drumroll please...

So, as we near the one year anniversary of my diagnosis, I had my 100 day post-transplant check up at the clinic today, (actually the 100 day mark was on the 16th, but who's counting...I mean other than me obviously!). In gearing up for this checkup, we had to re-do all of the tests and screens and biopsies. The most important of the two are the bone marrow biopsy, (they literally take a bone sample from each hip bone, and a core sample or bone marrow from one hip bone....without sedation), and the CT/PET Scan, (I describe it as a really cool cat scan where they can tell what, if any, cells are metastasizing into cancer cells). So today was results day. My nurse practitioner, Susan, met with us first and kinda went over everything. Then Dr. Morris came in to give us his definitive thoughts on everything and where we stand. He sat down with my chart, and said, "I've looked through all the scans and tests, and it's my opinion that you are in complete remission". Now this does not mean that I am necessarily cured of the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. This means that as of this moment they do not detect any cancerous cells. After the five year checkup, if we're still in remission, he says he will feel fairly confident calling me "cured". The Northside Hospital radiologist who read the CT/PET Scan did notice an area of "questionable nodular tissue" in the area of my splenectomy. Dr. Morris just thinks, (and says this is fairly common) that when my spleen was removed, my body grew a lymph node in it's place...what some call a phantom spleen. And it was noted on a previous post-splenectomy PET scan, and was noted as between one and a half centimeters and two centimeters. On this PET scan, it has shrunk to 0.9 centimeters. So, he's not concerned about it, because if it was lymphoma, it would be growing, not shrinking. He said we'll take a look at it after the next PET scan in 3-6 months and reevaluate then.

So, it's all good news!! I am still in remission...we're still kicking this thing's ass...and we'll continue to do so!! I just wanted to share the news with everyone. Hope you're all having a good week!!