Sunday, February 27, 2011

Passed the lumps and bumps test - that's a big milestone

Last week I had my sixth (!) PET scan of the last year. This was a big one - if the tumor wasn't responsive to the ICE protocol I was on, I wouldn't be able to do the BEAM protocol and stem cell transplant we have planned for late March. So I was super nervous about the test. Each week for the last six weeks the tumor in my neck has shrunk so I was pretty confident that things were going in the good direction. But boy - getting that DVD from the PET scan technician, putting it into my laptop and looking at the scan. Man, that's a pretty nervous 30 seconds or so. My stomach tightens up, I can feel my heart beating. All the typical stress reactions.

And - drumroll - the scan looked great! No obvious signs of increased metabolic activity in my neck or anywhere else in my lymphatic system. Here's the picture:
My layman's interpretation was confirmed by the radiologist - nodes greatly reduced in size, only a tiny bit of increased metabolic activity, which isn't visible in this view. So this was really good news - this is basically my admission ticket to the chemo next month that will hopefully completely stamp out these bad boy cells and get me set for many a year of healthy living!

1 comment:

  1. I've been waiting for these posts! Sooo happy that things are going according to plan. I can't believe you had two bone marrow biopsies in three months. You say they are doable ... I say you've got real strength. A 40 minute root canal to the back ... incredible strength.

    Your thoughts on the overwhelming support really rang true for me. The world is filled with incredibly loving people. What a wonderful world to be in ... and to live in for many years to come ... and thank you god for wonderful spouses (I loved your poem Susan).

    By the way ... thanks for making this month a good month for PET scans ... my interim scan was a few hours ago.

    and thanks for blogging George...

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