Cancer Free!

We had a follow up appointment with my oncologist yesterday and heard these two words…Cancer Free!

She shared with us that not only did the surgery get the entire mass and nothing was left behind, including the infamous affected lymph nodes, but secondly and equally important, the results of the bone scan and CT scan showed no evidence of anything having spread anywhere else. Which means, we can confidently say at this point that my body is cancer free and I am in remission!

It’s a weird thing to think of because the road before us is still so long, and that’s a phrase that seems like it should be said at the finish line. But it’s a really important mind-shift and I’m slowly embracing it mentally. Chemo and radiation aren’t trying to rid my body of cancer, it’s already gone…rather they are the safety net which will catch and demolish any stray cells that might exist that we can’t see, hopefully ensuring we never have to walk this road again. That’s helpful as well, because it helps me continue to see chemo and radiation as tools and weapons that are on MY side, not the enemy that makes me sick. Cancer is the enemy, chemo and radiation are fighting that same enemy with me.

I’m also currently on Day 9 of my first chemo treatment and believe it or not, I’ve felt pretty close to normal. The few side effects I did have were not even worth complaining about. In fact, I even started working out again this week! (By “workout” I mean “grandma-level movement” but hey, a win is a win!)
We also tested my blood counts yesterday to see how my immune system is doing, and of course it’s lower than a normal person but the doctor was impressed by how high they were reading. Days 7-10 are considered the “low point” for blood counts, and if that’s the low point for me, that’s really good news.

All of this great news in the physical realm is mind-blowing to me. Yes, I pray in faith to experience no side effects, but there’s also doubt that says “sure, but this is what the doctors say is going to happen” and you wait for it to be true. I know my experience so far is a visible and tangible result of all the prayers ya’ll have been lifting up on my behalf, because there’s no way I am physically or emotionally strong enough to handle all this on my own!

If everything stays on track, I will do 4 total rounds of the drugs that cause lots of side effects and hair loss. That means August 3rd, August 24th, and September 14th. After that, we switch to weekly treatments of a less intense drug for 12 weeks. So my last chemo treatment will be December 21st… Merry Christmas to me! 🙂

Thank you for all the prayers, I know without a doubt that I am doing so well because of them. Here’s how you can continue to pray;

1) Continue to experience little to no side effects for every round of chemo!

2) I can expect to start losing my hair in the next week or two. It’s not a side effect that hurts physically, but it will still be hard. Of course, we can pray that my body will defy this side effect as well, there is always hope! But please also pray for the emotions that will accompany this if it does.

3) Pray for our eyes, ears, and heart to be open along they way. It’s easy to focus on me, but I know He has opportunities to tell others about Him and there’s no way I’m going through all this just to miss it!