Thursday I got Tubey removed.  It actually didn’t hurt at all (yay for numbness!), and just for fun, I did look at the part that had been living inside my leg.  Um, GROSS.  I mean, really, gross.  The cool thing is how fast that little hole healed up…it’s still a little icky, but for the most part, it was like magic!

I started yesterday wearing my sexay compression stocking. Very snug but not too bad…until today that is. Today, after I had been walking around the house, cleaning up a bit, it started to bug me. Upon further inspection, it had slipped down my leg and was bunched around my knee. Huh.  Not going to stop a lot of swelling if it doesn’t stay up, now will it?! I obviously either didn’t have it up high enough (yes, it’s a thigh high) or it’s really not the right size.  Although, my upper inner thigh IS still fairly swollen, so that may have something to do with it.  Either way, pain in the arse!

The boys had their last soccer game today. It was windy and cold and I’m pretty sure the parents were more excited for the end of the season than the kids were!  When we got home, I put together all the pictures from the season and I’m going to order a photo book.  Normally, I would have made a scrapbook album, but apparently life has made other plans for my time and the photo books ARE super easy and inexpensive!

I’m working on the photo books for the grandparents as well.  Last year was the first year, so I did Birth to 5 for Matt and Birth to 3 for Preston.  This year I am doing one book of both of them, September of last year to August of this year (after birthdays to birthdays).  The crappy part is that sometime in March of this year, I lost a BUNCH of pictures from my computer.  I have no idea how, if it was one of the boys or just a glitch or if I did it accidentally, but either way, I am missing photos from October 4th through February 8th.  Which means that, especially since my memory SUCKS, I basically lost 4+ months of memories of my boys’ lives.  NICE. Also, it makes it hard to make a complete book with CHRISTMAS AND HALLOWEEN missing!! GAH.  Am trying a recovery, but last time it didn’t work; crossing fingers for better luck this time around.

Tomorrow we’re heading to the pumpkin patch and hopefully throwing some Halloween decorations up around the house.  I’m so behind because of my surgery and recovery it’s crazy…not to mention that Preston’s costume is NOT EVEN CLOSE to being completed (spray paint FAIL)! ARGH….

Hopefully I will be posting some happy fall pictures of mah boys tomorrow…until then! xoxo

Ok, I’m done with this stupid tube being in my leg…I’m done being stuck on this couch…I’m done wearing yoga pants and a bandana to cover my hair every day…I’m done with this whole cancer thing.

What’s that? I don’t have a choice on the cancer thing?  Oh, alright.  But I AM done with the rest.

Fingers crossed, tubey comes out tomorrow along with the remaining 4 staples.  My drainage is almost at the right spot, but moreso, they don’t want to leave it in much longer time wise, so tomorrow we head to U of M Cancer Center again and hopefully leave some things behind.

I still have my MRI & CAT scans to do, but once those are done and checked out, I’m hoping for at least a few month reprieve from that part of Ann Arbor.

The numbness in my leg is getting better and I am definitely walking a lot better, with less of a limp.

Tomorrow I will find out my next steps in the process of taking care of myself.  I want to be able to drive, to go on walks, to play with my Wii Fit and EA Active; I want to be able to clean the house (oh my GAH, the vacuuming that needs to be done!), I want to go to TARGET (oh, how I have missed thee!).  I want to be able to run upstairs to the boys when the yell (well, not really, it would be so much better if they just didn’t do that!). I want to get back to living the life I know, albeit a little more cautiously with regard to that big yellow thing in the sky.

I’m doing research and looking into specialized supplements and diets and such for cancer (let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions).  Since I don’t need additional treatment right now, I’m not looking for alternatives to that, I’m just curious.  Besides, if eating say, 27 red skittles a day might help keep it from coming back, I’d be silly not to try it, right?

Mike is going back to work on November 2nd; I’ll probably start going back into the office for a couple hours a day next week.  I’m sure a good amount of my time will still need to be with my leg elevated for awhile each day, so I’m going to take it slow.  Besides, I’m not so much looking forward to going into work, what with how slow it is and all the changes I’ve had to make, but I know I need to Captain the Ship, so to speak.

This weekend should bring a trip to the pumpkin patch, the last soccer game and putting up halloween decorations (SO far behind!).  I’m looking forward to a life more ordinary.

