Hi! My name is Lori and I was born in 1960. I married my high school sweetheart and had two children with my DH, a boy and a girl. I also have a grandaughter born in 1999 who is the light of my life!
I work as a Human Resources Manager in a large manufacturing plant. I have been in the HR field for the last 18 years. My hobbies include spending time with my grandaughter, movies, gardening and of course basket collecting (hence my username).
My gyn history was very uneventful until I turned about 37. Every month my periods got harder and longer. Once the severe clots and anemia started I knew it was time to do something. I also had problems with some urinary stress incontinence. My GYN suggested a TAH along with a Burch Repair. I agreed, and it was performed on September 17, 2001. My GYN and I both agreed that because of my age (40) if my ovaries looked good, he would keep them. They looked fine, so they stayed. My diagnosis was adenomyosis. I had joined HysterSisters a few weeks before my TAH and hung around lurking on the boards for a few months after my hyst.
My life was fairly uneventful until June of 2004. I had been treated by my GP for years for Irritable Bowel Syndrome. But in June of 04, I knew that what was going on was more than IBS. My only symptom was a very swollen and distended abdomen. My GP ordered a CT scan which came back showing a softball size tumor on my right ovary. Within one week I had been seen by a GYN/Oncologist who performed my surgery almost immediately. My diagnosis was Stage IIIC ovarian cancer. What a shock to me and my family.
I began chemo on July 22, 2004 and finished November 4th. I worked full time thru my chemo other than the day of and usually a couple of days after. I did very well with chemo (taxol and carboplatin), with my worst side effect being neuropathy which I am still dealing with. At the end of November I had my post chemo CT scan which showed another 2 cm. mass in the same area as my ovarian tumor. So, back in for a second look surgery on December 2, 2004. All was benign, what a wonderful Christmas present for me and my family.
In the fall of 2005, my CA125 began creeping up slowly. On December 30th of 2005, it was decided that I was indeed in a reoccurence phase and I began single agent carboplatin, finishing in April of 2006.
In July of 2006, my DH of 27 years began experiencing stomach pains and eventually was diagnosed with gastroesophagial cancer. Only 6 weeks after his diagnosis he passed away. It has been devastating for our entire family. About a week before my DH passed away, my CA125 jumped up to 229. So, once again I was started on single agent carboplatin. In November, my CA125 began rising again, so I received a new chemo called Taxotere. This regimen was totally ineffective and my CA125 jumped to an all time high of 468. I am currently on Carboplatin and Avastin and should finish in early 2007.
Although I continue to battle this disease, I am enjoying my family and life to the fullest. Life for me has changed for the better since my cancer diagnosis. I know it is hard to understand it, but it is true.
So, in June of 2004 I was back to this wonderful website for encouragment and support. But, this time I wasn't on the Post Op boards, I was visiting the Cancer Concerns Forum. What a wonderful group of women. I have been truly blessed to have each and every one of them in my life. It is truly my pleasure to give back to all that have given so much to me by hostessing on the Cancer Concerns Forum. If I can be of help to anyone, please feel free to email me.
A special note from k9equinewhine, Alumni Hostess 2008:
It was the saddest of days when I read the news posted on Lori’s Carepage. Lori, a true giver, had passed away on the morning of July 17, 2007. I just could not believe it was true. I was in shock and disbelief. We all felt it here at Hystersisters, and the Cancer Concerns forum was reeling from the loss.
Lori (Basketnut) and I both were diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer, stage 3c, in the summer of 2004. We became hostesses on the Cancer Concerns forum at about the same time; there was an instant connection. Lori, who I referred to as "My Favorite Nut", was a wonderful, caring, live-life-to-the fullest kind of girl. Even in the midst of her "bad days," never ever did I hear a cross word from her lips…err, fingers; she always had an open heart, an open mind, and the kindest, most encouraging compassion for her sisters here on HysterSisters.
We celebrated our little successes together- hair growth, the re-emergence of our eyelashes, good chemo days and good lab reports. We cyber-hugged and cried over the bumps in the road along the way, but honestly, Lori’s focus was always on the positive. She helped make my cancer journey all the better for being able to share it with her. I know she made as big an impact on all the women of the Cancer Concerns forum. She made a difference, for sure. Because I knew her, I have been changed for good.
To sum it up, here are some of the lyrics from my favorite song from the Broadway Show, Wicked:
For Good
by Stephen Schwartz
"I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you…..
It well may be that we will never
meet again In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend…….
Because I knew you I have been changed for good."
Lori is so missed by all of us here at Hystersisters. I, for one, am very grateful that our paths crossed when they did. She was a true angel on earth. - Ginnie
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