Day + 97...Good News!!!

I have been procrastinating on this update because I am a fairly superstitious, and at times an overly pessimistic person.  I believe that if you think the worst, then you can’t be disappointed.  Rather, one can only be pleasantly surprised if the outcome is anything better than previously thought.  That said, I am slowly trying to learn that perhaps this may not always the most prudent path to take.  A friend gave me a book called The Human Side of Cancer.  The subtitle of this book is “Living with hope, coping with uncertainty.”  There are a lot of shitty and unfair things about cancer, but I have found these two concepts to be particularly gruesome.  Everything is uncertain…there are no concrete answers or guarantees, and all you can do is sit around and hope.  In almost everyway, this goes against the grain of my whole personality. But in the spirit of recognizing that John’s cancer is a journey, and that perhaps I should choose a different path from time to time, I am writing this blog with an “until next time” mind set…while hoping that next time will be a LONG, LONG, LONG time from now.

John made it through the autologous BMT and came home May 3^rd and is now at Day + 97.  Just when he was supposed to go back to work at about mid-June, he instead caught the flu.  The problem with the flu for John was that his immune system is still developing and he didn’t have antibodies against the influenza virus.  So what probably would have been a minor cold for us turned into a week long of fevers, coughing, sneezing, trips to Moffitt triage, and some spectacular displays of John whining. Fortunately, the flu made its way through his system, he felt better and returned to work a week later.  He has also happily made repeated visits back to WOB since the transplant, and made a point to inform me that the doctor said he could have a beer…to which I politely offer a one-finger gesture.

Today he had his three month check up to review his post BMT test results.  And the good news is…..drum roll please……

HE IS IN REMISSION!!!!! 

The coming months will be speckled with maintenance therapy and follow up visits.  He will begin a regimen of low dose Revlimid for up to two years.  At his next appointment in three months time, he will begin receiving Zometa which is an infusion given to strengthen his bones since there are still remaining bone lesions from the Myeloma.  He will continue to take anti-viral medication for the next year, and today he received his first vaccination with the rest to follow at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months post-transplant.  

 

I wish to close this blog by thanking everyone who has helped us this past year.  To my friends – new and old, local and far away – thank you for continuing to be my friends long after I dropped off the grid and was not around for you.  To my friends who have helped take care of my kids for me…I am truly grateful for your friendships and can not imagine what my life would be like without you all in it.  To my Mom and Sister who came down and simply took care of everything.  There are NO words to express the depth of my gratitude and affection.  I only hope that we can somehow repay you even a fraction of what you did for us.  XOXO to everyone.

Since I am HOPING this will be the last blog for a LONG, LONG, LONG time…let’s just say that no blog news is good news.

Instead you all will hopefully be listening to John’s incessant and often annoying chatter. 

So with one hand I raise my Margarita glass to the idea of HOPE - regardless of what uncertainty shrouds our future.  And with the other hand I give thanks and make a silent prayer for a long future of HEALTH and happiness…for everyone.