Heyyyya! A quick check in after my most recent 6 month oncology follow up this past Friday.

Things are looking good overall. I’ll be getting routine blood work this week when I have a chance to stop in and I’m scheduled for a ‘surveillance’ CT scan this October.

My only complaint has been continuous pain in my left hand. Specifically my left thumb and middle finger. Sometimes I’m not able to use them at all, sometimes it’s just extremely painful and stiff. That all said, I’m getting X-rays this week on my hand to see if there’s anything obvious that comes up. And I have a bone scan at the end of July to see what’s up there. It’s been a few years since my last bone scan so it will be interesting to see how menopause has been treating me and my bones.

The family is good, the boys are growing like weeds, and I continue to be a hot mess mom. In the most lovable way possible, of course 🤭

Back in November, I was able to celebrate a chunk of my birthday morning with my oncologist. It was a superb follow up, all things are looking good and I’m feeling fine 👌

At this appointment, we decided to order a routine CT scan of the chest, abdomen and pelvis. Due to covid and what not, things are still running a bit behind so my scan was scheduled for a few weeks after my oncology appointment.

Fun Fact: I will never NOT think I peed myself during a CT scan with contrast…. If you know, you know… and then you know that the contrast injection is some weird shit.

The scan itself was fine (aside from the pee-pants sensation), the Kaiser staff is always great. It did take super long to get the results though. After several emails to my doc, I finally explained that the 3 week delay in my results was about to shove me straight into a severe anxiety tornado. So on Christmas Day, Santa (aka Dr. Ahmed) gave the fucking fab gift of a clear scan! Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Halleluuuuuuuuuujah! (Channeling my inner Pentatonix, you know?)

Being 5 years out from diagnosis is huge for me, because- DUH- it means I’m still alive and living is pretty cool. I continue to be grateful for each new unicorn (gray) hair popping up every other day because it means this gal has had the pleasure of getting older. The wrinkles around my eyes remind me that I’ve had this time to laugh and make happy memories. My extra… errr… cushioning reminds me I’ve been able to eat another holiday season’s worth of treats.

And like Circe said in Madeline Miller’s book, ‘Of course my flesh reaches for the earth. That is where it belongs.’

Happy to be here 💜