Update written by Carla for Katie. I’ll have someone update after the surgery.

Thanks for allyour support and prayers!

We met with my neurosurgeon, Dr. Chandler, today. A confident man of few words, he seems very knowledgeable and makes us feel better about what is going to happen. In short, I have 2 lesions on my brain. Both are located in my cerebellum, one in the center and one to the right. There is a potential third mass that he may evaluate during surgery, but only if it is visible… needless to say he won’t go digging for it despite knowing it’s there. Surgery will be pretty straightforward and will not require shaving my head!! Woohoo! The surgery is expected to take ~2-3 hours and he will remove as much as possible from the masses. Following surgery, I will be in ICU and then moved to the floor. Approximately 5 days post surgery, I have to have stereotactic radiosurgery on all 3 masses. SRS is when they deliver a very high dose of radiation to a targeted area of the brain. This should kill any remaining cancer cells in the area. Luckily, I will not have to have any additional chemotherapy treatment. I will be routinely monitored every 3 months when I return home.

Dr. Chandler confirmed that ovarian metastases are very rare. Of course, we all know I’m pretty special!! He seemed very optimistic about my surgery and prognosis so that rocks. He also said a positive attitude is required in his OR so, Kick Ass Katie will be all smiles and good to go in the morning!

p.s. Did I mention they’re not going to shave my head!!! WOOHOO!!!

Here's the latest from Chicago - Katie asked me to post a little update until she can get internet access:

Katie and Bob are enjoying a mini vacation before (as she puts it) "the shit hits the fan". Internet service is a bit patchy at the moment but she is hoping to update the blog later today at the hospital after her doctor's appointment.  Yesterday they sampled the Windy City's offerings for lunch & dinner and today were out enjoying the sights along the lake.  And then tomorrow, brain surgery !  (Katie - who is your travel agent anyway?)  : )   She sounds in good spirits and is enjoying the moments as they come.  They have wireless access with her phone so can pick up emails, texts, and calls (really, phone calls on a phone! -  hasn't tried the automatic coffee maker application yet, though.)   

More soon - from the real deal...

T (KO's ghostwriter for the moment)

Latest and Greatest.....greatest?....what am I thinking!

We're home right now! Yea! It feels food to be here with Fischer and Ziggi,of course Bob too! Sleeping in my own bed. I went out last night to a show by Broad Comedy. A friend of mine was in it and it was totally hilarious!It was great to just laugh for two hours straight. I'm wanting to bike today, it's supposed to be in the 50's. I think it will be a while before I can go again and I want to get in as much as I can. I'm also trying to go crust cruising tomorrow up near West Yellowstone. When the snow gets cold at night it sets up and you can skate ski anywhere. The bummer is its supposed to be a bit warmer up there tonight and it may not be hard enough. Must Try!

We head to Chicago on Tuesday. I have a consult with my surgeon on Wednesday and then surgery will be on Thursday. At this point the doctor's arrainger person ( funny how I can't think of what to call her) says that we should book our return ticket for May 22nd. Thats kind of long time!

We're trying for figure out what to do with Fischer. Grandma is coming down on Monday and I think can stay for quite a while. What a relief! He loves speding time with her! I'm not sure if she can stay for the whole time but we're working on it. We're even wondering if we should fly him and her or a Nanny type person out there for a few days so he can see I'm dong fine. Of course thats after I get out of ICU and will maybe be coherent! We'll see, we've got some time to play around with these ideas.

Ok, so they say I will still be "Katie" after this brain surgery. The cerebellum plays the role of alance and coordination and y'all know that's whi I do forward sorts anyway. I'm telling them I think I've had this for all my life! :) The initial surgeyr will affect my balance/coordination but should hopefully get better. Thats the one thins that they say may have some permanance. Please just let me ride my bikes! ( I know, most of you think I need help NOW with balance on my bikes!)

