Christmas Came Early!!

We got an early Christmas present today with news that my latest CAT scans show no signs of cancer!! The doctor is very pleased with my progress and overall health. My white blood cell count is still low, but that appears to be my new normal level and isn't causing trouble. I am so aware of how blessed I have been with such a complete recovery with very few reminders of my past treatments. I don't take any medications at all....crazy considering how our bathroom resembled a small pharmacy not long ago. This marks 19 months since my transplant and I can't believe how quickly the time has passed. My next scan will be at the 2 year mark - a significant milestone in the battle against cancer.

The kids are getting so grown, and of course, crazy excited about Christmas. We are looking forward to enjoying the holidays with family. It hasn't been too crazy this year (yet) and we are trying to keep the focus on the true meaning of Christmas....which is really hard with all hype that surrounds this major retail event.

Here are a few recent pictures - bet you can't believe all the hair that can grow in one year!!! Yes, it is still extremely curly but I try to straighten it when I have the energy!

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!!

Nothing New

All is quiet around here on the cancer front. No new scans or doctor visits until December. I am supposed to be getting a mammogram and a bone density test done but keep forgetting to schedule them. My past treatments leave me at a higher risk for breast cancer, so I will get the annual mammograms as a preventive measure. And the bone density test is to get a baseline because the treatments can cause a loss of bone function and leave you at risk of osteoporosis at an earlier age.

The kids are doing well in school - hard to believe the first nine weeks is half over. Both are playing fall baseball and that keeps us running. My part time job appears to have become sorta permanent...seeing as how I was supposed to be done in May and I am still working!! It adds some stress to our routines, but I still have lots of time at home with the kids and I am getting some great experience career-wise.

The holidays will be here before we know it. I am looking forward to it, but I still miss the summer!!!

Hallelujah!!

....and thank God for: answered prayers; friends and family that believe in the power of prayer and have taken the time to remember us; creating us in such a marvelous way that our bodies can endure and recover; providing gifts to those in the medical field that have made huge advances in treating cancer; and the list goes on.... The children's VBS song that was titled "I know my God is real...." keeps running thru my head.

In case you couldn't tell, we received good news from the doctor today: 15 months after my stem cell transplant there are no signs of the disease!!! My statistics for being cured of this disease take leaps and bounds with each passing set of scans. Next set of scans will be in December and then again around my two year anniversary next April.

Brant and I have let out a collective sigh and have begun to feel ok with thinking about the future in terms of many years. But it is funny since no one is really guaranteed "tomorrow" yet we all tend to feel like we have a right to expect it and many more tomorrows after that. Hopefully from this experience we will always keep the perspective that each day is special, a gift to be enjoyed, and not overlooked in a race to get to somewhere that may not ever materialize.

My one other milestone to report is that I played in a doubles beach volleyball tournament last weekend. It was pretty exciting considering I haven't done that in well over ten years....in fact, I really can't remember the last time I played on the beach. And this time last year I would get winded going upstairs!! I was blessed to play on a rare August day that was only in the 80's instead of the 90's, and to have a partner that is not only good at volleyball but is also in very good condition (she's a fitness instructor). Needless to say, Janet chased down most of the stray balls while I stood stuck in the sand gasping for air!!! We didn't win prize money, but we were definitely competitive and look forward to doing it again.

Thanks for checking in....hopefully the good news will keep on coming!

A Wonderful Summer

Hi there....sorry to be so long between posts.....but I started this blog as a place to update my progress against Hodgkin's, and there just isn't that much to report about that these days!!! What a blessing!!!!

There has been plenty going on, but it is all related to being healthy, having fun with the kids, enjoying the summer and working a little bit in between. It is amazing to think how different this summer is than last. We are still just so grateful for how well things have been going.

Here's a recent picture of the whole family - we visited friend's up in Blacksburg over the 4th of July. They truly live up in the mountains and have some land, four dogs, two horses, and a cat. The kids were in heaven with all of the animals and the chance to ride a horse. This picture is on the front porch of their log cabin. Brant was in heaven as well being in our beloved college town. It was fun to visit campus and the bookstore on a non-football weekend when we didn't get quite so mobbed!

