exhale

Hi friends! My updates have gotten fewer and farther between for what I hope is obvious reasons. My health has stabilized, so there's not much to say most of the time! It's nice to have a normal appetite, and a taste for the foods I've always loved. I don't have any trouble drinking water these days, despite the fact that it was metallic and horrible during the worst of my sickness this past winter.

There is some small news, though. Twofold, and I'll start with the non-health update. I am starting a brand new job with a new company on Monday, and I am nervous! Isaac started his new job two weeks ago and it seems to be a great fit for him. I fell into a new job accidentally, thinking that it was important to exercise my interview skills long before needing them again. Well, it just turns out that I liked the company and the people I interviewed with, so it seemed like a fantastic opportunity! My new title is Product Manager II at Greenhouse Software (doesn't that seem fancy?!) -- and I will admit it was bittersweet leaving Toast, where I've spent many happy years. But I am incredibly excited for what's next, and Greenhouse already knows I'm a medical nuisance and will have to take time off for doctors with relative frequency.

Now on for the real news, though. I was lucky enough to get in to see an oncologist this past week (I say lucky because my regular oncologist is still out on maternity leave). He asked me about how I'm feeling (to be honest, FINE! except for extreme, bordering on life-ruiningly dry mouth, which I'm trying to deal with using a combination of literally always drinking water and Biotene) and then he told me that he was looking at my most recent PET scan results from early March. He asked me specifically where my first tumors were because he was having trouble finding them on the scan.

I told him where they had been, and showed him where they were on my back. He pulled up the scan to show me, comparing my September scan to my March scan. Together, we still found nothing! We could see the tumors lighting up in the old scan, but NOTHING in the new one. He told me he'd place a call to the radiologist to talk about it. About four hours later, he called me and told me what I've been so hoping to hear: "Your PET scan is negative" -- apparently the radiologist made a mistake in March!

Now I don't wanna rush things here but I assume two things: 1. they can't see evidence of any remaining cancer in my body and 2. I am maybe NED?! Of course, I should really await further confirmation and I'm wondering if they'll ask me to come in for another PET to verify findings or anything. But for right now, I will rejoice in my original assumption that seeing the tumors disappear off my back was exactly the proof that the treatment was working successfully. And I will, of course, keep going to my appointments and skin checks and monitoring my health forever.

Regardless of the PET findings, I am fully aware that I am going to continue treatment for the full two years they planned. This is to ensure that the melanoma is gone forever and can't come back. I am no longer wrecked by treatments so I am fine with my monthly infusion for as long as it takes.

In other, less good news, Murray (our almost 15-year-old cat) has been sick lately. We tried to take him to the vet but he is not as good at doctors as I am. We are hoping he pulls through, but the past few days have been rough.

All this and the state of the world means I've had a lot of emotions lately! Some good, some bad, almost all complicated. But ah, such is life!