Done and Done

I am happy to announce that I am offically finished with my therapy!! I'm sure I won't go through that again for decades, if ever, again. I will have a CT scan in November then see the doctor to make sure I'm okay. So for now life goes back to normal- as if Mike and I can remember a "normal" time. Hope all is well with everyone out there. Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers during this time.

BIG BREAKING NEWS

COLE IS FINALLY GOOGER-FREE!! That's right, he has finally given up the pacifier. YIPPIE!! We told him the standard thing- that a fairy came and took them to the babies that need them. Saturday was nuts with many horrendous meltdowns (especially in the car) but as time went by it got better. Now, whenever he asks where they are, we say, "You know where they are, where are they?". He says "with the babies- I'm nice". He even took his naps and slept all night without it. We are very proud of our boy doing such a hard thing. It is amazing how much more he talks to us now. And it is soooo much easier to understand him.

Some cool/funny things to share:

1. We went to Purina Farms this weekend where Cole milked a real cow! How is it he's terrified of a kitten but he will yank on a cow's teat? Poor cow. (we forgot the camera- what kind of parents are we?!?!)

2. Cole put his head through the arm holes of one of Mike's tank tops yesterday and spun around saying he was a "princess". Because the shirt is so long it looked like a dress, I guess. Mike promptly turned the shirt to the back and convinced him he was Superman instead- much better. I have to admit that Cole pretending he was "a princess" made me squirm a bit. Superman is much better.

3. I turned around yesterday and saw Cole singing- into his thumb like it was a microphone - with his eyes closed and dancing around. It was so cute!

I need to apologize for not keeping the blog up to date. I have received several emails asking for updates. As for me, I only have one treatment left on Friday. The oncologist assured me that I would almost certainly been in remission for the next 2 years so if we want to have another kid we should try then. We need to wait at least 4 months so I can get another scan. But then we can start trying. Other than that, no news on that front. I continue to feel great most of the time- the worst is just being REALLY tired the day of and the day after treatment.

Thanks to all who have left comments on the blog- Mike and I love reading them!

Apologies for not updating this in a week. Not much has happened, no new news. I had my second treatment on Thursday which went well. It only took 3 hours and I slept almost the whole time- they load with up with Benedryl to mitigate any allergic reactions.

I am happy to report that I am starting to feel better than I have in years- literally. I have more energy than I've had in a long time. I actually worked 3 whole days this week!!

Thanks to everyone for the cards and treats- especially Nick and Anne, Joanne and Steve. A special shout-out to Andrew and Meg who send me about 5 pounds of strawberry licorice- NICE.

Hope all is well with everyone reading this. Feeling better all the time thanks to your thoughts and prayers. Later...

PS- I have uploaded a bunch of pix on Flicker from our trip to the STL Botanical Gardens with Poppy and Cindy. If interested, click on the "More Swabo Pictures" link to the right.

HAPPY 4th of JULY!!

Yesterday's doctor's appointment went really well. There was "no evident disease" (commonly called NED) in the PET scan which means I'm in remission. We still are going forward with the Rituxin treatments since I am so young and there were more aggressive cells found in the pathology. I asked the doc if this was curable and about the chances of relapse. He said that follicular lymphoma is not curable and the changes of relapse are "100%". Really, 100%, not 99%, who says that? He went on to say that I will DEFINITELY have this again in the future but it could be 10-20 years before it needs to be treatment. I will have PET scans every 3 months for the first year, every 6 months the second year, and annually every year thereafter. Very similar to after the brain tumor, huh?

I had the first treatment yesterday which took 7 hours. We were about 2 hours in when I started to fell my throat swell and get scratchy and I felt like I had the worst flu of my life. They immediately stopped the infusion and gave my more Benadryl- then we had to start all over again. After that things went smoothly with no more side effects. I have 3 more treatments- each Thursday for the next 3 weeks.

Cole just fell down on his face- he look up at Daddy and said, "I need to be more careful". Perfect, he's starting to parent himself- just what we wanted 8-). Everyone go and enjoy the hotdogs, beer, and fireworks. Later...

PET scan

This morning I had a PET scan (positron emission tomography) to detect any small tumors. I find this test so cool because the premise of it is so basic but the technology of the imaging is extremely elaborate. The basis of the test is that cells need sugar to replicate. I got some radioactive sugar by IV then had to sit quietly for about an hour while the cells took up the sugar. Then I went in the scanner for about a half an hour. Since cancer cells replicate quickly compared to normal cells, they absorb more of the radioactive sugar than normal cells. The scanner detects the radioactivity. They scanned from my head to my knee caps- a total of about 3000 images. I wasn't able to see the scans but the doc will have the results for tomorrow's appointment.

Tomorrow I will see the oncologist to discuss the scan and my blood work. I'm sure everything will be fine and the scan will be clean. Then I start the Rituxin (antibody) treatment. This first infusion will take about 6 hours. Good thing my Dad is going with me 'cause it will be BORING!! I hear a knock on the door...... Dad's here!! Later!

Too good to last

Today I am back to feeling super tired. I cannot even begin to explain the exhaustion I feel almost all the time. I feel like I'm moving through molasses and it takes all my energy to do anything. The thought of even having to shower in the morning makes me want to cry. Even though today is back to "normal", I cling to the euphoria of yesterday as a promise of things to come once this is over.

On a more positive note, I would like to tell everyone what a great husband I have. He has picked up all the slack, cooking, taking care of Cole, without a single complaint. He won't let me do anything on the days that I'm tired. Who knew "in sickness and in health" would be so soon applicable to us? But I am glad and blessed to have taken those vows with him. I thank God every day for bringing us together. Thanks, Mike. I love you.