Here are a few other kid pics from the weekend...again, just because I think they are so stinkin' great and believe you should all want to see them! :)

I will be getting another set of scans done in August. It will be the 15 month mark and a big one if everything still shows to be clean. Luckily I will be able to do the scans and a heart test down here and send the results to New York. This will be the last requirements of the clinical trial protocol that I participated in. If all turns up well, I will be done with Sloan Kettering and just have routine follow up with my oncologist down here. I haven't been as nervous lately, I guess that may change the few days before my scans......Prayers are always appreciated!!

Well, enjoy the rest of your summer. School will be starting up again before you know it!

Still in Remission!!!

We received another set of clean scans in May - yeah!! They were my first scans taken down here (instead of NY) and were requested by my local doctor. Since all looks good, I will do my August scans locally as well and send my results to NY to complete the requirements of the clinical trial. So that means that hopefully there will be no more trips to NY for a while!

Other than that, not too much to report. School is out tomorrow and we are looking forward to a fun summer. Katie is still playing baseball - she is on all stars like Chris was last year. Brant is pitching for the team just like last year as well. So that will keep things tied up until Fourth of July. The heat came EARLY and so the pool has been in use A LOT!!

Hope everyone has a nice summer (or mild winter for my upside down relatives off in Aussie land).

One Year Anniversary!!

It is hard to believe that it has been a full year since my stem cell transplant. I went back and scanned a few of the posts from last April and remembered what it was like. It is nice to have documented the process because I have already forgotten so much of it......maybe the chemo destroyed a few too many brain cells?? Even though I am fighting off another cold right now, I feel like I have been very blessed with great health over this last year of recovery. I don't think I ever posted any pics of me in the hospital last year, so here are a few for memory's sake:

First off, there is transplant day receiving my stem cells via that big syringe....

Then me as a bald beauty walking around with my IV pole - remember the time I thought it was an evil scarecrow in the middle of the night? We decided the morphine pump might have been set a tad too high.... And check out my make-up, I look like I am ready to hit Times Square late night as soon as I find my wig......

And last but not least, a recent family photo for one of Chris' class projects. Look at all the hair that has come back!!!

I keep hearing the Rob Thomas song in my head "Look How Far We've Come". And thanks to all of you for your love, support, and many prayers in getting to this great milestone!

Cruising Along

Life is treating our family very well this Spring. We are adjusting to much busier schedules as the kids have started all of their Spring sports (Chris - soccer, Katie - baseball and gymnastics) and I am working part time. There certainly isn't as much time to sit around and just hang out. It was especially crazy just before Easter (which snuck up so quickly!!!) and I was stressing about all there was to do. Then I remembered that late March one year ago I was in the NY apartment with nothing to do but wait until my body made stem cells. And I realized how much better it was to be home with TOO much to do.

Easter was great. I was a little bit teary thinking once again back to last year when Easter Sunday landed in April while I was home from NY between treatments. We were able to attend church together even though I was pretty weak and wearing my lovely wig. Easter is a holiday to celebrate the greatest gift ever given, Jesus' sacrifice for us, and this year I also celebrated the gift of being here another year and being so healthy as well.

Speaking of health, I had a local check-up last week. My bloodwork is the about the same with my white blood cells seeming to line out around 3.7 - a level that is a little below average. But they must be pretty efficient workers because I have been rather healthy. And the doctor is not concerned.

Here is a link to another cancer blog posted by a local physician. He was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma and is fighting a HUGE battle. I am inspired by his faith and insight thru all of this - he is clearly a very intelligent and spiritual man. Check it out if you can: http://www.dancrabtree.blogspot.com/

Back in the Working World...Sort Of....

Spring is just around the corner and I am so ready for warm weather, the pool, the beach.... I have had a cold for almost three weeks now (I think I brought it back from NY) and it is starting to feel like it won't go away until the weather warms up. It hasn't been too bad, certainly not as severe as some of the flu cases and respiratory infections that have been going around.

So like my title says, I am doing a little work these days (besides laundry that is...). A friend of mine in the consulting world is out on maternity leave so I am working part time helping out at their office and covering some of her projects. It is fun to be doing a little engineering again, stretching out that part of the ol' brain so it doesn't shrivel up and die...ha ha! But I miss my time during the day to keep up with things around the house and do a few things for myself like go to the gym, read, etc.... I got spoiled quickly!!!

I had a birthday last week. I turned 39 for real this year (future years it will just be a lie). Brant and the kids got me my own bike so we can take family rides together (I usually just borrowed Brant's bike). Getting old doesn't seem so bad these days and birthdays feel like a privilege rather than a dreaded event. Sure, I am not excited about the aging process, and especially how chemo has accelerated it for me in many ways, but it sure is great to be here!

