“I was so happy to see such a beautiful scan.” On January 21st, after years of scanning and waiting 6 months we finally got our first completely clear scan since the beginning of this cancer journey! And with a clear scan landing at our two year mark of Hodgson Lymphoma we call this CURED! We are in complete remission and do not have to have any more PET scans! Thank you to all of you who have done so many things for myself and for our family throughout this entire journey! 

To break this down a little bit more- yes this is the first scan that has been completely clear. We have been completing PET scan every July and January since July 2019 (4 months after completing 8 cycles ABVD March 2019). Each one showed small areas light up on the scan. The lungs a couple of times as well as the intestines. When pathology reads this they call it progression of disease. Given the advanced state of my original diagnosis and the aggressive chemotherapy, my doctor reassured us that there was a lot of dead tissue that needed to heal. We trusted his leadership and the team we saw additionally for blood draws every three months. I was very hopeful for a clear scan this time but was not prepared to hear cured. 

My plan was to have clear scans as soon as we were done with treatment. And I knew with that plan we would have two scans six months apart followed by a year wait to have the next one and then we would be done. So my hope was that if we got the all clear we would be able to wait until 2022 and then hear the wonderful cured word! So when we had our video visit with the news I was so shocked that I didn’t think I heard him, and I asked him to repeat the entire thing! 

Moving forward we will continue to watch for potential “progression of disease” by having a blood draw every 4 months to start and will slowly space it out for the next 5 years. The doctor reassured us that only for a very small percentage of people Hodgson Lymphoma does return after the treatment that was completed. 

It’s so important to me to thank each one of you as we come to the end of this season. While I have not wanted to spend the last several years learning so much about a cancer journey, I have done just that. And such a huge part of my journey was being supported by all of you; meals, donations, socks, blankets, coffee, groceries, childcare, house cleaning, room-makeovers, trips, hair cuts,  deeper friendships, conversations, prayer, and so much more! My cancer journey is marked by my community’s generosity and support. I am so grateful! It means so much to me and to our families!! Thank you all!!!