Sunday, January 27, 2008 10:41 AM, CST

Part II
I’m hitting it really, really early in the game. The metabolic rate in both areas was about an eight. I can’t remember what the threshold is before the doctors begin to worry but my levels are just over the threshold, which leads Dr. Walsh to believe that the cancer is trying to rally. So we’re going to go after it early!
I’ll go for six rounds and have another PET scan at the end of April.
Dr. Walsh told me that if the cancer were to come back it would most likely come back at the six or nine month check-up. This was my six month check up and here it is just like an unwelcome guest.
Dr. Walsh isn’t sure he can cure me with the drugs he has but he said he thinks he can keep me alive for a good long time until more effective drugs come down the pipeline. I asked him what’s a good long time and he said five to seven years. In my opinion, five to seven years is only a good long time if you’re in let’s say…I don’t know….prison??? But not if you’re a 39 year old woman who has a nine year old a seven year old and a four year old. At best they would be 16, 14 and 11 at the end of seven years. That’s not enough time. I’m looking for more than that. I will fight for more than that.
Was I naïve to believe I had actually won the battle? I may have been. Although, there was a part of me who knew I’d have to fight some more. I never completely eradicated it the first time. I’m hoping that if I don’t have to worry about shrinking any tumors but can just concentrate on killing off some rogue cells, I might actually win this time. And winning for me will be to stay in remission for longer than six months!
I’m afraid when it comes to cancer there is no finish line but instead milestones. I’m going to push toward my next milestone and go from there.
So there’s the crappy news.
Hey Allison L: After we got the news on Friday, I have to tell you that all I could think about was if I told Jackie, she would give me the same response she gave her classmate that day when he told her some bad news. It made me laugh—really, really hard. So thank you for telling me that story a few months ago. It came in handy on Friday. And while I’m at it, thank you for letting us go furniture shopping in your kitchen the other day!
And while I’m on the cancer topic, please pray for my friends Kathy and Brian and their daughter Meredith. Brian is in his early thirties and was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. He is being treated at Dana Farber and is receiving a different drug combination than I am and is also part of a clinical trial.
Oh Gosh, let’s get onto a better topic.
The Patriots!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go Pats…….I’m excited about the pursuit of a perfect season and another Super Bowl victory. But let me ask you: Isn’t the worst thing about the Patriots making the Super Bowl the two weeks leading up to it? Because there is at least a week of non-stories the media loves to cover. Stories about uber-fans: fans whose houses are decorated completely in Patriots paraphernalia—I don’t find it interesting, I find it odd and slightly disturbing that there are people out there that have Patriot’s rugs, and dishes and coffee tables and even toilet paper that is all Patriots all the time….I do, I really do. And as much fun as I think tailgating is, I actually don’t want to see the inside of one more Patriots-bedecked Winnebago.
But while we’re on the topic of Brady vs. Manning, I saw a teenager with one of the best t-shirts I’ve ever seen. On the front, in big letters it said: I Hate Peyton Manning. And the back said, Eli Sucks Too……isn’t that hysterical??? Has anyone else seen one of those shirts? Too funny!!!
I’ve spent the last several Saturday nights skiing with Steven. I haven’t skied since I was in my early twenties and I’m having a ball!!! This is his first year skiing and he is doing really well.
Oh and did anyone see that the new Miss America is a girl named Kirsten Haglund??? Okay so her name has only one g and my maiden name has two g’s…..I’ll still claim her as a distant cousin!! J
I’m gearing up for the next round in this battle and will definitely keep you posted.
Love,
Kim