And what a difference a year makes. This time last year I was recovering from my first round of ICE chemo and was packing up to leave for New York. This year I am looking forward to feeling healthy on Easter, going to opening day of little league, and being here for Brant and the kids. We feel so very blessed!!!

Praise the Lord - Clean Scans!!!

We are back from New York with all things good! It has been 9 months since my stem cell transplant and my scans show NO ACTIVITY. The wonderful word they used a lot in the report was "unremarkable". Wow how I love to be unremarkable these days!

As Dr. Moskowitz pointed out, my remission this time is already longer than it was after my first treatments in 2005. This scan and the 15 month scan I will have in August are the most critical. If I can get past both of those, my odds for achieving a complete cure look really good. One down, one to go!

They also did a pulmonary function test to make sure my lungs were not damaged from the treatment. My lungs did great and I am still full of hot air! And my bloodwork looks ok, too. My white blood cell count is still a little low at 2.7 instead of somewhere between 4 and 11, but it may get up there again one day.

We seem to experience weather extremes when travelling to New York. My last visit brought subway-stopping thunderstorms and the first New York City tornado in several decades. This time we had temperatures in the teens with wind chills below zero. Not the greatest sight-seeing weather. But Brant and I made the most of our free day between the scans and dr. appointment. We went to the World Trade Center site, then spent an hour on the Staten Island Ferry (with heated, indoor space) which gave us some nice views of the Manhattan skyline, Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island. We were even brave enough to do the top of the Empire State Building in the frigid temps. The view was awesome and there wasn't any wait on this type of day!! Do we look cold?



The trip home was a little scary since it had snowed most of the afternoon and switched over to freezing rain as we were waiting for our flight that was delayed about three hours. They de-iced the plane and coated it just before pushing off from the gate. Then as we sat on the runway, the pilot (yes, the guy with the little wings) appears in the exit row where we were seated with a little mag lite flashlight. He leans across us saying "excuse me, I just need to look out your window and check the wings to see if there is any new ice." He looks a long time, checks the other wing, then comes back to our side to check again. Boy, were we praying as we took off down the runway!

Ok, I will try not to wait so long before my next post. Thank you for all of the prayers and good thoughts as we were preparing for this big trip to New York. I was very nervous and felt every ache and pain in my body and would ask myself "is this cancer? is that cancer?".....it was just a tad nervewracking. Brant is always much more confident than me and I love to have his strength to support me.

It is nice to have a few more months now of knowing things are going well. I wish I was stronger and could keep this disease from mentally controlling me so much.....but I am who I am and I just try my best to stay thankful for each new day. Here's to a lot more new days!

Happy New Year!!!

The holidays are now only memories and a few extra pounds on the hips. But the New Year is here! I have always liked New Years and when I was younger I also liked the start of a new school year. It seems like there are so many opportunities and you haven't yet fallen short of any grand plans. Ahhh.....the bliss of optimism.....check back in August for reality.....

So my big goal this year is to spend 12 straight months without getting cancer treatments!! Unfortunately, other than healthy living and positive thinking I don't have total control over this goal. But I do want to get involved with at least one cancer group and I think I want to focus on improving access to clinical trials and/or being a support person for other cancer patients. I'd love to find a way to convert my blog info into an article or something. Or maybe just help Internet surfers more easily find first person accounts (like blogs) of Hodgkin's survivors. We'll see where things lead.

Our big news from Christmas is a new cat. We have never owned a cat before but thought we would try since we liked the "lower maintenance" of a cat versus a new puppy right now. Max is a 7 month old adopted from a local rescue group. The kids had a cute note from Santa under the tree and he showed up after a few minutes of shy hiding. Katie is covered in scratches as she learns that cats visit you when they want to, and don't always appreciate being picked up! Chris is a little more gentle and as a result Max will sleep on his bed when he isn't curled up with me and Brant. He is affectionate and playful and already acts like he owns the place. Here is Max Christmas morning watching Chris with his new DS....

And here he is tolerating Katie's unending affection:

And just 'cause I think our kids are incredibly cute (no bias at all!!) here they are this morning heading off to school for literary character day as Harry Potter and Hermoine. I know, I know, her robe should be black and a turtleneck isn't exactly the best shirt for a tie, but you get the idea....

Have a great 2008!