Weeks 16 & 17

The last week of treatment in Arizona consisted of two surgery days and two final recovery iv nutrition days.  I was very tired of being poked and cut, but very excited about all of the good it was going to do for me.  On Monday I went in very early to get the iv nutrition done, then went to the surgical building to have the permacath removed, and a much less bulky port put in for the long term.  The procedure was done while I was sedated, and went pretty well.  I was very sore for the rest of the week, but so glad to have that permacath out finally!  On Tuesday I rested and we talked about when we should go home.  We ambitiously decided to fly out the Saturday after my cryoablation.  The doctors were a little hesitant about that decision, but they said if I felt well enough it should be fine.  On Wednesday I said goodbye to my Envita nurses, and thanked them for taking such good care of me.  I'll miss their smiling faces!  Nurses really are the next best thing to angels, I believe.

Thursday was packing day as we sorted through what we could fit in the car and what we should take on the plane.  Jason would drive back, and the kids and I would fly back.  I knew I wouldn't feel good on Friday, so I got as much done as I could on my last "normal" day.  

Finally, Friday arrived!  We had to be at the surgical building at 8:30, and they got me set up very quickly.  I was nervous because a few of the procedures I woke up part way through and felt some of the painful effects of things, so I was really hoping I wouldn't wake up while I was getting ice cubes growing inside of me, haha!  Cryoablation is supposed to be a great new breakthrough in non-surgical cancer treatment, and I am very hopeful that it did it's job.  Here is an interesting article explaining more about it:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/cryoablation-freezing-technique-effective-against-large-breast-cancer-tumors#More-studies-on-cryoablation-for-large-breast-tumors-needed

The other procedure, which the doctor said is even more effective than cryoablation is called Pulsed Electric Field Ablation (PEF), in which small burst of electric pulses are aimed at the smaller tumor areas, and can even be used on lymph nodes, in places that it wouldn't be safe to treat with the ice needles.

Here is an article on PEF: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304383524007560

I woke up two or so hours later, and I hadn't felt a thing!  I was very sore, so they gave me some medicine and a heating pad.  After awhile I was able to go home and sleep.  I woke up that evening and Jason had fixed a big dinner with lots of our food we needed to get rid of, so we feasted!  Then we all went to bed and the next day, headed for home!

Our wonderful church friends picked the kids and I up from the airport, and took us to Chick-Fil-A for dinner.  We were very tired, but very thankful to get back home at last.  Our home was waiting to be loved again.  We kept remarking on how green everything in our hometown was compared to the brown Arizona landscape.  Jason set off driving, and had some delays due to a snowstorm!  He finally made it back after a very, very long day and night on the road.

The entire next week consisted of alternating between resting and working on things at home to get everything put away and the yard fixed up again after storms and Spring had come to visit in March.  My body was very sore, and I had some swelling throughout that concerned me, but the doctors assured me that it was normal.  Nothing appears to be infected, so I think it's just a matter of time before things start feeling good again.  Our church families took turns baking delicious dinners to help me rest during that first week back, it was such a kindness!  Late in the week my parents came to town and visited us, and my sister who lives nearby came over as well with her kids.  It was wonderful to see them!  

I made an appointment to go back to my original oncologist next week, and check in with her.  She will be able to supervise my progress and order any needed medicines or tests in the near future.  

So, what's next?  That's the question everyone wants to know, and honestly, I don't know how to answer.  I wish I knew what was next!  But in summary, here is what I understand based on my various doctor meetings:

- In 8-12 weeks I'll need to have another PET/CT scan to see how much of the tumor was killed off by the treatments.  It takes that long for the inflammation to die down and not give a false result when they are looking for cancer cells.

- Meanwhile, I'm on 30 pills a day, 5 of which are hormone blockers, and all of which should continue to fight off cancer, while helping my body stay strong.

- I'll need bloodwork about every 4 weeks to track some antigen numbers and to be sure everything is on a good trend.

- I'm supposed to find a local iv therapy place and receive some more immunotherapy treatments every two weeks or so

- I'll continue the ketogenic diet, along with excercise, saunas, cold therapy, targeted fasts, and lots of sunlight, which should all work together to kill leftover cancer 

- I'll be under the supervision of a local oncologist, as well as meeting once a month with an Arizona doctor through a video call to see what advice she has as well

- Traditional chemo and radiation are not on my agenda unless I run out of options or just see some very bad cancer spread

- Surgery may be in the future if these treatments weren't able to kill off the tumor

This is definitely a long journey with no real end in sight, but I'll keep learning and doing my part to get well, knowing that God will be helping all along the way!  Please keep praying for good progress.  For now I feel pretty good, just a little sore.  I still have energy and can do my work, go to church, and will start working out next week in order to be as strong as possible for whatever lies ahead.  I'll also be increasing my time in the Bible and spiritual studies so I can be built up in my faith.