Thanks for today...

God gave me extra blessings today as I felt GREAT- the best in months. Must be all the well wishes and prayers!!! At the recommendation of the oncologist, I started taking folic acid- maybe it took a couple of days to start working. Or maybe my body and thyroid are settling back after surgery.WHO CARES- I feel great! I actually made it through a whole day of work and we went grocery shopping afterward!! Mike thinks it's because we gave a "little extra" in the collection basket at church this week.

Thanks to all who have sent cards: Mitzi & Pops, Jack & Gloria, Brent & Abby, Mandi (my Terre Haute BFF), Wendy Cain, Laura Sofere and family, Joanne and Steve, the Chris Krahulecs, Barb Kelley and the STL Pfizer crew, and Dad and Cindy. I also want to thank everyone for the comments on this blog. I didn't think about it before, but they really cheer me up. I had no idea so many people love me. 8-)

On another note, Cole is regularly using the potty before bath time and will periodically go potty at "school". Mike and I are sure he will be potty trained before he gives up the googer (i.e., pacifier). Yes, he is still suckin on his binky (please no lectures- we know we have to get rid of it!). I included some cute pics below.

Even if tomorrow is rough, I will be grateful for today!!

Oncologist Appointment

Today I meet with Dr. Hu (pronounced Who- countless jokes there, I know), my oncologist. First, let me say how weird it is that I have an oncologist. The good news is that they couldn’t see any other affected areas on the CT scan. However, the doctor pointed out that this is not a real sensitive test so I have to go in for a PET scan next week. The bad news is that they found some cells that have transformed into a more aggressive type of lymphoma (from Follicular to Diffuse Large cell lmphoma). I have to start some treatments with monoclonal antibodies starting on Thursday- which is really ironic becuase that's what I work on (different antibodies than the one I will get) everyday at my new job.

It’s amazing that every time we go to a doctor there is still another test to do which will provide more information. I had some blood work done today which will help further classify the cancer type and the PET will help with the staging. The doctor just seemed concerned about the fact that I’m symptomatic, the more aggressive cells, and my age- usually not seen with younger people. Next Sunday (July 6) is my 36th birthday- I’m glad I’m still considered to be “younger”. Well, happy birthday to me- you get to start cancer treatments!! I honestly don’t care about the cancer but they BETTER be able to do something about the fatigue. I’m sleeping 12 hours a night and taking a 2 hour nap in the afternoon.

My dad and his wife, Cindy, are coming out next week for the 4th so he will be able to go to the treatment with me (about a 6hour infusion). We are very happy to see them (and thankful for the timing)- especially Cole- everyday he reminds us that Poppy is coming.

Thanks for the Swabowski clan who sent a get well cookie arrangement- you know it won't last long in this house. The trick is to eat them before Mike knows they are here!! Well, that's al for now. Take care and have a great weekend.

Oh, by the way- Strawberry Twizzlers makes everything better!!

The latest

For those who haven't heard, we found out recently that I have non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. I had a mass in my throat that I thought was a goiter. I was feeling incredibly tired all the time so I went to get it checked out. After an ultrasound that was "worrisome for malignancy", they removed half of my thyroid (6-13). The pathology came back as lymphoma. This was totally unexpected. We thought at worst it would be thyroid cancer which is just a treatment of radioactive iodine and you're pretty much done. I had a CT scan of my neck, chest, abdomen and pelvis yesterday to see where else the cancer may be. We meet with the oncologist tomorrow to learn about the treatment which, I guess, depends on the stage of the cancer which they can deduce from the CT scan. We are expecting some chemotherapy and possibly some radiation.

I thought it may be somewhat therapeutic for me to blog about what's going on with me. I am a big believer in being open as someone may learn something from me or someone may have some helpful advice for me. After the initial shock of everything, Mike and I are very optimistic that everything is going to be fine- just getting from point A to B may be a little bumpy. We appreciate all the thoughts and prayers of everyone. I will try and keep this updated as things develop.