Catch Up
Thank you, thank you, each and all, for keeping in touch, for your cards, notes, emails, letters and calls, especially during what I call the “dark days.” These were the days between the recent holidays that were especially difficult for me: constant nausea overshadowed with the gloom of depression, probably due to the anniversary of D-Day (Diagnosis Day). As the days become colder and the hours of daily sunshine decreased, I spent more time mourning the fading days of a summertime filled with a light heart and optimism.
But now that I’ve had a couple of weeks with frequent strings of “good days”, and am managing the nausea a bit better, I find my spirits lightening. The beginning of a new year always has brought me renewed optimism. Now I’m celebrating just being here to write ANY date in 2008.
Recent highlights:
Laser-blasting a kidney stone on the day after Thanksgiving (out-patient surgery at Medical College of Virginia in Richmond).
A meeting with our oncologist on January 2. He confirmed the improvement shown by the imaging done in Charleston in early November. The cancer marker blood tests showed a decline in one marker of 57%, and the other marker of 44% (lower numbers are better). Furthermore, the physical exam of my liver, in the oncologist’s estimation showed “softening” of the liver area that had been hard and distended due to the size and mass of the tumor. We are all thrilled by the test results.
Dancing however briefly on New Year’s Eve (to Credence Clearwater).
Now we are back in Charleston for more CT imaging: chest & abdomen today and neck tomorrow, blood work on Monday and an appointment with the study’s principal oncologist to review imaging results and plan the next phase of the study participation. It is hard to imagine better results than those noted above, but we shall see. And I will pass along the news either way promptly.
A special thanks to Michael and his amazing endurance. I don’t know how he puts up with my recalcitrance and oftentimes difficult behavior. You can choose when and how you communicate with me. He’s stuck with me!
Copyright 2008
http://lindalater.blogspot.com
Posted January 31, 2008
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