ONE YEAR NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE!!!
My scan on September 14th, 2015 was again clean & made it official! I scheduled my scan on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, as I could not imagine a better way to celebrate and contemplate the coming year than by confirming my disease-free state. I am eternally grateful for the last year of my disease-free life.
What a gift!
Thank you all for your support and love throughout this process. I could not have done this without you. ((( BIG HUGS))) to all of you!
The magic number is two years of clean scans, as 80% of those who recur do so in the first two years after treatment. I still have a high risk for recurrence, but I'm half way to a much lower risk. The longer I am N.E.D. the risk of recurrence reducing exponentially. So, I celebrate, appreciate, and keep my on fighting and appreciateing each and every day that I have been given.
I will continue to have every three month scans for another year. I see the radiation oncologist every time I have a scan, so they can monitor the progress of my cyberknife radiation scar to make sure it continues to shrink/evolve and not grow (indicating possible tumor regrowth). My next scan will likely be a PET scan to confirm that I do not have any "hot spots" of sugar uptake that indicate potential tumor activity. Until then, I will go to the beautiful new Stanford Cancer Center in Los Gatos monthly for my blood work and Vitamin B12 shots. I also continue to go to my Integrative doctor about once a month to monitor my diet, supplements, and get acupuncture for my low back and hip pain (getting old sucks!).
I continue to attend support groups at Cancer Care Point. I am always amazed when I get there how much I need the people there and how much they need me too. What I mean is that I gain a sense of peace among my fellow cancer patients and survivors that I get no where else. Even if they are new to the group, they are immediately part of the cancer family. A club no one wished to join, but one they are glad to not be alone in. I also notice the comfort and hope that I give to those in active treatment - just by being there and sharing my story. I am living proof to them that with good medical care, taking extra good care of yourself, and a good dose of luck that they too can beat the odds. I feel it is time for me to "give back" where I can. I have been invited to speak next month at a local woman's philanthropy organization. This will be the first time I have spoken to a group about my disease, but I am thankful for the opportunity to share how community helped me through the tough times with cancer, how they can support loved ones or themselves with their cancer journey, and finally speak to the gratefullness I have for the continued life that I have been given.
What's New
We are mostly settled into our new home in Monte Sereno. We have several projects in the works that are keeping us busy. We are remodeling a lower level guest room, and, as you might expect with a house built in 1937, we are finding lots of other issues. The electrical in the house seems to need an upgrade, we replace a furnace, repairing some foundation framing, etc….. We are also getting plans drawn to redo the landscaping to drought resistant plants, put in a hot tub for our aching bones, and add a fire pit to the back yard. We are excited to see the end result (whenever that will be!). Despite all the work, we are enjoying the new house with its old charm, great light, and outdoor spaces. We are discovering several hiking routes that are nice and hilly for that extra challenge! Come check out the new house and let's go hiking the hills or walk into Los Gatos for a good workout. :-)
The rest of life is busy, busy, busy. I won't bore you with too many details, so here is a bullet list of what we have been up to:
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| Riviera Maya - a lovely oasis to recharge our batteries! |
- Elyse returned from a fabulous summer abroad program in Dublin, Ireland where she studied physics. She is now back at UCLA living in an apartment near the campus and keeping busy with Yell Crew and fall sorority rush activities. She took the MCAT in mid-September, so her journey of applying to med school has begun. Classes started last week, so she has officially started her Junior year of college. Boy, how time flies!!!
- Kayla came home in June to help us move and returned to Seattle to spend the summer working and bonding with her new city. She is working as a hostess at Eureka!, a high end burger bar. She recently applied to be a Red Bull Rep, which sounds like a fun job, so she's keeping her finders crossed. Kayla is living in her Sorority house and started her Sophomore year at UW last week.
- Jenna turned 16 in August, recently started her Junior year of high school, and is doing well. She is making a few new friends and enjoying life a bit more. She has started a new hobby of working with and riding horses and has been enjoying new experiences (hiking, cooking, philanthropy projects, etc).
- Craig had and respite from work related travel over the summer, but is back at it this month. He and I enjoyed a fabulous vacation in the Riviera Maya, Mexico earlier this month, and we are trying hard to retain that relaxed vacation feeling.
- I am captaining another tennis team this fall, and loving my time on the court! I play tennis, hike with Cooper and friends, and go to pilates or yoga regularly. It keeps me busy and hopefuly healthy and on track.
L'Shanah Tovah - a sweet New Year to All!
