Wednesday, April 27, 2011

10 Year Anniversary

Yesterday was the 10 year anniversary of my first brain surgery. What a roller coaster it has been! I got some good news though...my spinal fluid is clear of cancer cells! I will still get chemo once a month and Avastin every two weeks to prevent any further growth. I go back to the hospital this weekend for the chemo. But I have it in print from my doctor (I had to double-check that I understood everything) that the new lesions in my brain, the lesion on my spinal cord, and the cancer cells in the spinal fluid are all gone and my original tumor is stable! I might have to print that email out and post it on my fridge!

And to celebrate I'm going to Disneyland! I might even have to buy some Mickey Mouse ears! :) Thank you all again for your thoughts and prayers. It is much appreciated.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

My Life is a Mess

I don't know how many of you can relate to this, but I feel like my life is a mess! I have piles of clean laundry that I frankly don't want to fold. I have a cool metallic wreath that was a Christmas present that I still haven't hung yet. I want to become vegetarian and eat cancer-fighting foods, but I just bought Ruffles and a large Diet Coke at the grocery store (which both tasted very good!). I have phone calls to return and emails to reply to, but I just can't get it together enough to do it.

I know I have a good excuse since I'm going through chemo and all of that, but it is still frustrating to have little things that aren't crossed off the "To-Do List".  I feel like I sound like Eeyore! I was thinking about all this last night and was reminded that God's grace will get me through, even if it seems overwhelming now.

I have another lumbar puncture this week. I'm so ready to be done with those! Please pray for the results and that the cancer cells would be gone. Thank you! 

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Finally out of the Hospital... Just took 5 days!

Well, this round of chemo has taken so much longer than usual! I have been really sick the whole time, but at least I busted out today and am now home!

Like normal, I was supposed to be admitted Friday at 11am. Thankfully, I called to confirm my check-in time and my room wasn't ready until 6pm that night. While being admitted that night, the nurse was reading answers I had given in the past to be sure everything was correct. On the Drug & Alcohol page, I apparently said that "I wish I could drink more, but the drugs prevent that". I didn't realize that they are so literal! I understand the subjective part of a medical note, but really? And that has been in my chart for months now. I don't think she understood my sense of humor!

Having the TV on all night made me notice some exciting new products for the "As Seen on TV" store. There is now a waterproof bib that is made just for adults. So if you every spill your coffee or juice (or Diet Coke), on your way to school or work, it won't stain your clothes! And I think you can buy 2 for $19.95. Great deal! And the colors were decent...bright red and bright blue.

Also there were these twin animal toys being sold together and the best part is that they unfold into slippers! In both child and adult sizes! And again for only $19.95 for two. At least I've learned a lot during this stay and have started my Christmas shopping list!

Good news though! I had an MRI and my scans were great! Both my brain and spinal cord look stable.  My doctor seemed really excited! I'll have another lumbar puncture next week to see how the spinal fluid is doing and then I'll have treatment only twice a month!! Thanks again for all of your prayers and thoughts. Much appreciated! God Bless!

P.S. Oh, to top everything off, when I arrived home, my Beta fish died. I think I forgot to ask someone to feed him, whoops! So he had a proper toilet funeral and is now in the big tank in the sky. I had grown a little attached to Starshine the Third!