Medical update

I know there have been a lot of questions surrounding this latest new development. Let me bring everyone up to speed. In September, my tumor markers were up. We did scans then that revealed I had a spot on my spine that was suspicious for cancer. They wanted to biopsy it for the purposes of checking the tumor profile with the thought that if the her2 protein was showing over expression, we could add herceptin to my treatment mix. Unfortunately, the location of the lesion was too tricky and the information was not worth risking my life for. So we treated it with what we knew, and radiated it.

Fast forward to January and time for follow up scans. The good news is, the original lesion on L2 was showing no cancer activity and by all 4 scans was healing beautifully. The bad news is, there were two new areas of concern that popped up as possible issues. Another on my spine (this one T11), and one in my right femur. A few weeks prior to the scan, I fell down a flight of stairs, so we were hoping that some how, the concerns were related to that. So MRIs followed.

The T11 spot was consistent with injury, and was deemed not cancer related at this time. The right femur however, looks consistent with cancer, and a biopsy has been ordered to confirm and to check again for the her2 marker. That brings us to today.

What will happen today is they will knock me out (and hopefully put some good antinausea meds in the bag), they will do what is called an open biopsy where they will make a small incision in my leg, and then drill through the bone to the spot to get a sample. Aren't you all jealous? What an exciting Friday afternoon! UGH! So to allow the bone to heal from it's date with a drill, I will be on crutches for two weeks and can't drive. I should get the full results on February 13th...but might the preliminary "is it cancer or is it not" part sooner... Truth be told, it is very likely cancer, but you just never know. Either way, I am ready for whatever comes next. If it's time for more treatment, so be it.

I also will be seeking a second opinion at Sloan to see if we are missing something or even just to get validation on my current course of treatment. I am relentless and will keep doing what I need to to beat this thing. If I am successful at knocking out this tumor, that will be the third time I have beaten back this disease in less than two years. Let's hope 3 times a charm and I get a little break in the action after this!

Thanks for the prayers love and support. They are always welcome and appreciated. I also would ask for prayers for my family. Everyone is struggling with this. I hate seeing them hurting because they are worried about me.