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YAY! Happy Cinco de Mayo! And Brain Tumor news!

So, for Cinco de Mayo I got some great news from my doctors. This post is going to be short because everyone is going nuts wanting to hear the details!

My dad is probably going to give me more details because he's getting the full report as I only got a one page print-out.... BUT....

The tumor has NOT grown, it has stopped "infiltrating" the surrounding brain tissue, meaning that it's not invading my normal tissue anymore.

The normal brain tissue that was swollen post-surgery has now gone down and that leaves a gap between my tissue and the tumor, which is good. (It's like a castle moat!)

Then, also, behind my tumor it has receded away from the brain tissue as well.

AND.... it SHRUNK! it has decreased a small amount since my post-surgery MRI, meaning that the radiation and chemo did not just make it stop growing, it made it SMALLER! Whoop!

This sometimes happens, but it NOT common, and therefore I did BETTER than expected! Whoop!

I start my maintenance chemo next week, which will make sure that this bad boy stays frozen (not literally frozen, just no activity) and it could mean that it shrinks more, which I will hope for since I have already shown that I am an A+ cancer fighter, I got a 101%!!!

This MRI set the baseline for my maintenance chemo, and in about 2.5 months, will have another MRI and a PET scan to see how my chemo levels are maintaining what this initial "WHAM BAM" did to the tumor! If I continue to do well, I could have maintenance chemo for as little as 6 months. If not, up to 15-18 months of more chemo.

SO, cross your fingers that I continue to show cancer who's boss, and that a restful 6 weeks in my home state will enhance my joy, because I CAN'T WAIT to be with my family, friends, and loved ones and have a big ole "Cancer Can SUCK IT" party!

Many thanks to my family for carting me to radiation every day and loving me from afar when they couldn't cart me, to Jason for all he has done, which is too much to list, and to my coworkers for taking their own time to work harder in my absence so I could fight cancer instead, for everyone who has reached out and prayed for me, for all the gifts, flowers, cards and well wishes, for everyone who is reading this, and for anyone out there who is also fighting! I love you! My good news is your good news in EVERY WAY.

So far the score is: Danielle 1, Cancer 0... One less thing to worry about!



Comments

  1. BrandiMay 5, 2011 at 2:26 PM

    that is amazing Danielle! But I would have never guessed otherwise, you always excel at everything you do, including cancer fighting.

    ReplyDelete
  2. SaraMay 5, 2011 at 3:05 PM

    YAHHHHHHH!!! Im SOOO Happy!!!! xoxoxoxoxox

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownMay 5, 2011 at 5:00 PM

    Danielle,
    One more miracle!! and you deserve all of them that you have received because of the joy and love you give to all who know you.
    Love ya,
    Aunt Lisa

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousMay 8, 2011 at 7:53 PM

    :) So happy to hear your news. I am looking forward to hearing many more updates just like this. Hope to see you at some point during your home visit. When is your trip planned for?

    Love,

    Alecia

    ReplyDelete

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