Mike is CURED!  Cancer-FREE!  

Yesterday, Mike had his 3 month (from last treatment) PET Scan and today we met with his Oncology and Radiation Oncology doctors.  The scans were clear - we even were able to see his two scans side-by-side, it was amazing.  There is no sign of any cancer and no further treatment is needed.  Mike will follow up with an ENT doctor, who will run most of his follow-ups now, in a couple of weeks.  Going forward he will do 3 month checks for a while; mainly bloodwork and likely one or more endoscopies.  He also sees his Oncologist in 3 months.  

Right now he is feeling amazing and well on his way to returning to "normal".  He has maintained his weight, though he's trying to gain some back (lots of cheeseburgers these days!).  He also has no issues to taste, which is remarkable given his treatment; he's been hesitant to avoid spicy foods, but I don't know how much longer he can hold out.  His biggest complaint is that he's not generating a lot of saliva, so he has dry mouth and still occasionally has to drink water to help with swallowing.  This will likely improve over time, but it will be slow.  His energy is starting to come back - he's been golfing, he's back on the Peloton, and he's doing all of his normal daily routines.  His voice is still raspy, but I have noticed improvements already.  His doctors agree that he is healing "beautifully".  (My favorite of Mike's doctors is Dr. Nack, his Radiation Oncologist.  When she is happy and things go well, she uses the word "beautiful".  Today we got to hear that Mike's scans were "beautiful" and that his throat is healing "beautifully".)

Obviously there is celebrating in our future - feel free to raise a pizza slice in Mike's honor :)  

We both want to thank everyone for the love, support, prayers and kindness that has been given to our family over the last 6 months.  It's overwhelming to look back on the blessings and encouragement that we've received from so many people.  We will never forget this journey for many reasons; but, our hearts are full knowing we've been blest with an amazing community - thank you for this gift.  

On a personal note, we have learned so much about cancer and been witness to so many others' journeys.  We know that not everyone's health journey will have a positive ending, and we know how blest we are to be at this point.  I will keep praying for continued advancements in cancer treatment, and that anyone affected know the same love and caring we have felt from our medical team at Regions.