Some Very Happy Anniversaries

This past week we celebrated 2 years since the date of my stem cell transplant. I also just completed CAT scans and there still remains no signs of my cancer - Yeah!! I think my chances for relapse are like less than 5% now. I will continue to be scanned (less frequently) until the 5 year mark and that is when they use the wonderful "C" word - CURED!!

Despite all the good news I still find it a little hard to embrace being "cancer-free". There are nagging thoughts that it is somewhere lurking in my system. Plus, just making claims to have "beaten cancer" seems like an invitation for it to come back and prove me wrong. But I have found that I am not as fearful about cancer, and it no longer dominates our lives and the plans that we make. So at least mentally I feel like I have beaten cancer.

It has been a busy Spring. We celebrated my parent's 50th anniversary at the end of March. We had a nice group of relatives and friends here to celebrate. Both of my brothers came from Australia, and it was special for them to have all four kids present. My parents are the 3rd golden anniversary in a row for our family - Brant and I just have 35 more years to go to keep the streak going! The picture above includes the extended family at the party (Brant and Katie had just left for a baseball game and aren't in the picture).

It's Fabulous to be Forty

Hello to the three people who may be still checking in on this blog. I turned forty yesterday and am SOOOO HAPPY to be here! Literally!! I relapsed just before I turned thirty-eight and before we had even told the kids, Katie shared a scary dream with me that she saw me die when I was thirty-nine. The details of her dream really spooked me and I prayed to please let me live to see 40 so our daughter would not have to suffer the pain she felt in her dream. So I can check off yet another prayer that was answered.

We are doing very well these days. My part-time job has slowed down and I have had more time to help out at the kids' school, join a morning bible study, work out at the gym and get some projects done around the house. Brant's job has been stable (but busy) during these troubling financial times. I find myself asking "Who am I that I should be so blessed"?? I even worry whether there is some "huge shoe" out there that is getting ready to drop. Surely there will be many more challenges ahead for us, so I am trying to savor this peaceful time we are experiencing right now. Isn't it weird that sometimes it is easier to fight through the difficult times in life than be content during the quiet times??

The picture above is from our mini-vacation that we took to Florida over the holidays. We put some serious miles on the minivan as we visited cousins (and their FIVE chihuahuas) in Jacksonville, swam with dolphins at Discovery Cove in Orlando to celebrate Chris' tenth birthday, got our toes sandy on Fort Lauderdale beach to ring in the new year, and saw the Hokies win at the Orange Bowl. I hope you all have a wonderful 2009!!

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).