It's a Beautiful Day - 3/19/2012

I heard this song on the Today show this morning which I have now been singing all day! 

I had my oncology appointment this morning and then went out for lunch with my mother-in-law, Kay!  The appointment was full of good news.  First, I will be starting the temodar treatments again tonight for the next five nights.  Second, I got my results of my PET scan which was last week.  The PET scan will show tumors in my body - previously showing us the tumors in my hip as well as my liver.  (It does not, however, show brain tumors - that is done only by an MRI.)  The results were again GREAT... my tumor in my liver is gone and my hip tumor is still healing.  I had radiation as well as the Ipi treatments which they figure are still working on my hip.  Good news! 

I am very anxious to get back to work so I asked my oncologist when I could have another MRI.  Since my last one was at the end of January, I will have another in the middle of April.  (While I continue to BELIEVE that I will get good news on brain tumors from my next MRI, I figure it would be best to get my results of that and know that everything is okay with the brain before going back to work and then have them say that I need further treatment, etc.)  So, hopefully within the next month, I might be able to go back to work!

Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers!  I believe!!!!  (I wonder if I should start singing "I believe in miracles...")

Updates / Thoughts and Prayers for Others - 3/12/2012

I haven't had much going on personally so I haven't really updated much.  I've received LOTS of inbox messages asking how I am doing since I haven't put anything on my blog or facebook lately so I thought I would put an update.  Things have been pretty uneventful for me but I have, however, been praying for LOTS of people lately as it seems that there are a lot of people that have recently gotten bad health news. 

First, I'd like to say "Rest in Peace, Carl Wolf".  Carl is the person that I saw at the beginning of my newest journey who, years previously, was given @3-6 months to live with pancreatic cancer.  He found out about his cancer at about the same time that I found out of my original melanoma almost 9 years ago.  While he did not have an easy battle with cancer, I hope to have half of the fight in me to be around to see my children grow up, make lots of memories with my husband/children/family/friends/etc.

Thoughts and prayers out to MANY people and their families including (and I am sure I am forgetting people - sorry) who have recently diagnosed or have been fighting this nasty battle:  Kathy Blake, Sherry Garwood, Jane Johnson, Carrie Zenti.  I'm sorry if I forgot anyone! 

As for myself, I am having another PET scan on Wednesday, blood work on Friday and Monday will get the results of the scan and blood work and hopefully start my third month of chemo pills that night.  Things have been relatively uneventful but the chemo treatment does definitely make me tired by the end of the week.  I'm hoping that after these next rounds of medications and results from my next PET scan/MRI results to be able to go back to work (and Kurt to go back to work as well).  I don't yet know when I will have my next MRI so I haven't talked to work yet.  I figure that I will wait for the results as I don't want to start back and have to stop if the results have changed.  Don't get me wrong, I've been feeling good and I believe!!!!

More information/results after my oncology appointment on Monday!  Thank you for your continued thoughts/prayers/etc.

Jodi