I'll have someone, not me!, update this blog with what is happening after the surgery. Everyone is asking what they can do. It's difficult for me to ask for this and I know after last year that I was getting better at asking for what we need. Some friends are setting up a bank account here that people can donate to. We're gonna need to pay for child care for Fischer and these extra medical costs are gonna really hit below the belt. Bob's work just decreased their hours and pay last Monday by 20%. We were going to supplement by me picking up some massage gigs....not any more. Our house is on the market and we desparately need to sell it. Bozeman be prepared, If we get an offer and have to be out, you may be asked to pack boxes! The mortgage payments are way too high for us to handle without me working at all. So..... we're desparate. I'll put up the information as soon as I get it.

I'm gonna farm out some of my recipies for people to make and put in our freeer. That way we have the food we know we'll eat for a vegetarian, a five year old and a not all brain cell patient! (someone could come up with a joke about that!, Molly T?)

Yes, I'm freaked. I'm trying to not worry too much because whats up there is whats there and I really want it out. I can only hope that its not the concer thats come back but there is a huge reality about that. If it is they will do radiation and then chemo via IV. The only thing that sucks is I really DON"T want to lose my hair again! I guess in the shole scheme of things I could lose a lot more so I should be thankful!? (Of course thats n a perfect world.) I'm planning on fighting whatever this is with even more gusto than I did last year! I'm going to need a lot of support, which is why I'm reaching out to so many of you. I LOVE getting emails of encouragement from everybody and also hearing about what is going on in your lives. It lets me live vicariously through you and makes me happy. I'm getting a lot of calls. Know that I'll try to answer If I can't I'll try to get back to you. If I don't you can try again but know that it gets very tiring to talk all day long on the phone. (of course y'all know I'm a talker!) Just dont be afraid to call but know I may not get back to you. Same thing with emails, I try to respond but can get overwhelmed, just keep them coming!

Snail mail:
Katie Ossa
198 Nostalgia Lane
Bozeman, MT 59715

korunnergirl@yahoo.com

I'm on facebook, so ask to be your friend, isn't that silly?

I'll get my hispital information up as soon as I know it.

Thank you all so much, plese put all thoughts, prayers, energy or whatever you do out there!
Love to all,
Katie

Ok, I know y'all are getting antsy. I know I am. Right now I'm on Decadron (sp) a steroid that reduces swelling and for me it's like being on speed . Not that I've ever taken speed but I can imagine. I'm really driving Bob crazy. (Bob says you are supposed to read this really fast to get the full effect!)

I was supposed to have brain surgery tomorrow at 7:30. The Neurosergeon here is just a general surgeon and my oncologist in Bozeman was not comfortable with that so he called around and got me into a specialist at North Western Memorial Hospital in Chicago. This guy is the Surgical Director of Neuro Oncology and is a Neurooncologist. I just got released by my doctor and am waiting for my dismissal ppers. Then a two hour drive home, of which Bob has to do because I'm not allowed to drive.

I need to have surgery to remove these two "lumps", "masses", or what ever you choose to call them. It is a pretty involved surgery and can have some temporary and possibly permanent side effects. Mostly my balanc and coordination. My doc here says I will still be the Katie everybody knows and loves, (not some drooling idiot) :) Nobody knows if this is mets from the ovarian cancer or not. They will find out during surgery. If it is then they will give me radiation and some other chemo that can go to my brain. I can do both of those in Bozeman. There is a possibility it is not even cancer and again they won't know until they get in there.

My spirits are pretty good, especially on this steroid. Now I know why athletes use the stuff, I feel like going out for a 100 mile run right now! I am freaked out a bit but also know that my best option is to get these things removed and go forward from there. So much for my climbing trip to Lander in May! I'll have to go in June or omething!

Just got sprung, I need to get outta here! Will write more tomorrow. Going home to Bozeman and will probably leave for Chicago Sunday. Will let you all know.
Thanks for all the support, texts, emails and phone calls that I haven't been able to return!

Love to all,
KatieO

Here in Billings! I had a Ct scan of my chest, as and pelvis an they all came out clean! Yea! My Oncologist is pretty optomistic about these lesions on my brain but the Neurosurgeon is a bit freaked out. He says he ca't biopsy them and they just need to come out. They're looking for a Friday surgery. He thinkd they have a role with the ovarian cancer and that I should be prepared for that. In the meanwhile my oncologist is calling around the nation talking to neuro-oncologists to see if what they are planning ondoing is the best thing for me. I completely trust him and will discuss his recommendations when he has all his info gathered.

