Chemo #4

Last chemo was not great. The iv left burns on my arm from the chemo, I got a cold that turned into a sinus infection, James got Strep Throat... the last 3 weeks have flown by because they've been full of sickness and birthday celebration. 

 

James' Birthday
James turned 6! I was so happy to feel well enough to bake him a cake, celebrate with family and celebrate at his party with all his friends! Turning 6 is a pretty magical birthday and I'm so glad I was able to be magical. I think he had a pretty special birthday.

MRI
I had my half way MRI on Tuesday (4/4). I was hopeful they would be blown away by how much my tumor had shrunk. Good news- they are! At first the numbers don't seem like much has changed. So, I came home and modeled my tumor before chemo and now out of playdoh. I just had to have a visual and that's he best I could do.
Tumor before chemo: 12cm x 6.4cm x 9.2cm
Tumor half way through chemo: 2.9cm x 5.4cm x 6.6cm
Here is a visual of what the tumor looks like.

Chemo #4
Port access was almost impossible.  My port is not too small, it is "floating".  One of the stitches holding it in place has come loose.  So, every time they try to access it... it moves.  Over 100 attempts later they got it!  The surgeon does not want to fix it because I only have 2 chemos left.  So, I will go to his office before the next 2 chemos for him to access it.  Then, off to chemo.  Uneventful as usual for the day.  After this one has been rougher than the others.  But, today I'm feeling more like myself than I have since before chemo #3.

Surgeon Appointment
BEST APPOINTMENT EVER!!!  Both the surgeon and the oncologist believe that I already have a pathological complete response!!!  This means that there are most likely no living cancer cells left.  While there is still a mass, it is not receiving blood flow and appears and feels like it is already dead. I will still need the last 2 doses of chemo to ensure all cancer is gone before surgery. The surgeon believes that my chance of reoccurrence is 1-2%!  This is amazing news!!!  My surgery is scheduled for June 23rd to remove what is left.  After that I will need radiation.  Still a long road ahead, but; so encouraging to get some good news!

Here are the pictures the surgeon showed me of my tumor.  The top one is the MRI image of my tumor several weeks before my first chemo.  It grew much larger than this before my first chemo.  The bottom one is the MRI image taken 2 weeks ago (after 3 chemos).  The bottom image also shows the blood supply to the tumor.  If there were blood supply it would light up red and orange.  As you can see, nothing!

I'm already feeling SO much better from this chemo.  Glad to have my mom here to help with the boys so I can rest when I feel like it!  We even got out today and enjoyed the beautiful weather!  So many thank you's to everyone who has helped with the kids, helped with meals, sent a card or package and texted to check on me!!!  Wow.  We are so grateful for each and every one of those!

Not looking forward to the next chemo, but; I am so ready to check it off the list!