Mom had the final follow-up with the specialists in Vancouver last week.
They're happy! The main tumour is shrinking (apparently it will still be a while until we see how much it has shrunk), and the chemotherapy wiped out the small tumours on the lymph nodes.
Her blood pressure is down to 90/60... so, she can wean herself off her blood pressure medications.
On the strictly clinical side, that's about it. She is to follow up with an xray every 3 months. So long as no new tumours appear, and the main one (I keep wanting to say big one, but I'm trying to use positive phrasing) doesn't grow, she's in great shape.
Mom has lost a lot of weight in the last year. She's down to 112 pounds, and for those who haven't seen her for a while, it'll be a bit of a shock. Between the treatments and putting her back out, she hasn't been moving a whole bunch. Her muscles are very wasted, making her look quite frail.
Her hair is starting to grow back, but very little and very slowly (from the side, she looks so much like how I remember her dad!). Just a little fuzz right now.
I've been on her quite a lot to walk. Even a little bit! She resists, and I'm not sure why. I know this last time I was with her, her back was very sore, but this has been going on for a long time. Hopefully, getting the good news from her oncologists will be motivation to get her body strong enough for any new fight that comes along!
As for me, I'm cautiously optimistic. If I'd had my druthers, her follow up examination would have been far more comprehensive - not just an xray. I'd have liked to have heard how much the tumour had shrunk - for some reason, they didn't have this information readily available (?!)
But, mom is asking for all her file info and I hope to take a look at it soon.
Mom is still focussed on fighting the cancer, and she's determined - at least mentally. Now we just have to get that same energy in the physical side!!
This weekend is our family reunion, I'll post some photos then if you're interested.
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Hi Donna,
My name is Justin Guild and I’m a graduate research assistant currently working with Dr. Jeong-Nam Kim at Purdue University on a health communication study.
Specifically, our research explores how information sharing behavior through online communities (such as blogs) influences coping strategies among people with chronic conditions including cancer, diabetes, depression, etc. and their family members.
I’m contacting you to seek permission to place a link to our online web survey on your blog to invite readers and other visitors to participate. The survey is purely academic in nature and takes no longer than 5-7 minutes to complete.
The web survey can be found by clicking on this link: http://www.createsurvey.com/c/70237-Os3LDl/
The findings of this study could lead to better management capacities of chronic diseases as well as an increase in funding for research related to online communities.
If possible, we would be very appreciative if you could please forward the link to the web survey to other people you may know with chronic conditions.
If you have any questions, or would like additional information, please don’t hesitate to contact me at jguild@purdue.edu.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Justin Guild
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