May 9, 2016 CT Scan

Yesterday was my first scan since starting Opdivo Immunotherapy in January.  The hope was that all would stay the same size.

I have an appointment with my Oncologist this Thursday to get the results, however, he called me last night.  He said he is very concerned because:

• The tumor in my right lung got smaller (YAY)
• The two lymph nodes that were malignant got bigger
• Four additional lymph nodes have gotten larger as well (NOT SO YAY)

He said he wanted me to know and we will talk more in depth on Thursday.  He said he is very concerned and is leaning towards another biopsy.  He wants to review my scan images with other oncologists to come up with the best plan.

I will post again on Thursday....please keep me in your prayers.

LUNGevity Hope Summit 2016

Last weekend, April 29 - May 1, 2016, I was lucky enough to attend the LUNGevity Hope Summit held in Washington, DC.  Expense paid by LUNGevity.  I cannot even begin to express how inspirational, educational, loving and supportive those 3 days were.

Each day we were lucky enough to have physicians and survivors from all over the world come in and speak to us.  Some of the topics were:

• Nutrition
• Palliative Care
• Research and Development
• Survivorship
• Immunotherapy
• And many more

As a cancer patient, we depend upon our family for support, love and encouragement.  But, to be honest, sitting in a room with 200 other Lung Cancer Patients has given me more than I could ever give back to them.  It is truly amazing to sit at a table with 10 other people who TRULY know what is going on with you physically and emotionally.  As a example, as a lung cancer survivor we cough.  There are different types of coughs.  Sometimes we need a drink of water.  Sometimes we need a tissue.  Sometimes we need someone to tap our back.  The most amazing thing to me was sitting there and the person to my right or left, everytime, knew exactly what I needed.  It was so uplifting to sit next to a Stage 4 survivor who was diagnosed 14 years ago.

10 or MORE years survival

Look at how many new drugs were FDA approved in 2015

My special friends I made - too many to get photos with all of them

I truly am a believer that we cannot go through this journey without other survivors to help each other.  Just talking to others can lift for spirits to a level you never knew existed since being diagnosed.  As a result, I am dedicating myself to helping others.

To all my brothers and sisters from LUNGevity Hope Summit 2016 - I love you all.  To my fellow cancer survivors, WE CAN DO THIS TOGETHER!!

Port Surgery (GRAPHIC)

Well, that's finally over.  I was petrified since this was my first surgery where I would be put under General Anesthesia.  All went fine.

Because of having the port in the same place, over the past two years, my skin has gotten very sensitive to the solution the nurses use to clean my skin prior to putting the needle in.  My surgeon was concerned about putting the port back in the same place as he felt it was too much of a chance for infection.  So instead of 1 incision.  I had 2 - well technically, 3, but the 3rd one on my neck is not even 1/2 inch.

Now top incision is where my port is.  I have a blood draw Wednesday, then chemo on Thursday, so we will see if it is working properly.

Sorry I haven't posted sooner, Percoset has put a halt to a few things the last few days :) :)

Celebrate Life 2016

MissionPositiveFilmsBlog.com - an organization in Hawaii, travel across the US spreading how Cancer Patients celebrate life and not death.  They contacted me months ago asking permission to use me in their slideshow. 

This is their 2016 slideshow.  I am at 16 mins and 17 seconds :) <3 :)

http://missionpositivefilmsblog.com/

From the Mission Positive Films website:

What does a cancer documentary, a Winnebago Scorpion Toy Hauler, seven stray cats, one stray dog, a 35th year anniversary, and a love of hiking all have in common ? 

The answer – The Celebrate Life Tour. 

This begins what should be a very interesting adventure that involves taking a ridiculously large RV, and a ton of animals on a summer trip to Celebrate Life with those touched by cancer.  We will be putting on parties in cities throughout the Northwest, and Canada, bringing together patients, survivors, and caregivers to share stories, information and fun. Amidst the balloons and streamers will be great guest speakers, music, food, giveaways, information on products and services, and a showing of the cancer survivorship documentary ” C – A Celebration of Life “. These Celebrate Life Tour events are free to the public. 

In addition to the Celebrate Life Tour parties, our plan is to share our experiences with those that like stories slightly off the beaten path. Think Lucy and Ricky in an RV, for those of you old enough to remember that. I’ll be posting information about the why’s, how’s, where’s, and what in the world did we get ourselves into. You’ll get acquainted with the ” Scorpion “, laugh as we learn how to maneuver it, meet ” the kids ” ( which is how we refer to our 4 legged companions ), follow the ups and downs of the showings, and hopefully, see photos of some beautiful country on our hikes.
We are not experienced RV’ers, we have not traveled with multiple animals, and this is the first time we’ve attempted these type of events, so trust me, you’ll definitely get some good laughs out of this one. 

The Celebrate Life Tour is set to hit the road in July next year, and travel throughout the Northwest through September. We’ll be setting up parties in Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary, Coeur D’Alene, Missoula, Jackson Hole, Boise, and Bend.