A long overdue update - 

In March 2022, Teri finished her last round of chemotherapy and was told that she was in "biochemical remission". This means that we are relying on the information from her bloodwork to determine her status because the tumors/lesions are inoperable and will remain in her body. Since then, she has continued to have scans and bloodwork to determine the activity of the cancer cells. In April, blood tests showed that she had a rare fungal infection in her lung, but her immune system kicked into gear and was able to fight it off without any additional treatments. 

Throughout the summer, Teri continued to work on getting stronger with the goal of returning to work at Zimmerman Middle and High School in September. She continued to be seen by her palliative care team to manage the ongoing symptoms (pain, swelling, neuropathy) from the chemotherapy/tumor. Bloodwork and scans were completed in August which showed that the tumors were continuing to decrease in size, and everything remained stable. Teri was able to go back to work full time at ZMHS in September!

In December, bloodwork and a CT scan was completed once again. All of the blood tests showed positive results, but the scans showed a tumor on the left side of Teri's pelvis which was worrisome for metastasis since the original tumor was on the right side on her pelvis. After speaking with her oncologist, he ordered additional scans and wanted to take her case back to the tumor board. After the tumor board meeting, Teri's oncologist shared that there was some conflicted opinions that came up since her type of cancer is so rare. While the original radiologist stated that the tumor on the left side is new, another radiologist determined that is wasn't. He also stated that the pathologists in the meeting are still questioning the type/origin of the cancer. After the meeting, he believed that it would still be best to complete a PET scan.

In January (after a much needed family vacation), Teri completed the PET scan which indicated no changes in the activity of cancer cells. Since the PET scan showed low activity in all tumors/lesions and her bloodwork (including the tumor markers) continues to be normal, Teri's oncologist stated that he still considers her to be in "biochemical remission". She will continue to be monitored through scans/bloodwork every 3 months.