All Clear

So I had my appointment with my oncologist today to go over the results of my CTscan.....and it's all good! All my nodes have shrunk to less than 1 cm so technically I am classified as having "no residual mass". That means I technically don't even qualify for the PET scan. PET scans are more often used to look at any residual mass to determine if there is still cancer or scar tissue. Since I technically have no enlarged nodes to look at, her preference is not to do one as there is a potential for false positives which would lead to more CTscans which means more radiation exposure (she said one CTscan is 150 times the radiation that you get from one chest x-ray). I am happy to not do it. Especially since I have been having possible arthritic pain in my back, right jaw and left hip and this inflammation my jaw would be hard to distinguish from enlarged nodes so I may have a higher chance of false positives (at least that was what was explained to me). So no PET scan but likely another CT scan sometime this year. I will continue to see the oncologist every 3 months for the next year for check-ups and bloodwork. I will likely get to have my port removed around Christmas (I wish it were sooner as it must be flushed monthly I found out today!) and will the oncologist again in 2 months from now (she bumped it up a bit so it didn't fall right around Christmas).

So it's all good news and Dr. McCarron (my onc) was all smiles...said it couldn't be better at this point. She did scare me a bit when she said that if it comes back within the first year then that's generally not good so I am going to be rather paranoid about any little bumps and lumps around my nodes. I am also loading up on the antioxidants and immune system boosters now that I can (not recommended at all during chemo).

My white blood count and neutrophils are already back up to 5.4 and 4.0 (reference range is 1.5-8 and I was below 1 all through chemo). This is one of the indicators for my immune system....so I should be pretty good and not as susceptible to everything which is great now that the girls are back to school.

So I will keep this short and to the point. All good news!
One last thing....this is a photo I took out of our kitchen window last week.

Yes it IS a lilac. Our tree has decided to have a second spring...just for me! I do love lilacs and their season is so short!

All done!!

So two weeks ago (Aug 31st) was my last chemo. Now I get scanned and we wait and see what the next steps are....radiation???...hope not. Today I have a CTscan on my neck (at 10:40am) and they will be looking at two neck nodes in particular that were still larger than 2cm at the halfway point. If they are now less than that then radiation may not be necessary. We won't know until end of September as I won’t find out results and have my appointment with my oncologist until the 27th.
The last chemo went pretty much the same as all the others. Steve brought the girls to come visit just before the actual chemo injection so that they had some idea of what it was all about. Avery had been there in the chemo suite once before very briefly but not Wynne. Wynne had a lot of questions about the other people there and what type of cancers they had and whether it was the same as mine. They of course, as they have done all along, took it all in stride. Steve brought the camera and snapped a shot of us.
My nurse also presented me with a certificate.

In the corner of the photo of us you can just see a bit of the beautiful quilt that was given to me through Victoria’s Quilts courtesy of a lovely woman from Lakefield who I have known through various connections…I was stunned when I received it. I have used it in the chemo suite ever since I received it in May. It really brightened up the chemo suite and Steve liked it as he always knew where I was as soon as he walked in! I will attempt to take a better photo and also post it on the Victoria Quilts website.

I also received a delivery of flowers from Steve’s parents the day after chemo which was a lovely surprise and many of the flowers are still going strong almost two weeks later!
Now that the chemo is done I can say that I truly feel fortunate that it wasn’t worse. I just couldn’t know how it was going to be at the end of the summer but really it didn’t get a whole lot worse…from midpoint on it was really the same. The hair thing is the most visible but I think it might be starting to come back some already…there is definitely lots of grey though!! Tomorrow will be the first day that I will be truly out of the chemo cycle so hopefully my body responds and starts recovering! Tomorrow will also be the first day that is all my own. Avery started back to school last Thursday but both Thursday and Friday were spent prepping for Wynne’s birthday. Her Humane Society party on Saturday seemed to be a success. Seeing the animals and touring the facility will be memorable for the kids I think!

I originally started this entry the day after chemo but just didn’t quite get back to it with school starting, finishing up painting the girls’ room and then Wynne’s birthday. I got most of the painting of the girls’ room done just before the 31st so that we could move the girls back into their room and my mum could use the guest room. However, the movement of toys and kid things has resulted in a massive scattering about the living room and guest room and I am trying hard to do some purging before moving everything back into their room! Too much stuff!! The room is now done though…. complete with new ceiling fan (Steve finished that yesterday) fairies and bunnies. I know this room theme may not last too too long but I had bought the wallies/border and the paint many (MANY!!) years ago so I just ran with it. The girls think it is so much better than plain off-white! I was thinking of painting a big tree in the corner but not so sure now. It only needs some finishing touches like curtains and a rug (green shag to look like grass??). Maybe I’ll post some pics when the finishing touches are done (and the room is tidy for maybe a few minutes.)
So I feel like this week is my week to get some organization back into our lives. I will likely start doing a bit of work this month but will be easing into it and taking a bit of time for myself too…especially since I don’t quite know what the next few months will bring.