Thursday I went to the Mayo Clinic again. Yes, it’s been almost 6 months since I’ve been treated for my latest cancer scare. Back in March I went through Redifferientation Treatment and had a large dose of Radioactive Iodine in hopes of pushing my cancer off. I’m to the point that cancer will always be a part of my life for the rest of my life. There is not cure for me. It’s become more like a chronic illness that will never go away. So it was time to drag me in and find out if the treatment I did worked.
Over the years, I have learned that I need to go for testing one day and a visit with the doctor the next day. I need to go one day for tests and the next day to the doctor to find out what the tests showed and to make a new plan. Previously they did it all on one day. I would go early for testing and then have the latest appointment in the day to see the doctor. That was an epic fail. Two different times I went for testing, the tests weren’t back by the time I saw the doctor so she just “guessed” on a plan for me. Then as I was driving home, she called me because the test results were in and were bad so the plan had to completely change.
That was just too big of a roller coaster to ride so I finally told them that the tests had to be done on one day and the appointment on the next. It’s a pain as it’s two days off of work and two trips to Rochester but totally worth it for my mental health of not being led in one direction and yanked in the complete opposite direction.
I planned on going to testing day by myself. My kids will go with if I ask but I hate asking…and I know down the road I will be a big enough burden to them once I get to the point that my cancer takes over. It turns out, Jerry ended up going with me. It was lovely. He drove. I tried to unsuccessfully stitch in the car. HA!
One of my tests was a CT scan with contrast. I got to drink the lovely room temperature water…UGH.
As I was leaving they were taking the IV out and the gal handed me another bottle of room temperature water and told me I needed to drink that and 3-5 more before bed. UGH. At least once I got out of there I could move back to cold water. It’s a small price and totally doable.
I decided to take Jerry out for supper…we hit up my favorite place in Rochester, John Hardy’s Bar-B-Q.
As we were heading back to Jerry’s where my car was, the numbers and test results started rolling in. Of course, the insignificant numbers came in first…nothing was out of order. Then in came the results of my pelvic/abdomen CT Scan. They sounded promising.
The two tests that I wanted the results for never came…I went to bed without knowing. I woke up hoping for results…no results. UGH. Kalissa was on tap to take me to my appointment. It was an early morning trip with us leaving at 5:45 am. She’s been a great teammate going with me to these appointments. We were hoping 3 would be our lucky number.
My doctor is always late…she was true to form. We went through the appointment and mostly had good news. My lung CT scan had come in and although it was mixed results, it was mostly good.
I talked with her about two issues I’ve been having. I don’t produce enough saliva. The radioactive iodine did a number on my salivary glands. When I eat, if I’m eating crackers or bread, the food will get to the back of my mouth and there isn’t enough saliva to push it over the edge and down my throat. I’ve almost choked a few times because of it. She said that is typical for anyone who has had more than 150 mCl of radioactive iodine. I’ve had 700 in my life. There is nothing to do for it except drink more water and to always have a drink with me at meal times.
I have been having a big problem with my right eye. It tears up all the time. I can’t control it. I will blink and a tear will come out. It’s super annoying. Half the time it looks like I’m wiping my eye because I am emotional. Not true. Apparently, anyone who has over 250 mCL of radioactive iodine experiences this. I had it last time I did this treatment but this time around it’s much worse.
My doctor set me up to see an eye doctor for this. I’ll likely be having eye surgery to put a shunt in my eye area to make it able to drain. Doesn’t that sound fun? She set up an appointment for me at the beginning of October for that to happen…so if you see me and it looks like I’m crying or drippy from allergies, that’s not it. It’s a reaction to the radioactive iodine.
We left feeling good but also a little nervous. We never did have the results of tumor marker test. That is the real guide to how I am doing. Patients with a number lower than 2 are considered to have non-active cancer. I got sent to Mayo Clinic because my number rose to over 10. In November it was over 2600. That means cancer is running around and doing what it wants. That’s why I needed to be treated.
As we left the doctor said any number below 1300 would be considered successful. So we left thinking happy thoughts…
We knew my eye could get fixed and knew the scans looked pretty good.
As we were leaving town I used my last gift card and put gas in the van. We also used the Starbucks card to get drinks so hopefully celebrate a good report. MANY thanks to those of you who have supported me along the way with prayers, good thoughts, notes, cards, and gifts. It is so appreciated. I loved having you along with me.
As we were driving home we stopped at an Amish grocery right on the Minnesota/Iowa border out in the country. As I was picking up my phone, there was a message that said I had a test result in. Crap. It was the test we were waiting for. BUT THERE WAS NO CELL PHONE SERVICE. AH!!!
Kalissa and I quickly did our shopping and had to drive about five miles down the road before we got reception…. I was nervous. The other reports sounded pretty good…but would this be okay. It was the real teller of the tale.
I was driving. Kalissa was working my phone.
The portal finally opened up. I was hoping for anything below 100….and the number was…
Commercial break…
83!
Oh my word. I was happy!! I was dancing in the street kind of happy.
I drove homeward and Kalissa started doing her magic letting family and friends know the good news.
I dropped her off and immediately called Jerry. I had the rest of the day off from work and wanted to have some fun…and that’s just what we did. We went to pick up my updated meds and stopped at my favorite thrift store.
I don’t know if I can take the man in public. Here he is trying on a hat. I walked away…he followed. I told him I can’t take him anywhere then looked at him and realized we both had Waucoma shirts on. Oh my. (Note to self…don’t wear similar shirts in public with Jerry. People will realize he’s with me. HA!)
Then we celebrated with ice cream!! Fat Elvis for the win!! (that’s the ice cream flavor)
I am super happy. The treatment I went through in February and March was successful. I am free to live my life and don’t have to worry about the cancer side of things for six months. That is so good. Typically I’ve had to go back every three months. It’s a happy day…a very happy day indeed!!
