Journal entry by Shane Winsor —
Hey Gang,
I hope everyone is staying safe (and sane) during these crazy times! Self-isolation is no fun and I'm slowly losing my marbles, but luckily, we have some great news to share about mom and her treatment!
As of this week, mom finished round 10 of her 16 weekly chemo infusions. Her oncology team performed routine body scans last Friday to evaluate treatment progress so far, and the results are the best we could have hoped for!
The tumors in her lung showed marked improvement, specifically, the most concerning area which measured in at a whopping 12x16mm, has been reduced to nothing but a 3mm scar (bye-bye). There are no new suspect nodularities, and the rest of her body and organs look normal and healthy.
The chemo is working! Moving forward, her team will monitor progress over the next two or three sessions and determine if she's able to stop chemo and move into what they call the "maintenance" phase of treatment. This is ideal, as it has fewer harsh side effects than chemo, and if all goes as planned, will keep any new cancer cells from forming in the future. Her previously ruled-out mastectomy is now back on the table, and she'll be meeting with her surgeon in the next few weeks to develop that action plan.
Mom also learned a new word this week that I thought was relevant to share:
Badassery
(bad•ass•er•y)
Behavior, characteristics, or actions regarded as formidably impressive.
"Few of us can attain her level of baddasery."
She's kicking cancer's ass for a second time and doing it with impossible amounts of finesse, gratitude, tenacity, and love. She's doing all the right things (eating right, exercising, getting healthy from the inside out) and it's paying off! Keep sending her all the love and support you can, from a distance for now, and hopefully we'll all be able to give her a big squeeze soon!
Cheers,
SW
I hope everyone is staying safe (and sane) during these crazy times! Self-isolation is no fun and I'm slowly losing my marbles, but luckily, we have some great news to share about mom and her treatment!
As of this week, mom finished round 10 of her 16 weekly chemo infusions. Her oncology team performed routine body scans last Friday to evaluate treatment progress so far, and the results are the best we could have hoped for!
The tumors in her lung showed marked improvement, specifically, the most concerning area which measured in at a whopping 12x16mm, has been reduced to nothing but a 3mm scar (bye-bye). There are no new suspect nodularities, and the rest of her body and organs look normal and healthy.
The chemo is working! Moving forward, her team will monitor progress over the next two or three sessions and determine if she's able to stop chemo and move into what they call the "maintenance" phase of treatment. This is ideal, as it has fewer harsh side effects than chemo, and if all goes as planned, will keep any new cancer cells from forming in the future. Her previously ruled-out mastectomy is now back on the table, and she'll be meeting with her surgeon in the next few weeks to develop that action plan.
Mom also learned a new word this week that I thought was relevant to share:
Badassery
(bad•ass•er•y)
Behavior, characteristics, or actions regarded as formidably impressive.
"Few of us can attain her level of baddasery."
She's kicking cancer's ass for a second time and doing it with impossible amounts of finesse, gratitude, tenacity, and love. She's doing all the right things (eating right, exercising, getting healthy from the inside out) and it's paying off! Keep sending her all the love and support you can, from a distance for now, and hopefully we'll all be able to give her a big squeeze soon!
Cheers,
SW
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