The good news is that my PET-CT scan results were what we were expecting. Mainly, the cancer hot spots throughout my lymph system are no longer there, and the mass in my chest that was 16 cm across is now just 6 cm, and more importantly is not metabolically active anymore. It’s most likely just scar tissue, which may not shrink any further, and is something that I’ll probably have to live with for the rest of my life. (Normal size of the lymph nodes in your chest are like 1 cm). It’ll still be there slightly reducing my lung capacity, but honestly, in all of my recent exercising, my breathing seems back to normal, so I think I can live with it.
With the good results from the scan, I finally have a rough end date to my treatments. Yesterday was my 9th round of chemo, and I’ll have 3 more treatments total, then a week or two to recover, and then a month of daily radiation focused on my chest and and… and then that should be it! Obviously, the real measure of beating this dumb thing is it being in remission for 5 years, so I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to breathe completely easy until that day, but I know I’ll be holding a small celebration at the end of October or November when my checkups get spread out to every 6 or 8 weeks instead of every 7 days.
November might still seem far off, but considering how long it has been since this all started, it almost sorta kinda feels within reach in a way. Phew.
Great news, Luke! We are rejoicing with you!
You continue to remain in our thoughts and prayers.
Uncle Evan and Aunt Nancy