Hello again family & friends,
I had another PET/CT Scan the beginning of the month along with blood work. Yesterday (Monday) Kevin and I met with Dr. Badias to review the results.
He always starts with how I'm feeling, any pain?...night sweats...shortness of breath etc....etc...
That's never good in my head. In my head I'm thinking OK, It's still there or he wouldn't be asking me the same questions....
Plus we waited for 1 hr in the room before he came in. That alone makes you nervous.
Basically the lymphoma is still there, It's gone down a little less than 1 cm. It's now 3-1/4 in size. But still has activity. Which is the heat in the core.
That was concerning him. It should be bone by now. He doesn't understand why it's still lighting up in the center of the lymphoma. So he wants to do another biopsy to determine if it's positive or negative. It may be scar tissue making up the excess. Which doesn't excuse the lighting in the middle of it.
It's not trying to grow which is good. So the surgery team has to determine if they can biopsy something so small first at all. You've got to remember the first time he said it was the size of an eggplant. Now it's the size of a golf ball. It may be harder to locate.
Dr Badias loves the analogy's of food and sports balls for sizes....but that's my way of explaining what size they are..
So they will be calling me sometime this week to let me know & hopefully set up the biopsy.
Dr. Badias say's there's a 70% chance it's going to be negative. If it's is then we wait another 4 months & do another Pet/Ct Scan. My insurance company is fighting us on the Pet Scan. So we may just do Ct Scan's. The problem with that is the Ct Scan only takes a picture of the size but doesn't measure or detect the core lighting up.
If the biopsy comes back positive then we go to Moffitt in Tampa. Have the "extraction" which is stem cells removed from my port and stored then returned to me after an intensive chemotherepy. Dr. Badias said it's 3 X's what I got here at MD Anderson.
The sucess rate is very high. He insures me that it will elumunate any cancer left in my body.
The only draw back is I will be out of work for 2 weeks. Which means no paycheck. So we are hoping I won't have to go that route.
Meanwhile I'm a highly functioning lymphoma patient.
I just reciently joined a tennis team. I've been waiting about a year to join a team because I wasn't sure where this journey would take me. But like I told my team caption last night at clinic, I refuse to let this cancer define me. I'm in charge.
I've played twice so far. Lost the first game two weeks ago in a tie breaker and this past week won with Paige's help 6-3,6-1 on line 3. This week I'm playing line 3 again. I plan on giving it all I've got.
There are 4 lines in tennis. Line 1 being the best, down to line 4. I feel very honered to be playing with these girls. They have welcomed me on every level. I can't express how good it feels to be a part of something so challenging and fun.
Our team is number one right now...no pressure...ha ha
It's fall here in Orlando. We've gotten lots of rain which is not typical of this season. We are coming into the season of Art Festivals. And Kevin and I love to walk through and enjoy the whole experience. We just reciently went to Maitland's Art's Festival with Kevin's sister Krissy and her fiance. Sat in the grass under the stars and listened to a band play. There was a breeze off the water, it was so nice.
Our 10th anniversary is coming up the 19th of October. We are planning on having a couples massage and a nice dinner. We are so blessed to have each other.
Then we're in to the holidays and we all know Kevin's obsession with Christmas. He wishes he could start decorating now, so he could enjoy it longer. Here comes It's a wonderful life and Christmas story playing on a loop over and over.
On a more serious note. I'd like to ask for prayers for a freind of mine Lisa Dukes. She's one of my long time designers at Lightsyle. We go back several years. She's just been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. It's in both lungs. She's never smoked nor does any of her family. She has 2 children one of them is away at college and it's ruff on him not being home for his mother, her daughter is here at home. Her husband is trying to stay strong but it's not easy. She was just admitted into Orlando Regional yesterday with the flu because her emune system is low. She recieving fluids to hopefully boost her system. She's a strong christian and knows God is in control. She's part of a women's bible study who are praying faithfully for her.
So if you'd please put her on your prayer list at church and in your private prayers each day I would greatly appreciate it.
And as always Make it a Great Day!
Love to you all,
Patsy
