Another Overdue Update: April

It's been a little bit since I've been able to sit down and write out a cancer journey update - the last 2 months have been WILD! Here's a short list of all the things I can remember:

1. We purchased our first home in February and moved in - Super exciting milestone to reach! We were ready to move out of my husband's parents home (although we are eternally grateful for thier support throughout this journey). Our new home is out in Lavon Texas, an up and coming area north east of the Dallas Metro, close to Rockwall.

2. We're going to be continuing my treatment for the time being - my treatment is going to be continuing indefinitely. My last scan indicated that my little tumor grew by one millimeter - not a hugely concerning thing, as it appears that the treatment is working, but not the direction we want to be heading. Not exactly the news I was hoping for, as I was hoping that I would be able to take a bit of a break. As of right now, I'll be on treatment indefinitely.

3. My blood clot in my lung is gone now - The blood clot that was identified in my left lung has disappeared. My oncologist believes that this was a side effect of my chemo treatment, so we're going to be continuing the blood thinners for now.

4. My heart continues to be healthy - my last echocardiogram indicates that my heart is back to pumping at a normal rate and there's no detectable enlargement. The cardiologist feels that the medicines are working the way they should. There was some concern that I would need to be on a higher dose, but that doesn't appear to be the case for now, which we are thankful for.

5. Inflammation concerns are still high - I'm still at a very high risk of pneumonitis. The last CT scan indicated that my left lung is showing some signs of inflammation. I'm not currently having symptoms such as shortness of breath when resting, but we continue to keep an eye on it, as I don't want to end up in the hospital again.

6. Immune system remains inside normal ranges - This is perhaps the most exciting - every time I go to the cancer center, my blood work indicates that my immune system remains within normal ranges. This means that my body is tolerating the treatment well, and while not a free pass to do whatever I want or you know lick doorknobs, it does mean that I can do many things that a cancer-free person could do. But now that I have my new house, I might just avoid people anyway!

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So yeah, I think that's the major things at this time. I'll try not to wait so long for my next update, but I'm sure everyone understands how much time and energy it takes to move households.

Talk to you soon!

OS