Judy Harding

My name is Judy Harding. I am a school counselor at Divide County Public school in Crosby ND.  I am married to Kent and we have 5 children; Tyson, Hannah, Haley, Kari, and Kate.

On June 15, 2017 I was diagnosed with solitary plasmacytoma, a type of blood cancer.  The tumor was located in my lower back, the L4 vertebrae, and cause intense pain because of pressure on the spinal column.

I received radiation therapy for 5 weeks at Sanford Medical Center in Bismarck.  I did well with treatment and the pain was manageable after a week of treatment.  At the end of treatment I had a PET scan and it showed the tumor was gone but I had a compression fracture in the vertebrae but after an appointment with neurosurgeon it was decided to just watch and wait for the fracture to heal.

Our hope was that I would stay cancer free for a few years because this type of cancer is not will it return, but when will it return.  When the cancer reoccurs it  become Multiple Myeloma.

I had several follow-up appointments with positive results, but a pet scan in January revealed a return of cancer in 4 vertebrae and my upper left leg.  It was decided that I should travel to Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN to determine treatment for Multiple Myeloma.  I had an appointment in Rochester for January 22, at that appointment it was decided that I should receive treatment that will prepare me for a Stem Cell transplant.

I will begin treatment on February 5th Sanford Medical in Bismarck.  Treatment consists of a chemo shot every week for 3 weeks and then a week off, I will need to complete 4 cycles of this treatment.  Along with the shot I will also receive a chemo pill for 14 days with a week off and some other meds.  The hope is I will complete the regiment of treatment toward the end of May and will then travel to Rochester  for a Stem Cell transplant.



I will keep you posted at to treatments and how I am doing as time goes by.   Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.