December-18-2007

The best gift

Hi!!!

Has everyone managed to finish all of their holiday preparing and shopping? I sure haven't, and I know it must have been harder for some of you with the bad weather crossing the Midwest! It sure has been cold here (for Virginia), but we avoided the big storms last week.

So I am writing with extremely great news! Remember in my last email, I mentioned that three weeks ago, I had a needle biopsy for a mysterious "thing" (which turned out to be a seroma, or cyst like pouch and is harmless), and that upon ultrasounding the seroma, my doctors grew concerned about the adjacent lymph node. Well last Friday, I went in to my surgeons office and had a core biopsy of that lymph node since it hadn't gotten smaller. I was immediately worried because the chance of cancer spreading to the lymph nodes at this point (after the lymphs being negative in September) would not have a promising long term prognosis for me and my surgery would be much more complicated. The GREAT news is that I got a call Sunday night and it is negative! I didn't realize how worried my doctors were until they admitted their surprise to me after the results were in. I am experiencing reactive lymph nodes, probably because of the chemotherapy and the of the needles that I have had in that area lately. Praise God!

The other great news is that the tumor is still shrinking! It is about 70-75% smaller than the original mass (less than 2cm). Round 4 of chemo went smoothly with no side effects (oddly, since I had so many with round 3), and I happily received round 5 yesterday. My white blood counts (the stuff that keeps us all healthy) are dropping significantly each time, even on my best day, so I should be very cautious this round and expect to feel a little off. This morning I felt like I ran 5 miles yesterday. But the exciting news is that I only have ONE more round of chemo! YAH! Jan 7th is my last time, followed by surgery late Jan/early Feb (official date probably after Christmas). It is so nice being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I also recently received a package from Kaiser, which will hopefully allow me to choose a new plan for 2008 (until I begin working at the hospital and get their insurance) This will hopefully mean that I will have a "ceiling" on my insurance, meaning that I cant pay over a certain amount in one calender year. This would be a huge help, especially since right now I do not have that, so the end financial responsibility could be endless. Please keep this option in your prayers! Hopefully at least the surgery portion of treatment can be under a new plan.

I hope and pray that everyone will have a safe, healthy, and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I am spending my Christmas with my parents and Ben and New Years with all of my amazing friends. Attached is a Christmas picture of myself this year with no wig on! Keep checking the website because over the next few days, Ryan (my best friend who designed my website) is going to be adding new pictures and layouts Thank you for all your support, and have a Merry Christmas! Thank you for praying for me and believing in me! We have almost won the battle! I couldn't have done it without each and every one of you!

Love,
Jami