On Wednesday, January 12th, it was my turn for a follow-up breast MRI, and on Thursday, January 13th, I received a call from the MRI clinician telling me that they could see no signs of cancer. Of course, anyone who hears this is ecstatic and ready to celebrate the end of my journey. I wish I could.
Despite the retreating cancer, surgery is still necessary. A lumpectomy will in fact be done to test the tissues in the area where the cancer initially lived. At the same time, two lymph nodes will be removed and biopsied to make absolutely certain they are clean. The surgery will take about an hour.
Before decisions about surgery, we must hear from the oncologist. That appointment is this Wednesday. He will talk about treatment protocols. I am supposed to start yet another 21 days of chemotherapy on Thursday. How exciting! He will also communicate with my surgeon on Thursday and she will give me a call on Friday about when the surgery may happen.
Now after surgery, there may be radiation. That has not been ruled out yet. And also, every three weeks after the planned chemotherapy and surgery, I will continue with infusions of a maintenance drug every three weeks until next September.
You can see that this journey is not over. While there are high points along the way - like hearing they can find no cancer - there is still a process to insure that my aggressive kind of cancer lives nowhere in my body. Both my surgeon and oncologist are united in their commitment to make certain I have no recurrences, ever.
So celebrate this good news from the MRI but know that I continue to fight a very aggressive cancer that can hide someplace in me and make a comeback if it is not handled correctly. I must trust that the good Lord continues to work through these marvelous people. They have my back. They want me to live and so do I. Please keep me in your prayers.
Committed to forever, The quilting cancer girl
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