Finally!

Things have taken various turns over the past few weeks.  For the most part it is good news!  Giving much consideration to the infection I had, as well as the eight chemo treatments I had already had, on September 20 Dr Sharma canceled the rest of my chemo.  The target was 12 treatments.  He said the benefit of the remaining four would be marginal, and that my body had "had enough".  I couldn't have agreed more!  He said that chemo often does more harm than good, and with the ongoing fight with the infection, it was time to stop.

To celebrate the end of chemo, we went up to Huntsman on September 30 to "ring the bell". Well, it's actually a small gong and you hit it with a mallet.  It was a satisfying yet emotional experience.  Funny how you go through this type of trial only to find that when it is coming to an end, you reflect on all the good it has taught you.  I loved having Arvonne and all of our kids there.  They have been so supportive throughout this journey.

Regarding the infection, I went to Interventional Radiology on Friday, October 7 expecting them to tell me the drain would have to stay in place for another week or two.  Much to my surprise, they took it out.  Happy day!  Drains are a real nuisance!  Turns out that just like the chemo, they fell that a drain can be left in too long.  It can introduce new infections where it enters the body and where it enters the abscess.  The other thing the doctor said is that sometimes enough is enough with the antibiotics too.  So he elected to pull the drain and see how things go.  if I still feel good after a couple of weeks, in all likelihood all is well.

That same morning, I had an appointment with the colon surgeon.  He ran a test to help determine if my anatomy is ready to support the ostomy reversal.  The test was successful.  He told me that once the drain came out, we could schedule the surgery.  Since the drain came out a couple of hours later, I went right back to his office to get it scheduled!  It is currently set for November 8.

My oncologist wants to do another CT scan on November 18, then meet on November 21 to read it.  If all looks well, we will close this chapter of our cancer journey.  Another happy day!

The doctors and nurses at Huntsman have been incredible.  We've never had a bad experience, everyone has always been so caring and personable.  We feel like we've developed a whole new set of friends!  I also want to say that our support system has truly supported the saying on our wrist bands, which is "No One Fights Alone".  To my parents, our children, siblings, extended family, friends, and neighbors, thank you all so much!!

We will post one more time after that scan.  Looking forward to a clean bill of health!