Today - End of The Day

Sorry this update is so long in coming.  Came home from my appointment to a major snow storm and no power.   Now, power is back on, kids are playing in the snow and I have a couple of minutes to update you.

 

So...in summary...for Laura it was a good day all around. The doctor is pleased that, after taking out the tumors and doing an examine of the outside of the organs in her abdominal cavity (including "washing" them and dong the pathology on the cells from that washing), no evidence of cancer was found.   She is feeling pretty good and doesn't have to see him again for 6 weeks.  Great news!

 

For me...it's a mixed bag.   My tumor markers are good and the spots in my lungs are the same.  The problem is my bones.  My scans (both CT and bone) show more "light spots."  One explanation is that this is a progression of my disease (i.e., the Tamoxifen isn't working any longer).  The other explanation is that, no, the medicine is working, but this is the last bit of tumor flare that first appeared back in June and, thus, it's actually bony turnover or evidence that my bones are healing.  My doctor's gut feel is that it's tumor flare. However, she doesn't want to keep me on Tamoxifen any longer in case she's wrong.  The good news is that she has recommended that I go on another, just-as-effective-if-not-more-effective-than Tamoxifen anti-estrogen treatment (Femora).  This means that I continue with basically the same treatment...one pill a day...hot flashes...but NO CHEMO.  I will start taking this daily pill tonight and will continue for probably 2 months before I have to be scanned again. 

 

So...the best medicine has to offer is still an incomplete picture. 

 

In some ways that's super frustrating and in other ways it just makes it even more clear that there still is only One in whom it makes any sense to place my hope, my trust and my future.   Oh that I can keep my eyes focused on Him...

 

Thanks for your prayers today.  As hard as it was for Chad and I to wait 2 hours (1+ of those hours were actually in the exam room after hearing that, "the report from my scans isn't great, but Dr. O'Connor is consulting with the radiologists to see how she's going to interpret these results...she'll be in with you as soon as she can." How hard was that?!?)  it was just fabulous to know that we were not "alone" in that room.

 

Love to you all

K.