We are officially 75% done, a huge number to hit. So close now, three quarters.
We had a great last two weeks in Anna’s world of medical care. We have spent time with rheumatologists, neurologists, and radiologists... so many ‘gists. The “gist” of it is, Anna is getting better with a bright future ahead.
During the lead up to Anna’s diagnosis she had met with several different doctors to determine the cause of several issues plaguing her. After chasing several different varieties of auto-immune diagnoses we had turned up nothing until cancer. During the course of treatment Anna has her blood tested a lot. During those many blood tests Anna has tested for an elevated ANA levels. This be a basic indicator of one of many auto-immune diseases. So, we were referred to a rheumatologist to discuss what it could mean. This particular doctor just so happened to be the son-in-law of our beloved Dr. Kaplan. He boiled it down to this: He isn’t worried. The timeline lines up too closely with the lymphoma. We will see him again after all the chemo is over but he thinks it very likely that we wont be pursuing treatment with him when we are done.
The second doctor we saw was a neurologist referred by Dr. K. Anna has had a few things that started after chemo that were of concern to us. One was a tremor or twitch in the muscle in the heal of Anna’s right hand. The other is best described as a hitch in Anna’s step on her right side. Being as both were on one side of her body and neither was something that was commonly associate with chemo, off to the brain doc we went. The doctor asked a lot of questions regarding the symptoms, poked some nerves in Anna’s arm, and finished by electrifying a couple of acupuncture needles stuck in Anna’s arm. All a little weird and hard but he said from those results, the nerves in her arm looked great. He ordered a blood test and an MRI of her brain and upper spine that would be completed a few days later. We got a call from Dr. K when the results came back in. All good in the brain department. Anna’s MRI was clear and the effects are just one of the many mysterious ways that chemo effects Anna’s body.
Finally, on chemo day, Anna had a chest x-ray. She has had a tickle in her chest during deep breathing and Dr. Kaplan ordered imaging to check it out. Any time someone with cancer says “My chest feels _____” your heart drops. We have had a few of these situations where I didn’t know there was something to worry about until the panic sets in. Waiting for the results of this x-ray was exactly that. As we talked with Dr. Kaplan about the next round of chemo and effects of the last, the nerves built. Almost like an afterthought, or perhaps for effect, Dr. K said “Oh, right, the x-ray, completely normal” with a sly smile. He showed us the scans and the notes that said exactly that “results all normal”. He then showed us the x-ray taken just days before treatment started and pointed out where the cancer had been and where it wasn’t anymore. Angels sang, clouds parted, and we cried a little.
The scan on the right is the first x-ray showing the cancer in Anna's chest, the one on the left is the clear image showing only her port and no cancer. Her heart is visible in both.
After the previous period of hardship, this week of great news has us in much better spirits. The taste of freedom is nigh. Days spent in the fluorescent light of hospital waiting rooms are numbered. We are almost done!