Hi,
I has been ages since I posted a message about my health. There really hasn't been a whole lot to say, though. I'll probably make up for that today :-)
So, last time I posted, I had just completed my chemotherapy treatment. That was two months ago. Since then I have been on a non-chemo drug that, in simplest terms, prevents the growth of cancer cells. There is a lot more to it than that but that is its essence. In fact, I just got back from having my latest dose. (More news about today at the end of this message.)
I have started to go in to work at my office two days a week. Apart from feeling like I am in a foreign country sometimes, it feels good. The rest of the week, I work at home - another foreign country sometimes :-) Most days I feel really good, although I still get more tired than I like to at the end of the day. This is improving slowly.
Probably the most humorous part of all this is the hair loss. I am happy to report that my hair is now growing back pretty quickly. Most of my adult friends tell me that it looks very "hip". Children, on the other hand, tell the truth. One of my almost-four-year-old twin nephews (Nick, if I remember correctly) observed when he saw me recently that "You don't have some hair!". I thought that was pretty funny and then last week my new young friend Alyssa (I had a very nice visit with her, her younger sister and their mother) asked why I was wearing a scarf on my head. When I told her, she asked if she could take the scarf off to see. Once it was off, she asked "Are you a boy or a girl?". (I laughed at that, too.) We sorted that out and then she decided that I looked better without the scarf - very tactful child! Even CVS has an opinion. I recently received a free sample of volumizing shampoo in the mail from them. The laughing never stops :-)
This brings us to this week. On Monday I had a CT scan and I got the results today. There has been a small amount of reduction in the size of my tumor since the last scan. There has also been reduction in its density. Much of the lymphangitic spread has resolved or reduced. In short, not perfect but very good news. I will continue to receive the avastin infusion every three weeks for the foreseeable future. If that stops working or causes problems, there are other treatments "waiting in the wings".
That's about it. As always, thank you for all the prayers and well wishes. Obviously they worked!
Rita