I Made it Out!

My mantra for the past 7 months has been "the only way out is through," and today I am happy to announce that I made it out!! Cancer Free Today!

I MADE IT OUT!

So, if you have been following along you know yesterday was a BIG DAY! Seven weeks after my last chemo treatment I had a PETscan. The scan itself is really not a big deal, other than you have to fast, which means no morning coffee, but all in all - a little radioactive tracer into your bloodstream, an hour in a dark, cold room to marinate, and then 12 minutes in the tube - DONE.  The hardest part of the day was waiting, waiting to hear from the doctor.  Luckily, at 5:18 pm I got the call. He said I got your scan results. The report says "no signs of disease!!!" and he followed with "complete response to the chemo, do you have any questions?"  I said, "does that mean I am in remission?" He paused and said, "I guess you could say that." - I thought you guess?? Ok - I am going with "I am in remission!!" No sign of the disease and complete response to chemo also work for me!! Can you say "CANCER FREE?" - I am so excited! Really in shock, although I said I would stand for nothing less, I was scared to know the outcome. Scared that if I wasn't in remission that I would not be able to handle it (although we all know I would). The great news is I don't have to worry about that anymore.

So, what is next? Celebrating, of course! Travel, of course. and... my maintenance infusions- they start next week (and every 8 weeks after that for 2 years) - which means, tomorrow I give blood and next week, I hook up to an IV for 4 hours and get Rituxan pumped into my body. I cannot lie, I wish I did not have to put more drugs into my body - but this is to keep cancer AWAY. So I have no choice, as that shit is not welcomed back in my blood or anywhere in my body for that matter! Once I get through next week and see how my body reacts to just the Rituxan, I think I will be even more excited to move on from this #livelifedetour. 

For now, I am just smiling. So happy to be cancer free. So blessed to have had it so easy (as easy as 6 rounds of aggressive chemo for Stage 4 cancer can be). But I know, it could have been worse. So grateful for my army of people (family, friends and colleagues) that showed up every day in every way to show that they were there for me. Cheering me on, sending love, hugs, and positive vibes! I really would not have made it through without all of you! Yay!!!

#kickedcancersass, #backtolivinglifeagain, #warrior, #grateful, #blessed, #imadeitout