...what with PET scans and treatment and marker number results. I went in for a new set of scans on Tuesday to see what kind of progress we've made since the set we took last October. I was able to bring a CD home with all the images and compare them with the October set. I am not a radiologist but I can compare an old scan with a new scan and see differences. My oncologist confirmed what I thought looked like much cleaner looking pictures with fewer and much smaller active tumors than before. And to add to this bit of good news, my marker number dropped from 10.5 two weeks ago to 7.5 from yesterday's testing, even after skipping an Erbitux treatment last week while I was vacationing. With this kind of progress, my oncologist says that I could conceivably be back in the "normal" range in a few weeks. When we get to that point, I guess we'll have plenty to discuss with our treatment team on where to go next.
I owe a lot of this progress to the advances made in colorectal cancer treatment in the past few years. Had I been given the same diagnosis only 5 years ago, I might not have made it this far. Now it's my turn to start paying back. I've walked for the past few years in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life in remembrance of my mother's battle against breast cancer. It's my turn to walk in the Relay this year and raise money to keep funding cancer research so that others may continue to benefit. I will be participating in the Relay for Life here in Kent WA on May 18th and would like to ask you to support my walk with a contribution - the link to my Relay website is now on the link section on the right side of this page. You can make a secure on-line pledge with a credit card or download a form that you can send back to me with your check (reply with a comment to my blog and I'll send you the address). I've set a moderate goal of $250, but won't stop accepting contributions if I reach the goal. Thanks in advance for your pledge and support.
