job), and no less than 5 anti-nausea medications. On good days, they keep the nausea to a dull roar, on bad days I lose whatever I eat or drink every few hours. But Karri isn't a quitter, so as her abdomen, I don't have any other choice but to try and fight back right along with her. The good news is that the first round of chemo really helped with a lot of the pain, so Karri isn't having to take pain meds routinely anymore, AND the two newest (pricey!) anti-nausea meds seem to be helping turn the corner on the nausea - keep your fingers crossed for all of us. (written by Kim :)