Thursday, January 3, 2013

5 down, 1 to go....

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for chemo now that #5 is in the books and there is only 1 to go.  Hopefully, the last chemo will be on Tuesday, January 15th as long as there are no complications this cycle. Woohoo!   At some point after the 6th chemo, we will be doing another PETscan to see what that shows.

I got some good news this week.  One of the things that they can use to track the progression of cancer is tumor markers.  There were 2 tumor markers that indicated increased cancer activity before my chemo began.  When they ran those 2 panels 2 weeks ago, they were both down by 50%.  That was especially good news since they were run right after the 5 week cycle when I had to do the surgery, etc. I had been worried that that amount of time off would possibly end up with the cancer growing so it was such a relief!!!  The tumor markers are a "follow the trend" thing rather than an exact number that correlates to how much cancer is in the body, but it is a good indicator that things are doing what they are supposed to do.    I take a lot of hope in any small victory!

Tumor markers do not always elevate in all people, and the nurse yesterday told us that mine being sensitive and reacting to the cancer being there & to chemo is a really good thing for future tracking.  If we can get those into the normal levels with chemo and/or the hormonal suppression therapy to come, then that can be the first thing to check to determine whether cancer has come back or begun growing again.  For my wallet, it would definitely be helpful to have a test to go to first before the very expensive PETscan as we track progress, etc.

Since I haven't posted a picture since the hair coming out/ wig selection, I decided to post a couple pictures taken this past week at Lettuce Lake Park and on Christmas Day.  The third is just a bonus shot of my brother, David, playing around with one of my wigs.   In the wig, he looks a little more like me again like he did in his baby pictures, but  I think he could fit right into a Monkees album cover in that look, lol!

Hope everyone's first week of the year is good and no resolutions are broken yet!






7 comments:

  1. We are so glad to hear your good news! We are praying fervently for complete healing. Love you

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  2. Glad for the good news! Praying that the test shows good results before doing another PET. And I love David's look. He can definitely pull it off. So glad you could enjoy Christmas with the family. Still praying for you daily.

    Love you!
    Laura

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  3. So good to hear from you. I check this almost daily, as you are in my constant thoughts and prayers. Thank you for being so positive and being an encouragement to me, as a reader. Love the pictures. You are awesome. Keep fighting!!! Emily Sullivan

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  4. Awesome news! And I love the wig. Tres chic! I'm gonna share a page with you on facebook of my friend's 5 year old daughter who has leukemia and just lost all her hair. It will warm your heart. :)

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  5. Hello Nancy! I jumped over from PK's blog and I'm glad I did! You're a beautiful lady and this online journal shows you're a trooper ready for battle! Keep the faith and you'll win the war. God bless and prayers for healing.

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  6. Hi, Nancy . . . also stopping over from PK's blog. I think you are a wonderful and brave soul:-) My 12-yr-old daughter just got 14 inches of her hair chopped off for Locks of Love last week, after a book she read inspired her! I'll keep you in my prayers on Jan. 15th~hugs!

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    1. I had missed this post and am glad I saw it now. Glad the markers are going in the right direction. You look great in your wig, David...not so much...thanks for the laugh!
      Kelli G

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