21 Months

-
I think I've kind of lost count with how many PET-CT scans I've had but I had one of many this week. And the results are in:

 NO EVIDENCE OF METASTATIC DISEASE!

 So far I've been NED for about 21 months and it's such a great feeling. It really does give me hope that I WILL be around to watch Cruz grow up. I know that eventually my disease will catch up to me but I have to continue to enjoy the present. It's not that easy though so don't judge me if I'm not all sunshine and flowers every day. 

 Right now my main focus is mostly trying to save money so I can pay off medical expenses. I'm a single mom with cancer living in the Bay Area. That's three strikes but so far I'm able to do it on my own. Tight budget but manageable. I have to prepare for the future though and I really need to start putting more money away for Cruz. I want to make sure he's taken care of so I recently became an independent consultant with Rodan & Fields. If you would like to check out my website and learn more about the skin care products available please click on this link. Or you can send me an email. I would appreciate the support. You would not only be helping me out but you would be getting great skin as a bonus. 

 I can't express how happy I am to be NED though. When I first learned that it was too late for me to be cured I was completely devastated but over time I have learned how to live one day at a time. Like I've said before, it's not easy but I have no choice. Cruz is my motivation and we are both working hard to be happy. So, three more months until the next scan and I intend to make the best of them. (Especially since my birthday is next week!)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Adventures with Blood Thinners

-
Image
About a year ago on September 12, 2012 I was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism (PE) which is a blood clot in the lung. I had absolutely none of the classic symptoms of a PE. Instead my blood clot was found during one of my routine PET-CT scans to check on the progress of my cancer. For some reason people with cancer have a tendency to develop blood clots and I just happened to be one of the lucky ones that got one. I remember getting off the shuttle at the UCSF Parnassus campus and starting to walk to my sister’s flat when I noticed I had a voicemail. It was my nurse practitioner asking me to call her back because “it was kind of an emergency, but kind of not”. At this point I was really nervous thinking that maybe the cancer had spread instead of getting smaller so I called her back. She then told me that I had to go to the Emergency Room to start a regimen of blood thinners because I had a PE. My Lovenox Syringe So, I went to the ER where they gave me my first shot of Lo
Read more

Sticks and Stones

-
Image
Recently I’ve learned a lot of things about people in my life and I am trying to make an effort to keep away from negativity. Negativity stresses me out and stress is the last thing I need. Someone recently tried to say that karma is the reason I have cancer which left me kind of in shock. I’ll admit I’m not perfect but I definitely don’t think I or anyone deserves cancer. If that’s the way karma worked then why do so many great people get sick and die young, while many evil ones get to live well into old age? The comment made me very upset at the time but now I realize that I have to make an effort not to let negativity like that get me down. Life is too short to worry about what other people think. Maybe they didn’t mean for it to sound the way it did or at least that’s what I’m hoping, but the lesson here is to really think about your words before they come out of your mouth. Another example is talking about how you know someone that died of cancer to someone that has cancer. Altho
Read more

Hair Stylings

-
Image
Hair is important to many women and when you don’t have it; it can be pretty traumatic. I really miss having my long hair. I used to have long, curly hair. I could wear it curly or I could straighten it for a different look. People complimented me on my hair and it felt good. Unfortunately my hair fell out while I was on chemo. It fell out slowly. Every time I took a shower and combed my hair it would come out. It wasn’t noticeable but I didn’t want it to get to the point where I had bald spots and it was getting ridiculous trying to keep the shower from getting clogged so I decided to cut my hair short. I got a lovely short haircut from a friend but soon that wasn’t enough. Chemo was starting to make my head break out in a painful pimple-like rash and it hurt to wash my head. I then just had it shaved instead. I hated watching my hair fall out. Eventually I was bald without having to shave my head. The worst was when my eyebrows and eyelashes fell out. That really made me cry.
Read more