Results came back from the MRIs and they didn't find anything to be concerned about. A huge weight has been lifted, we will take all the good news we can get. After some celebrating it was back to the usual schedule, one filled with lots of appointments.
Last week was
Monday: physical therapy
Tuesday: meet with a new dermatologist for a body check and more biopsies
Wednesday: check-up with surgical oncologist
Thursday: blood work, treatment, meet with medical oncologist, and physical therapy
Friday: DAY OFF
I've been asked "well with skin cancer you just have to cut it out and that's it, right?" If it's caught early enough then that is all they can do. In my case, I've learned that it's not always that simple. Not only do I have to monitor my skin for any changes, we will have to continue doing scans of what's going on internally to make sure that no tumors come back around my organs. My medical oncologist is very confident in the treatment that I'm doing and says that he's going to do what's best for my health for decades to come. Definitely reassuring to hear someone, a professional nonetheless, talk long-term. I keep seeing articles of how these types of immunotherapy are changing the way that patients with both advanced melanoma, like myself, and lung cancer are being treated. That using the body's own immune system to fight the disease might be the cure that they've been looking for. To think that these drugs weren't even available when I was first diagnosed is pretty astonishing. When it was time for me to begin treatment, my only options were to do the Interferon or wait it out. I don't know what my situation would be like given that the Interferon didn't work. I feel very fortunate that all of these advancements are being made right now and that I was able to have access to this stuff when I did. I will continue with the Nivolumab infusions through next June with the hope that it keeps me CANCER-FREE. Next week, I will be going in for more excisions and physical therapy. They also want to inject steroids into my neck to help break up some of the scar tissue there, maybe it will help lessen the "I got caught up in a prison knife fight" look we've got going right now. So that should be fun...NOT, but at this point, what's a couple more needles?
Last week was
Monday: physical therapy
Tuesday: meet with a new dermatologist for a body check and more biopsies
Wednesday: check-up with surgical oncologist
Thursday: blood work, treatment, meet with medical oncologist, and physical therapy
Friday: DAY OFF
I've been asked "well with skin cancer you just have to cut it out and that's it, right?" If it's caught early enough then that is all they can do. In my case, I've learned that it's not always that simple. Not only do I have to monitor my skin for any changes, we will have to continue doing scans of what's going on internally to make sure that no tumors come back around my organs. My medical oncologist is very confident in the treatment that I'm doing and says that he's going to do what's best for my health for decades to come. Definitely reassuring to hear someone, a professional nonetheless, talk long-term. I keep seeing articles of how these types of immunotherapy are changing the way that patients with both advanced melanoma, like myself, and lung cancer are being treated. That using the body's own immune system to fight the disease might be the cure that they've been looking for. To think that these drugs weren't even available when I was first diagnosed is pretty astonishing. When it was time for me to begin treatment, my only options were to do the Interferon or wait it out. I don't know what my situation would be like given that the Interferon didn't work. I feel very fortunate that all of these advancements are being made right now and that I was able to have access to this stuff when I did. I will continue with the Nivolumab infusions through next June with the hope that it keeps me CANCER-FREE. Next week, I will be going in for more excisions and physical therapy. They also want to inject steroids into my neck to help break up some of the scar tissue there, maybe it will help lessen the "I got caught up in a prison knife fight" look we've got going right now. So that should be fun...NOT, but at this point, what's a couple more needles?