oncologist appointment...

i met with my oncologist 2day 2 discuss the PET that i had last week

everything came back looking good...it shows i still have some swollen lymph nodes in my neck & chest, but she says that's mostly likely due 2 scarring from treatment...my blood work is normal too...so, i'll meet back with her in 3 months & we'll check on things again...but for now, i've been given the...

ALL CLEAR!!!

the nurses all loved my tat! they kept calling each other over 2 check it out, saying it was the cutest 1 they'd seen...they're so sweet! it's kinda weird 2 say - but i'm actually gonna miss em!

i plan 2 pop in sometime in the near future...i wanna take a cake in 4 my docs & all the amazing oncology nurses 2 share...i can't imagine having their job - seeing so many people, going thru probably the hardest time of their life...but the RN's & LPN's always stay very upbeat & friendly! they greet u with a smile each day, ask about ur family, actually remember ur name & history without having 2 check out ur chart...u can tell they really do care!

i also want 2 take a cake over 2 the radiation side - mostly 4 my man, Wayne (picture a skinny 50 year old bald man) - he's an absolute sweetheart & was the tech that set me up with my zapping every day for those 3 weeks of radiation...he was always so personable & talkative...he definitely deserves a cake too! ;0)

i didn't blog about it, but i met with my oncologist & radiation doc last month as well...i was finally taken off the Coumadin because the clot had long since disappeared & i wasn't appearing 2 have any other blood issues...they explained that the sore throat & reflux that i'm still experiencing pretty frequently is normal...that it will probably continue 4 a few more months - especially in2 the fall with the change of seasons

they both discussed my future with me - explaining that 4 the next year, i'll come back 2 meet with my oncologist every 3 or 4 months...i'll continue 2 have PET scans about every 6 months 4 the next year or 2...then after that (if everything stays clear), i'll have 2 have routine MRIs 2 monitor not only my lymph nodes, but my breasts/lung area as well...the radiation treatment tripled my risk of developing another cancer later on in life - especially since i was zapped directly in those areas - so they have 2 keep a close watch on that

i'll likely have scans & routine tests 4 the rest of my life - but if nothing pops up in the meantime, i'll b considered cancer free in 5 or 10 years!

that sounds pretty darn good 2 me! ;0)