Yesterday I had a CT scan of my neck, chest, abdomen, and pelvis. As it turned out, it included my head when I read the printed report. I found out I had a brain! That was nice. It was “grossly unremarkable.” While that doesn’t sound very exciting (in laymen’s terms), it really is a good thing. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
We arrived at Mark’s Sunday afternoon. It was nice that Mark was in town this time. It was a nice Mother’s Day. He grilled a nice dinner of pork chops, chicken, salmon, and tuna, along with fresh zucchini and summer squash.
Monday morning, we took Mark and Amy to Egg-N-I for breakfast after the boys got off to school. I couldn’t eat for 4 hours before my test, and since my CT scan was not until 2:30, the time worked out perfectly.
Sounds like all we did was eat! 😀
The test itself was no big deal. They accessed my port, drew my lab work, and then did the scan. I’m pretty much an old pro at these scans now. It’s not my favoritething to do. When the dye goes through, you get this whole-body feeling of warmth, and you would swear that you’ve wet your pants! J I don’t like the sort-of-panic feeling it gives you for about 5-10 seconds. But it doesn’t last long, and the whole thing only takes about 7-8 minutes. Once you are done there are no after affects. You just have to drink, drink, drink to flush the dye out of your kidneys.
For dinner Mark made BBQ chicken pizzas and pepperoni and veggie pizzas – all from scratch. They were grilled and soooo good. Here we are eating again…..:😀
My appointment with Dr. Powers was 9:15 this morning, so thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long. I didn’t really know what to think or how to feel. I wasn’t really worried, but I was concerned. I had been in his office with my hopes up so many times, only to get disappointed. And as I had posted on FB, this little “dot” had come up next to my left eye, and I didn’t know what it was – It could have been a new AS mutation, so that was rather unsettling. It’s hard to describe what it is like to be sitting in a room just waiting for a doctor to come in and give you the news that is so critical to whether you are likely to live or die. Even with a lot of faith, you can’t help but be nervous! Is a guillotine going to fall against my neck, or are they going to set me free???? Are you going to be sent to death row or are you going to be pardoned??? Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long in the room before he came in with Tiffany, the nurse. He had a big smile on his face and papers in his hand. He got right to it – he said that the lung nodules were almost completely resolved, and he laid the papers on my lap, showing me the complete report. I think I was in shock! Could it really be??????
For my nurse friends who want details and know medical terminology, here is the summary of the report: (my comments in italics)
· Neck - Postsurgical changes within the left periauricular region and left neck without evidence of metastatic disease with the neck.
· Chest – 1. Near compete resolutionof several small pulmonary nodules seen on prior exam with development of at least 2 sub-5 mm additional pulmonary nodules. These may be infectious/inflammatory in nature versus pulmonary metastases. He showed me these on the screen, and they were very tiny. He really did not seem concerned about them. One was in the right lung base and one inferior left upper lobe. I think they didn’t really look like the other nodules seen before. A close internal follow-up CT scan of the chest is recommended for further lesion. 2. Resolution of the small pneumothorax. 3. Slight increase sclerosisof metastatic lesion involving the posterior left 10thrib. Slight increase sclerosiswas a good thing – it meant that it was resolving and healing. I knew my side no longer hurt or was sore, so I believed that it surely must be healing. In fact I told them as well as I felt, overall, I surely must be healing inward as well as outward.
My liver, spleen, and pancreas were all normal.
Dr. Powers called in the other nurse and even the pharmacist that helped me get the medication through the patient assistance program. They all stood there grinning and shaking their heads. They just could not believe the difference in a little over 2 months’ time. Stacy said, “You look fantastic!! You look so pretty! You look better than the first time you came in here!” We all hugged, high-fived, and I cried!! Dr. Powers took more pictures, and as he went out the door, he said, “You are my pin-up girl!!”
As for the spot by my left eye, Dr. Powers said it could be a little broken blood vessel, or, “I don’t mean to imply you are old, but sometimes as we age, we get little brown spots here and there.”
He said to watch it, and if it changed for the worse, he would definitely want to biopsy it. He would then send it in for the genetic studies to look for another marker and appropriate medication for it. So that gave me hope to think that if it should turn out to be cancer, he had a plan in place. Otherwise, I will likely be on Mekinist for the rest of my life. I told Guy later that it was my beauty spot!
I will see him monthly for labs, and get another scan in 3-4 months.
We left, and as we got to the car, we were nearly whooping and hollering!! We stopped at Mark’s to get Annie and tell Mark and Amy the good news and goodbye. Then I began to shout it from the rooftops! ALL GLORY TO GOD!!!!! I just could not stop thanking Him and giving Him the praise. And thanking Him for all the people who prayed. I cannot BEGIN to tell all of you how much your prayers have been such an integral part of my journey. Thank you THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. I know that this cancer will most likely be something I have to deal with in some fashion or another (unless God divinely intervenes and defies science – which he certainly could!), but if we can just control it to a large extent and keep it in check, then I will be blessed beyond measure – which I feel I already am!! I feel like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders today, and I’m still needing to pinch myself to know that it is true. PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW! That song will take on a new meaning for me this Sunday.
As always…….I am in His (healing) hands,,,,,,
