Week 15

This past week was considered a recovery week, during which the clinic gave me iv nutrition and treatments that will help my body recover from the chemos and procedures I've been receiving.  I had more bloodwork done, as well as oxygenating the blood, a final catheter dressing change (those are painful!), and then a big 4 hour procedure called Apheresis.  So now my blood should be clean and healthy after all that filtration and oxygen!  We met with my doctor to go over my treatment so far, as well as discuss what to expect when I go home.  She is very pleased with the progress, but there is more work to be done, so she'll be sending me home with endocrine therapy (pills), referrals to iv treatment nearby, and checking back in with my oncologist in Plano.  In 3 months I will be having another PET scan to see how well these treatments have worked at killing off the tumor.  My antigen numbers are nearly back to normal, which means the cancer is dying off, praise the Lord!

The final week of treatment will be a few more iv infusions, lab work, and a smaller catheter to replace my irritating 2 tube device I have right now.  I'll also be undergoing a cryoablation treatment on Friday for several hours to attack the tumor one final time for awhile.  We'll be packing and planning our return trip to Texas on the days between these appointments - we're all very ready to get home.  The mountain climbing and tourist activities we've found have been very enjoyable, and we have been blessed to attend a good church here every week to hear encouraging preaching and singing.  

While I would love to be able to have a cancer-free celebration at the end of my time here, I understand that sometimes this disease is just very stubborn and takes more time to defeat.  I've learned a lot of valuable information on how to fight it, how to build up health, and how to take the time to rest and pray.  I'm trusting the Lord to use this for His glory, and keep me in His perfect will in the future.