Let's hear it for putting some points on the board! I went for a PET/CT scan at Hopkins yesterday, and was told that I am "negative for cancer, positive for inflammation." Dr. Georgiades said that cancer gets brighter and bigger on a PET/CT. My tumor sites have either gone completely dark (meaning that the tumors are dead and gone forever) or they are collapsing and getting dimmer - no longer a "hot spot." The inflammation is just a leftover side effect of the radiofrequency ablations (RFAs). This will disappear completely with time. Not only that, no new lesions were found and the little "ditzels" (tiny spots that are only 1 or 2 ml. - too small to declare as anything definitively) have not changed. I don't have to go back for more tests for 6 months. (By the way, the reason that a nuclear glucose isotope is injected through an IV to make the cancer "light up" on a PET scan is because cancer is hungry for sugar and the glucose in the IV provides the food. No wonder there's a correlation between sugar and the rise in cancer rates. Click here for more on this.)
As I mentioned in previous posts, I can never use the words "cancer free," "cured," or "remission." I will never be able to leave the football field, but I'm in the end zone, as close to claiming "no detectable cancer," or "no viable evidence of tumor" as I'll ever be.
If I have learned anything in the last 14 months, I've learned that we never know what the next moment will bring. I believe that this is my first of many negative test results, so I will savor it for awhile. I will not, however, take it for granted, and no, I will not stop living my anticancer lifestyle just because my cancer has either been completely killed or has been beaten into dormancy. This disease is vicious. It deserves no slack. This is not just a game, it's the Super Bowl.
But for now, I'm doing the Victory Dance!
Kathy
CANcer + HEALth = CAN HEAL
4 weeks ago
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Kathy, as always I am thrilled that you cancer journey has continued to see many highs, and that the lows are behind you. I think you and your doctors have found the right path and you will continue to have many more "touchdowns!"
ReplyDeleteWay to go Kathy. You are such an inspiration to all of us who are in the same game.
ReplyDeleteI thank the powers to be every day for having someone like you in my life. You inspire everyone you touch with your strength, insight and tenacity. Don't ever think for a moment that you haven't made someone's life a little brighter or hopefull.
ReplyDeleteGreat news! You are an inspiration for many and I am sure that your experiences will help others overcome their challenges with cancer. Talk about legacy! Big hug. (arf)
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