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~ - Subject: Hello from C-townHi everyone,
Haven't stopped by in awhile. i wasn't able to sleep so it seemed like a good time to update.i am still in remission, still in treatment (immunotherapy) likely until September 2025. i had a cat scan in April that showed i still have one slightly swollen lymph node, but it is even less swollen than it was at the end of Chemo. my Oncologist said he would like to see it reduce further (to less than a centimeter). It was 1 1/4 centimeters in April and not cancerous. It was also the site of the largest metastasis, 2" x 3".
i have Non-Hodgkin Follicular Lymphoma, there is no cure, but if the patient responds, it is managed as a chronic illness. The goal is 'to die with the disease, not of the disease'. my Oncologist didn't know if i would survive Chemo and told me in Dec 2022, that he did not know if he could save me. i was in such shock to learn how sick i was, i thought i was having heart issues.
i am doing remarkably well. There are no guarantees and i will probably have a pet scan in October to make sure i am still in remission, it would be a very bad sign if i relapsed while i was on immunotherapy (referred to as maintenance), so i know i will have some anxiety as that appointment pops up. Immunotherapy is much easier than Chemo, i do have some side effects, fatigue and the chills, i can get very cold at times. Also i am immunocompromised for now. my Oncologist has recommended against travel for the time being, unless i drive myself of course, but public transportation is too risky. It is disappointing, but since i can tire easily, travel would tire me out as well. We are suffering an early heat wave in New Jersey, it is terrible, but at least i don't have the chills for the time being, haha. Sometimes i feel a little run-down after treatment for a couple of days, but this last time, i was fine. i think it may be that i am walking a lot. i joined a walking club that meets on Saturday mornings at a park or in the mall if it is raining or very hot like yesterday, and i have been going at least twice a week on my own or with a friend. on my 'off' days i try to cover a mile by walking the aisles of my supermarket on my shopping day, or walking in other large stores. When i am at the Mall i walk about two miles, the other days i aim for a mile. With Lymphoma, it is particularly important to stay active. my Oncology 'team' is very excited about my progress. i know i am very lucky, my health is returning and i have a couple of high school friends who happen to live about five miles away who have taken very good care of me. They are as important to my survival as the medical team.
About ten days ago i was working in one of the flowerbeds in my back yard, and when i got up to go in the house, there were two bears in my yard! It was frightening. One was about half grown, the other one much larger, probably its Mother. The smaller one didn't seem to notice me, i was more afraid of the larger one, but when she saw me, she backed away and walked behind a row of forsythia bushes. i tried to walk calmly back into my house, but i was shaking so hard i was afraid of tripping and falling. There is a lot of construction in my town and i suspect that it is driving the wild life out of the woods. There have been many bear sightings the past few years, but never in my part of town. i think i found out about the walking club in the nick of time, because now i do not want to walk around the block in my neighborhood.
i try to go to the movies every so often with one of my friends, we are retired and go mid-day, mid-week to see films that aren't very crowded. i recently saw 'A Young Woman and the Sea.' It is a wonderful film about the first woman to swim the English Channel. i highly recommend it. i have been reading a bit more regularly. i discovered an author named Edward Carey and loved a book he wrote called 'Little', sort of an historical novel about Madam Tussaud, and now i am finishing up another of his books, 'Alva and Irva'. Next on my to be read pile is either the non-fiction book that 'The Young Woman and the Sea', was based on (same title) or 'The Friday Afternoon Club', by the actor Griffen Dunne, a family memoir.
i am still slogging away on my house, i try not to stress over it, stress is bad for cancer patients, i do the best i can and try to find some happiness and gratitude in each day as well as setting achievable goals.
i hope you are all well. Hugs and kisses.
Scary about the bears! Yikes! Great news about the cancer!
Love and prayers hon.....
Glad you are doing better and I like the bear story.
WOW bears in the back yard .. good to hear from you ellspeth.
glad you're doing well.
So good to hear from you, ellspeth.
Keep fighting
Brilliant news
Thank you for the update, ellspeth. Keep the faith!
Hang tough ellspeth. We’ve got the prayers and healing vibes for you. Glad you are taking care with those bears. I’m a bit further south than you, and in a subdivision, they had a bear spotted running around at night.