12/12 Scans and Infusions

So on December 12th, I had quite a long day. It was the first day that scans were scheduled since September 12th, which was when we received all of the great news about tumors disappearing in my brain! But...those days are always longer. Here's what went down...

I had a PET scan scheduled for 7:00 am up at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. Unfortunately, that meant leaving the house by 4:30 am. Way too early for me! This was my first PET scan since my initial diagnosis. The reason for the PET scan was a possible tumor that had shown up in my left hamstring back in October. My normal CT scans only get from the hips up. In order to get the whole body, they did the PET scan. I had to sit in a room for 75 minutes while this glucose tracer was absorbed into my cells. Loads of fun sitting in a small room by yourself for that long lol The actual PET scan only took about 20 minutes, but the room was freezing! Which lead to some problems...

After the PET scan I needed to get blood work done in preparation for my infusions. The IV that they started for my PET scan went in without any issues. However, they were unable to draw blood back. As a result, they needed to start a new IV in the lab. The problem? The freezing room for the PET scan caused all of my veins to magically disappear! So... They had to stab me three more times in the lab before they were able to get an IV started. In total, that was four stabs for the day. Yay!

Anyway, I then had to go back to imaging to get an MRI of my brain done. I know the tech pretty well there and he always does a great job, so no issues there. We then left HCI and went to see Dr. Lindsey, the doctor in Midvale that practices Chinese medicine. He has been working with Kim, Josie, and me for a little while now. We like working with him.

Following our visit with him, which went rather late, we had to scramble back up to HCI as quickly as possible to meet with Carolyn about my lab work and scans. Here are what the scans showed...

PET-CT showed that, of the handful of tumors in my body (excluding my brain), two tumors remained unchanged and the rest shrunk. Wahoo!

Brain MRI showed that, of the 7 tumors I had in September (I know I'd said 4 before, but upon further review there were 7 on 9/12), one slightly grew (and it's basically negligible growth at that), four shrunk (Yessss!), and TWO, count em TWO, disappeared! Boo-ya, grand-ma! Another two bite the dust!

I'm not cancer free, but it was another successful day of scans and I'm that much closer to being cancer FREE!

We then discussed side effects from the immunotherapy. I'm happy to say that over the past several weeks there have been no side effects. I attribute that to two things... First, we've gone to a half does every two weeks as opposed to a full dose every four weeks. This means a small amount of drugs being infused at a time. Second, I attribute it to the electrolyzed reduced water that our Kangen water machine makes. For several months during the summer and into the fall, I was only drinking 8.5 pH due to some issues with herbs and nausea. during that time, I experienced a myriad of side effects from the drugs. However, in mid-October I bumped back up to the 9.5 pH, and for part of the day 11.5 pH, in order to help my body fight better. Since then, my energy has been up and I've had no side effects. In fact, I've been able to workout for over 6 weeks straight now while getting back into my daily routine of getting up at 6 am. It's been great! I know that you may be sick of me preaching about this water, but it's like the gospel... I know how it works and what it can do for our bodies. I think it's one of the best investments we have ever made and I simply want more people to benefit from it. Its ability to help slow down the aging process and help the body heal is simply incredible!

Anyway... The meeting went great. We really appreciate Carolyn and all she's done for us. We then went to the infusion center to get my infusions. I had an infusion of Nivolumab, the immunotherapy drug, and Zomeda, the bone regrowth drug. Fortunately we have been able to clear the air on the Zomeda. I'd had some issues with a prior oncologist being unwilling to prescribe the Zomeda, even though my arm surgeon said I needed it. I have since switched to a new oncologist, Dr. Swami, and been able to come to a resolution. I will get the Zomeda infusion every four weeks for two years, at which point I will have follow up X-rays done. 

We ended up leaving HCI around 5 or so. So at that point, it had been over 12 hours since we left home and we still had a two hour drive back home. However, it was a good day overall. I've really come to understand the need for balance with alternative and modern treatments. I'm grateful for the help of modern drugs and technology, but I'm also grateful for the knowledge I've gained of alternative forms a treatment. It allows me to make better informed decisions regarding my health and treatment.

Thank you for the support and prayers! We've still got a battle, but I intend to see this one through!