I haven't written much over the past several months about the ongoing battle on cancer. It is hard for me to talk about it as I don't want anyone feeling sorry for me. One thing that I have learned over the past almost two years is that I have absolutely no control over this awful disease. The only thing I can control is how I handle it. Lately it has been hard to be positive even when I try.
We normally leave for Butte over Memorial Day weekend. This year, both Dave and I couldn't leave because of health issues. He has had some problems with his back and had to have it taken care of before we left. Originally, he was going to have surgery to clean up the area from his previous very invasive surgery. The doctor decided to try some shots in his back to see if that would work. It kept getting put off by a week and then another week until all of a sudden it was the end of June.
He continued to golf which I couldn't believe because of the heat. He would then come home and go swimming so that was a good thing.
As for me, the past several months have been very difficult. I had a scan done in January and there was a very small lymph node that was suspicious. I have learned to be an advocate for my health. The doctors weren't real concerned about it because it was so small. I insisted that it be tested and so I went to Banner University hospital for the biopsy as that is the only place that they can do a biopsy on some thing that small. The results were that it tested positive for cancer. My cancer was originally Stage 3. However, once it reoccurs no matter how small it goes to Stage 4, which is scary. But that doesn't mean that it can't be treated and that the prognosis can still be good.
As a result, Dr. Bhoola put my on an immunotherapy regime that has shown a lot of promise with recurrence of endometrial cancer. It consisted of daily meds and an infusion every three weeks. This therapy helped my own cells fight the cancer. I also went through five sessions of targeted radiation.
As with so many treatments, there are a lot of side effects that can happen. I normally don't want to know what the side effects might be because I think it is a bit psychological---wrong. I should have had a clue when I received a blood pressure monitor with the oral meds.
I did okay at first but as time went on, I think I got every side effect possible. The biggest problems were very high blood pressure and having my thyroid get completely out of whack! As a result, I was not hungry and I have lost a significant amount of weight. The other big problem was a complete lack of energy. There were days that I had a hard time getting out of bed. There was a few days where I ended up in the hospital because I was so weak I couldn't even function.
The first part of June, I stopped the treatment because of the side effects. The radiologist had scheduled a PET Scan for July 5 to see how the radiation had done. Last Tuesday, I had an appointment with both doctors. My scan came back completely clear everywhere. Both doctors were extremely positive about how well the immunotherapy had worked for me despite the side effects.
I already feel 1000% better. I can do things without being exhausted immediately. It is so nice to feel good again. My blood pressure continues to be on the high side, but I am seeing a cardiologist and monitoring it daily. Thyroid is still not working great, but it is getting better. I'm still on a lot of meds and hopefully that will improve as time goes on.
We got to Butte on Friday. I was so glad to get here and I'm so happy we are able to spend at least the rest of the summer here.
And it is so nice to feel good and be able to plan on doing things. From March until the end of May, I did very little and couldn't plan on anything because I didn't know how I would feel. Fortunately, I was able to continue my Board duties without any problems. That is still so important to me because it gives me a purpose. I feel it is an honor to serve our community in this way.
So many things could still happen in the future, but I feel as though I have the best oncologist out there. I feel positive and now that I feel good, I can live each day in a positive way. I look forward to a long time of being able to attend sporting events with Dave, travel, have fun and be of service to our community!
Here's to a great summer in Butte and an even greater year when we get back to Gilbert in September!
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