OT Long overdue update on how I am doing...

Hi,

I has been ages since I posted a message about my health. There really
hasn't been a whole lot to say, though. I'll probably make up for that
today :-)


So, last time I posted, I had just completed my chemotherapy treatment.
That was two months ago. Since then I have been on a non-chemo drug
that, in simplest terms, prevents the growth of cancer cells. There is
a lot more to it than that but that is its essence. In fact, I just got
back from having my latest dose. (More news about today at the end of
this message.)

I have started to go in to work at my office two days a week. Apart
from feeling like I am in a foreign country sometimes, it feels good.
The rest of the week, I work at home - another foreign country sometimes :-)
Most days I feel really good, although I still get more tired than I
like to at the end of the day. This is improving slowly.

Probably the most humorous part of all this is the hair loss. I am
happy to report that my hair is now growing back pretty quickly. Most
of my adult friends tell me that it looks very "hip". Children, on the
other hand, tell the truth. One of my almost-four-year-old twin nephews
(Nick, if I remember correctly) observed when he saw me recently that
"You don't have some hair!". I thought that was pretty funny and then
last week my new young friend Alyssa (I had a very nice visit with her,
her younger sister and their mother) asked why I was wearing a scarf on
my head. When I told her, she asked if she could take the scarf off to
see. Once it was off, she asked "Are you a boy or a girl?". (I laughed
at that, too.) We sorted that out and then she decided that I looked
better without the scarf - very tactful child! Even CVS has an
opinion. I recently received a free sample of volumizing shampoo in the
mail from them. The laughing never stops :-)

This brings us to this week. On Monday I had a CT scan and I got the
results today. There has been a small amount of reduction in the size
of my tumor since the last scan. There has also been reduction in its
density. Much of the lymphangitic spread has resolved or reduced. In
short, not perfect but very good news. I will continue to receive the
avastin infusion every three weeks for the foreseeable future. If that
stops working or causes problems, there are other treatments "waiting in
the wings".

That's about it. As always, thank you for all the prayers and well
wishes. Obviously they worked!

Rita



--
Rita L. in MA - One eyed Mutant Ninja Quilter :-)