I am so happy and blessed to give you this update...and not the one I thought I was going to give!

Met with the oncologist this morning and got the best possible news that I could have hoped for. She said the PET scan found no additional tumors, and my blood test aren't showing any abnormalities, so there is no need for ANY chemotherapy at this time!

I'm not cancer free, but fortunately I have indolent (slow growing) lymphoma. My cancer would be classified as Stage 4, since it had spread to my kidney, BUT the surgery on March 22nd was able to remove all existing tumors, so the doctors will just monitor me to see if anything changes and address it when it does.

I'll go back in every 2 months for a checkup and if they discover any new tumors, they'll treat them with an immunotherapy approach using Rituxan, a type of antibody therapy, along with one other less damaging chemotherapy drug. 

I don't understand all the technical stuff, but the bottom line is this immunotherapy approach does not have all the bad side effects of the traditional chemotherapy... which is GREAT!

Everyone's prayers and support have made the difference...tonight I'll be thanking God and celebrating my new lease on life!


All the best,
Pat