Hair

At least my hair is growing back! Slowly but shirley. I am planning on taking a picture every few days so in the end when I have long hair again I can put it all together as one movie. Here is the first picture.

A date for surgery

Yesterday was Tuesday, it was very busy. I first went to Lizzie's six month check up and then right to the doctor that will do the surgery. Dr. Robertson said that he is not exactly sure that he felt the lymph node in question. He did not get the PET scan pictures like I had thought. Today I got a call to set up the sugery. It will be April 10th probably about noon. I have to go to a pre-op appointment and a post-op. I will also have an ultrasound before the surgery to find exactly where it is. There is something else that might happen after they take out the lymph node where there is fluid where the missing node is and it swells. So much fun to think about...

The fat lady hasn't sung yet

We changed the date that I was going to see Dr. Kanard to today so that Derek could come with me to the appointment. The results of the PET scan wasn't what I thought it would be. The big mass that was there in September that hindered my breathing has shrunk even more than December's scan and it is still not showing signs of cancer; so it is pretty much a lymph node again.
There was a small lymph node near my right collar bone that has increased in size since December. Dr. Kanard thinks it is best to just get rid of it. So I have to go to Dr Robinson (the doctor I went to last week about the cough) next Tuesday for a consult. It is so small that you can not feel it with your fingers so he might have to use an ultrasound in order to know where to go. So, I will have a triangle of scars; this one on the right, the biopsy in the middle and the port scar on the left.
The following picture is the small lymph node that is brighter in the bottom (March scan) as apposed to the top (December scan).

Last week

I had two appointments last week. The first on Tuesday was for the ear, nose and throat doctor. It went well since I didn't have to have the scope down my throat. 3 days before the appointment I stopped taking the Nexium that he prescribed to me mainly because I was out, but the other reason is because I had a sore throat on the right side ever since I started taking it. Amazingly after 2 days the sore throat was gone. I told the doctor and he said I don't have to take anything else because the Chemo is over. But I have to see him again in 3 months. The great news is that I am only taking supplements and vitamins now. I also got a kidney and total body cleanse that I am taking from the vitamin cottage, which is a tea that I drink morning and night.

The second appointment was the PET scan. It went as well as the past two, but I had worked out 3 days before and I was still sore from it and that could hinder the results. I will find out this Thursday about the results. I am hoping that my doctor will say that it is in remission.

Last 2 Pet Scans (side by side)

I finally copied the pictures from the last two pet scans so that you can see the improvement. The top of the picture is the first scan from September. The bright orange is the cancer that is the size of a grapefruit. Below it is the last scan in December, it is barely there.

No more Pills! No more steroids!

Last week I was down to one last pill that I was suppose to take every day for my kidneys. I called the nurse Lisa to see if I need to refill it and she told me Dr. Kanard said I don't have to take anything again. I don't have to buy the expensive nausea drug "Emend" and the horrible steroids. I just take vitamins now. Yea! I am finally finishing this hurdle. I have an appointment with the ears nose and throat doctor on the 11th to see if the acid reflux is gone and a pet scan scheduled for the 13th and I will talk to Dr. Kanard on the 20th about it. If she says it is in remission than I will have the "up keep" drug Retuxan every 6 months and for 3 hours, if not it is a bone marrow transplant, but I am very much certain that it is in remission.
Oh, my hair that was somewhat coming in was somewhat falling out last week, but hopefully it will start growing again.