Great news! My ultrasound results came in & everything appears stable compared to my last one from April, so I can officially say that I am still cancer free! Yay!!! But booo, because now that means I’ll be officially laid off at the end of this month if I don’t find a job at my previous employer ( but that’s not likely to happen, since they’re closing or moving all the departments I would’ve been interested in applying for!), but at least I can FINALLY move on with the rest of my life & start looking for work elsewhere! I’d been wanting to wait till my first four-month surveillance before moving forward, just to err on the safe side! Wow, I feel like a huge weight has been removed from my shoulders! Now, I am well aware this is still very early days, and there’s always a very real possibility *it* could return, but for now, I can relax & move forward…well, once my physio is done in a month, that is. I’m on the home stretch now!!! :) Oh, and I definitely have ovarian cysts, but as mentioned in my post from yesterday, they’re totally unrelated to my myxoid liposarcoma & I’m not in any pain, so all is well. That’s it from me for now till probably next month when my out-patient physio finally ends! OMG, I am so giddy, I can’t wait!!! Placebo 2016 tour here I come!!! Thank you to everyone who's supported me over the past nine months! I couldn't have done it without you!
*[NOTE - Post title inspired by the song "Happy You're Gone" by Placebo off their 2009 album, "Battle for the Sun".]
Tuesday 10 November 2015
Monday 9 November 2015
Passed the Test - First Four-Month Followup & Scans
11/09/15 - Saw my surgical oncologist today. He only had results from my chest x-ray & is still waiting for the ultrasound images which should hopefully be in over the next few days, but the chest x-ray came back NED (no evidence of disease)!!! :) What a huge relief!!! With regards to my ovarian cyst, I didn't press about the disappearing & reappearing cyst saga (I could swear he told me it disappeared several months back, but the ultrasound tech said it was definitely visible!), but I did ask about it & he suggested it's been there for a long time but said he'd forward the results to my family doctor, and that it's best to followup on that with her. I'm sure she'll send me off to a gynaecologist, but I've decided I'm not going to stress about it, because he said it's not related to the myxoid liposarcoma, plus it's not causing me any pain.
As for my ongoing surveillance plan, it's a bit different than I originally thought. Rather than every three months for two years & six months for five years, it'll be first two years: chest x-ray every four months, MRI every six months & CT scan of abdomen & pelvis annually. Then for five years: x-ray/MRI every six months & CT annually. Then we review at that point on what to do going forward. It was suggested by a fellow liposarcoma survivor that he was prescribing CT scans less frequently than some doctors to reduce my radiation exposure, and this is indeed correct. That's exactly why we're only going with a CT scan annually. :) Another interesting thing he said that in all his time treating myxoid sarcoma patients, he has yet to come across someone with METS (metastasis) in the abdomen *who didn't also* have METS in the lungs - another reason to reduce the exposure to CT scans.
It was funny, he kept saying I should've been a doctor because of all the reading & research I do! I think it's both a blessing & a curse for him, because I keep him on his toes & always have a bunch of questions, LOL! Anyway, I'll keep you posted on the ultrasound, where they are also checking my kidney on my right side, but given what he said today, I have a feeling it's going to be fine. Cross all your appendages for me there are no surprises! One last thing, he said that I will likely have weakness in my leg for the rest of my life, even with all the physio. Hopefully, time will surprise both of us, but with the way my leg feels these days, I think he’s right. I’ve come a long way, though! Still working on that turbo-wobble for Placebo’s 2016 tour, though! ;)
*[NOTE: Post title loosely inspired by a line out of "Pure Morning" by Placebo found on their 1998 album, "Without You I'm Nothing"]
As for my ongoing surveillance plan, it's a bit different than I originally thought. Rather than every three months for two years & six months for five years, it'll be first two years: chest x-ray every four months, MRI every six months & CT scan of abdomen & pelvis annually. Then for five years: x-ray/MRI every six months & CT annually. Then we review at that point on what to do going forward. It was suggested by a fellow liposarcoma survivor that he was prescribing CT scans less frequently than some doctors to reduce my radiation exposure, and this is indeed correct. That's exactly why we're only going with a CT scan annually. :) Another interesting thing he said that in all his time treating myxoid sarcoma patients, he has yet to come across someone with METS (metastasis) in the abdomen *who didn't also* have METS in the lungs - another reason to reduce the exposure to CT scans.
It was funny, he kept saying I should've been a doctor because of all the reading & research I do! I think it's both a blessing & a curse for him, because I keep him on his toes & always have a bunch of questions, LOL! Anyway, I'll keep you posted on the ultrasound, where they are also checking my kidney on my right side, but given what he said today, I have a feeling it's going to be fine. Cross all your appendages for me there are no surprises! One last thing, he said that I will likely have weakness in my leg for the rest of my life, even with all the physio. Hopefully, time will surprise both of us, but with the way my leg feels these days, I think he’s right. I’ve come a long way, though! Still working on that turbo-wobble for Placebo’s 2016 tour, though! ;)
*[NOTE: Post title loosely inspired by a line out of "Pure Morning" by Placebo found on their 1998 album, "Without You I'm Nothing"]
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