I'm really scared. I don't want my brain cut into. They need to take out a window sized piece near the occiput (lower back skull) and then remove the tumors. Then they take a piece of my TFL and replace the dural matter then replace the bone. The whole process takes about 5 hours. (I think I;m gonna have a BIG headache after that! Guess I'll be in ICU for a couple of days then here at the hospital for a week. Yucko!

They're talking about placing some chemo tablets into my brain before they close it up. It will help to get rid of anything that may be left over.

ill write moretomorrow, I'm tired tonight. Bob is watching the BB game and I will fall asleep to it!

Thanks for all your letters of encouragement!

Love,
Katie

Well, we're at it again! I had an MRI yesterday (april 28th) due to the headaches, slight dizziness and disturbed vision I've been having. They found two masses, rather bumps, on the posterior section of my cerebellum. I'm heading over to the Billings Clinic today (april 29) to be admitted to the hospital. My oncologist sees this as the best way for me to get into a neurosurgeon asap. They need to biopsy them to see what they are. So far I have two great things going for me. One, ovarian cancer SELDOM goes to the brain and two, my oncologist, granted he is a "below the belt kind of guy" (gynocological oncolgist), says they look like they are fluid like and fluid usually doesn't mean malignant. So keep your fingers crossed!

Don't know how long I'll be over there. Fischer is staying in Bozeman with friends and Grandma is coming down this weekend to be with him. He is a trooper and we have told him everything and he knows I'm pretty scared.

I'll try to have this blog updated by friends. The hospital doesn't have internet, at least not last year! I'll answer my phone if I can but won't talk for long. It gets me exhausted.

someone wanna buy a house?

Love to all,
Katie

DONE DONE DONE!!!!!

FINISHED WITH CHEMOTHERAPY!!!!!!!!

Hey All,
I'm done! I actually finished last Tuesday the 27th. I was in the doctor's office and crying to the PA because I was feeling like shit and the doc walked in and told me we could do the IV therapy instead of the IP therapy. He told me it would not be detrimental to my treatment so I said 'go for it'! So I"m finished! I've still been feeling like shit, this weekend was pretty bad. Today I feel a little better and have gotten up off the couch a couple of times. I still need a stool to help me out when I'm in the kitchen trying to get something. My stamina and endurance are TOTALLY shot. I'm thinking I'll be able to walk around the house by next weekend. Its gonna take a while to get on the bike and go any distance. I'm really looking forward to going for a run and to having my hair GROW! Any bets on color? Texture? I'm totally out of shape and feel very blah. You know how it is when you can;t exercise for a while? I have funky drugs in me that need to be OUT, like steroids and fun drugs like that.

I'm looking forward to trying to go to Ft Collins at the end of July/beginning of August. I'll keep everybody posted. I just worry that I might not have enough energy by then, we'll see! Bob and I are talking about taking two weeks this fall and driving around the Southwest U.S. We want to do Moab and just keep going! I don't know if I'll be mountain biking by then as I may still be on blood thinners.

Ziggi will be coming home soon! I really miss her! Teri has been awesome in taking care of her while we haven't been able to. I hope she wants to come home and be with us! She is getting such good care at Teri's! She was spayed just a week and a half ago. Everything went well.

Fischer is doing well. He is having fun at day care and wants to wear his jammies everyday. We let him one day a week. I sure miss spending quality time with him and look forward to that coming back quickly.

I have a lot of peripheral neuropathy in my hands and feet. They are numb most of the time. My taste is coming back slowly and I think this last chemo treatment was less harsh on my taste buds. Yea! I can't wait until a tall glass of ice water actually tastes good and quenches my thirst! My body has been deprived for so long!

Love to you all, thank you for supporting me! This time will be crucial for me as now that the chemo is done I still will be going through all the emotional gifts you get with being cured from cancer. I will be in touch and will start making contact with those I have neglected.
Thanks again!
Love,
Katie

Picctures to come soon with little wisps of hair!