We went to good ‘ol U of M again today.  It’s been our home away from home, it seems, these past few months!  Today was the first time we’ve actually had to wait to see someone.  We knew it would be bad when as soon as we sat down, the moaning and complaining began around us, words like “we’ve been waiting over an hour” and “how much longer is it going to be” attacking the nursing staff.  I settled in with my paperwork; Mike went in search of food. We got back in the room (finally!) sometime around 4 (our appointment was at 3:00).  First, Dr. L’s associate, Dr. Russia came in and talked to us and did a physical exam on me. He promised to discuss everything with Dr. L and they would both be back ‘shortly’.  A long time later, they both came in.  Thankfully, because we were both absurdly bored; Mike was on his umpteenth game of Paper Toss, I was playing Bejeweled.

Dr. L was very nice and he had a lot of information for us.  He seemed to have a little trouble talking in layman’s terms at first, mostly because i think he wanted to share A LOT of details of the medical side of things with us, but didn’t want to go overboard with information.  Once he settled in, we learned about the options and it turns out that in my specific case, since the amount of cancer cells found in those two nodes were microscopic, that the best course of treatment is actually no treatment.  That is, to be under surveillance (hehe) by having scans and skin checks and such every 3 months, and by checking myself out regularly.

The interferon treatment that we fully expected to be starting in the next couple weeks doesn’t seem to be the best course of action for my situation.  If the cells were more, or bigger, then it would be worthwhile, but given the microscopic state of cells and the side effects of interferon, combined with the fact that the interferon might help 1 in 50 people in my specific situation by increasing the cure rate.

All this to say, bottom line:

• No interferon treatments (it’s good news)
• Staples out on Friday
• Drainage tube out within the next 2 weeks (then I can drive and Mike can go back to work!)
• CT scans of body and MRI of brain in the next 2-3 weeks to get a baseline view of my innards.
• Scans and physicals every 3 months for the next year

There are no guarantees.  The interferon, though, seems like it wouldn’t provide any benefit at this point. The cure rate at this point (Stage III Melanoma) is 65% within 5 years; the Interferon adds less than 5% to the cure rate within 1 year, but after 5 years studies show it makes no difference.

Honestly, the side effects aren’t worth it.  When we first were told about interferon, we thought it was the way to go; the standard of care in my situation. We honestly couldn’t figure out why we wouldn’t do it.  Dr. L presented it in a much different light, answered our questions and helped us make our decision.

Obviously, if any of the scans show anything odd or suspicious, things may change, but as of right now, we’re going to hope that the two nodes they took out were all of the cancer that was in me.

I feel like a huge weight has been lifted, to tell the truth.  I wasn’t looking forward to the side effects (extreme fatigue, flu-like symptoms), but had we thought it would make a positive difference, I would have done it.  That said, I feel like I’ve been given a year with my boys back.  I would have been a shell of myself for at least the first 2-3 months and that would have sucked.

So there you have it….good news.

Finally.

Hi all.

Things are moving along well with my recovery…I’m getting around better and am down to using one crutch most of the time to hobble around the house.  I am doing so well with keeping my leg elevated, I haven’t had any swelling at all, which is awesome.  I still have very numb areas and very tingly / pins and needles areas, but it’s not too bad.  I definitely know when I’ve over done it…like the other day I went into my office to make an appearance and today when I went to the boys’ soccer game…I came home and crashed out.  Not ever having been much of a nap taker before, it’s kind of funny to suddenly wake up to find a bunch of time has passed! I’m still coughing up my lungs, thanks to the lovely cold Matt brought home from school that I thought I had effectively fought pre-surgery.

Preston has been having a hard time with me being home; with me being on the couch. I’ve been making a concentrated effort to get off the couch and on the chair, or walk around with him around.  He stayed home twice this week…I think he just feels like he needs to be home with me and Mike. I hate that, by the way.  I despise that he worries about me, it makes me horribly sad.

Anyway, I’m recovering well and the outpouring of support, from friends and strangers alike has been amazing. Tuesday is the big medical oncologist doctor visit day, so I’ll keep you updated.  Then I get my staples removed on Friday (yum!).

Thanks for taking the ride with me…having you with me sure helps.

As in ‘fairly good news’ from my surgeon and the pathology department. Fairly good.

Fairly good.

Better than ‘not so good’ or ‘not good at all’ or ‘bad’.

Fairly good.

What that means, in real life, is that one of the 6 nodes that they removed in this latest surgery had a small amount of tumor in it. One out of six.  So yes, fairly good.

But not really good.  Or great.

So we have an appointment scheduled with the medical oncology doctor on the 13th to find out exactly what our next steps are.  Not sure if it will still be interferon, or if it will be something else. Wait and see, as usual, I guess.

In the meantime, I will get better, get stronger, and be ready to kick the rest of this cancer’s ass out of my body. (which sounds really strange when I write it that way, but you know what I mean, right?!)