I am thrilled beyond words to be able to report today that the cancer is NO WHERE else in my body! Can I hear a huge WOO HOO???!!!!!!!!! (Maybe you have already heard mine in the air!)
The only thing that the PET scan showed is some uptake on the left lobe of my thyroid (which is weird because the largest nodule I have on my thyroid is on the right side). It doesn't mean there is cancer there but it is something to keep in mind. Since I am following up with my ENT in September, we will see what he says then.
So NO metastasis to report! Praise God for the GOOD NEWS!
People ask what stage the cancer is. Doctor says, that it is stage 4 because it is a recurrence. It isn't metastasized anywhere which would be a more serious situation. She said that people tend to freak out when they hear they have stage 4 cancer but we don't need to freak out. We have a plan, and we will follow it!
So, what is the plan you may ask? Surgery first. We will meet with my surgeon sometime next week and I will get an iron infusion sometime before surgery since I have been chronically anemic for some time. After three - four weeks of healing time we will start chemo. I will go in every two weeks four times (about 2 months) and then for 12 weeks I will go in once a week. That will be a total of 20 weeks once all is said and done. Following that, there will be six weeks of radiation. There will be hormone therapy in pill form for ten years when it is all over.
Not that great on this side of it but once this is over we have our best chance to be rid of this stuff for good! To be honest, at this good news/bad news appointment, once I heard the good news, I pretty much feel like I can handle the rest of the stuff. I am just thrilled that we are talking about local recurrence.
I am surprisingly calm, it seems very doable (I know others through the years who have fought with this same battle plan and won and I have a big God). I am blessed beyond measure by all of the prayers and words of encouragement that so many have sent.
Thank you so much - all of you for following me and encouraging me to write. It really is the best therapy for me. I will try to be somewhat entertaining too whenever I can!
Specific prayer requests for this week:
- That the family enjoys time at kids camp the end of this week.
- That David's sister has a safe flight up and back for the 4th.
- That we enjoy a great family time over the holiday weekend so that next week we can get to work on this plan.
- Continued strength for all of us.
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