Bethany Howell

  Welcome friends and family. This site is to keep you updated on my cancer journey. I appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.💜
  How this all came about.......In October 2018 I went to my doctor because there was a mass in my lower right leg.  It started in March as a little bump above my achilles and grew to the size of a small chicken breast by the Fall. It was painful to walk by then so I had it surgically removed as soon as possible and we tested it afterwards. The long delay in results confirmed what I'd been feeling....that it was cancer. It was an aggressive soft tissue sarcoma. After I healed up, I went through 6 1/2 weeks of radiation starting in January of 2019. Because sarcoma tends to jump to the lungs they scanned my leg and lungs every 3 months following radiation. The last two scans showed 2 nodes growing quickly in my left lung.  Because it was suspicious for recurrence, we did a PET scan that showed cancer in my left femoral head at the hip (explaining the month and a half of pain I'd been having in my hip). When cancer metastasizes it's stage 4.  The doctors agreed systemic treatment would be the best plan of action but they wanted me to get a second opinion by a sarcoma specialist at OHSU. I meet with her on the 12th. But I'm scheduled to get a picc line put in this week so I can start chemo right away if she agrees  this is the best option. Chemo is scheduled for Dec. 16th.  Currently the plan is to do 5 days inpatient treatment then 16 days recovering at home. I'll do that for 6 cycles  (about 4 months).  I will not be able to work during this time because of the risk of infection.  My hair will likely fall out.  It's going to be a new experience and an interesting journey!  Come along for the ride.😊