Good News, Good News, Good News! :)

10/31/16 - For the first time that I can remember, I actually walked out of that place feeling happy, heard, respected and in full agreement with my oncologist regarding my surveillance plan going forward. And it's official, I am 16 months in remission!!! :)   I got my regular oncologist today who not only was running on time, he was very clear re: my ongoing surveillance plan AND I'M FINALLY GOING TO GET MY MRI!  :)  He also assured me that the previous surveillance plan that he & I discussed at the start of this year WILL stay in place, contrary to what the other oncologist said last time!  I actually told him in a tactful manner about the other oncologist NOT wanting to do MRI's on me at all "until symptoms appear" & that I was so upset by this that I went home & cried.  He was very good about it & assured me I *will* get my annual MRI, so I am very relieved & happy!  So, we're continuing with the chest x-ray every four months & the annual MRI of my thigh & annual CT scan of my chest, abdomen & pelvis.  However, to my delight, there is one change - we're no longer going to monitor my ovarian cysts, as they've remained stable & will show up on the annual CT scan anyway, so f anything looks suspicious, we can address it then.  Hurray, no more internal ultrasounds!  Those are the worst!

Speaking of MRI's, I also got answers re: the increasing pain I've been experiencing in part of my surgical area.  He confirmed that...

• (a) It's normal for extremity sarcoma survivors to experience this on an ongoing basis, and is most likely a result of radiation damage, in addition to all the scar tissue I have around my nerve.
• (b) it can take up to two years to truly heal from this surgery & all the radiation I had.
• (c) I may find at times it gets worse & other times it's not so bad.
• (d) The best thing I can do is stretch the area as much as possible, so looks like my yoga ball & I will be making a reacquaintance in the near future!
• (e) My hunch about this damage causing inflammation was spot on, which explains why the turmeric helps so much!

The other interesting thing to note, is he mentioned several times that my four-month interval of X-rays may  last up to THREE years.  Damn!  Here I thought I was graduating to six month intervals in the next eight months but not necessarily!  Oh well, if that's all I have to complain about this time around, I'll take it!

Better yet, we inadvertently got free parking today when the hospital changed their parking payment system without us realizing!  We could've gotten ticketed but fortunately for me, we didn't!  Can this day get any better?  Well, yes...YES, it can!  ;)   My luggage is all packed and i'm ready to finally see Culture Club for the first time after waiting 33 years, followed by a whole lot of Placebo gigs not long after that, and who better to do it with then my Kindred spirit in Placebo, packing, and planning! Let the fangirling begin!  :) <3


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