Tomorrow... 3 month results!

CherylHutch said:

Thanks!! ::dance dance dance::
Hehehe... I came right here to this topic to post the good news and thought I was starting a new trend... but I see we have other good news too... so the trend has definitely started!! We need to have more good news stories to offset the sad ones that we've had kick us all in the stomach over and over again this past month or so.

But good news is out there... and I wish it for every single one of us!

Cheryl

CherylHutch said:

GOOD NEWS!!
Wow... we need a shot of good news and hope around here.... I was beginning to wonder if the moon and stars had collided or something. Not only am I ecstatic about today's results, but I'm thrilled that it can show others, especially the new folk who are probably wondering if the news is going to be bad, one by one.

Well, I'm here to turn it around... I started it and I want others to join in and we can have one great big Group Celebration!!

The three month scan could not be any better!! My oncologist had said that we were going to start off on the Xeloda (pronounced Za-Lauda... I had no idea!) but if that didn't show any sign of shrinkage then it would be back to the pump with the infusion of chemo. She felt that if we saw any sign of shrinkage then that is exactly where we would want to be at three months on Xeloda. Well... shrinkage we had! The worst of the problem tumours shrunk by 1/3!!! That's right... in three months, each of the tumours shrunk by 1/3 of their size they were three months ago. So the lung tumours are responding very very well to the Xeloda.

The kidney growth is also shrinking so I said, "Rats... I guess that means that it IS a colon met" and she said, "Not necessarily. If it is kidney cancer, it's quite possible that it is responding to the Xeloda because this particular chemo is being used for more and more different cancers." Either way, she says she doesn't really care what kind of cancer it may or may not be... she would just like it out of there. Soooo, since it is showing signs of responding to the chemo and shrinking, we are going to stay on the Xeloda for another 4 cycles (3 months) and will have another scan in December. As long as the kidney tumour is shrinking that's fine... but the minute it stops shrinking, then off with it's head! We are going to have it zapped by RFA. The reason for letting it shrink rather than go in right now and zap it.... the smaller it is, the less Dr. So has to zap... and as long as it's shrinking, it's not hurting anything

So I beez doing the Happy Shrinking Dance

Thank you, thank you for all your wonderful thoughts and good energy!!

Huggggggs,

Cheryl

CherylHutch said:

GOOD NEWS!!
Wow... we need a shot of good news and hope around here.... I was beginning to wonder if the moon and stars had collided or something. Not only am I ecstatic about today's results, but I'm thrilled that it can show others, especially the new folk who are probably wondering if the news is going to be bad, one by one.

Well, I'm here to turn it around... I started it and I want others to join in and we can have one great big Group Celebration!!

The three month scan could not be any better!! My oncologist had said that we were going to start off on the Xeloda (pronounced Za-Lauda... I had no idea!) but if that didn't show any sign of shrinkage then it would be back to the pump with the infusion of chemo. She felt that if we saw any sign of shrinkage then that is exactly where we would want to be at three months on Xeloda. Well... shrinkage we had! The worst of the problem tumours shrunk by 1/3!!! That's right... in three months, each of the tumours shrunk by 1/3 of their size they were three months ago. So the lung tumours are responding very very well to the Xeloda.

The kidney growth is also shrinking so I said, "Rats... I guess that means that it IS a colon met" and she said, "Not necessarily. If it is kidney cancer, it's quite possible that it is responding to the Xeloda because this particular chemo is being used for more and more different cancers." Either way, she says she doesn't really care what kind of cancer it may or may not be... she would just like it out of there. Soooo, since it is showing signs of responding to the chemo and shrinking, we are going to stay on the Xeloda for another 4 cycles (3 months) and will have another scan in December. As long as the kidney tumour is shrinking that's fine... but the minute it stops shrinking, then off with it's head! We are going to have it zapped by RFA. The reason for letting it shrink rather than go in right now and zap it.... the smaller it is, the less Dr. So has to zap... and as long as it's shrinking, it's not hurting anything

So I beez doing the Happy Shrinking Dance

Thank you, thank you for all your wonderful thoughts and good energy!!

Huggggggs,

Cheryl

Hatshepsut said:

Celebrate!

Cheryl:

I'm delighted to read your posts about your treatment progress. It certainly sounds like you have a good doctor who not only has an effective treatment plan in place for you but also supports your healing with a positive attitude.

I hope you can do something for yourself to celebrate.

Hatshepsut

CherylHutch said:

Thank you everyone!!
Here it is, the next day, and I'm still doing the Happy Shrinking Dance.... and taking my 1650mg of ZAAAA-LOOOOAD-AHHHH with great glee and enjoyment! Now, maybe if I dance long enough not only will it shrink those little monsters, but will work on shrinking ME too???

Mags and Hats... I sooooo want to catch up with the two of you, and will do so in email or PMs real soon!! I'm planning on working from home tomorrow, so maybe that will be our lucky day . I tell you... the Happy Shrinking Treatments have not seemed to slow me down... or maybe I'm just too stubborn to accept that I should slow down and rest a bit???

Anywho.... am soooo glad to see both of you posting again, and ya, I'm just as guilty for not having been posting for eons, but hey, we are here posting away so that gives us some sort of Brownie points, no??

Hahahaha... I actually am enjoying the ribbing/teasing about pronounciations of the oral form of chemo formally known as "The Pill" But never fear, my little pretties... I have an idea brewing for a new topic which I'll get to this evening.

Right now... I'm on the run!! Had a fabulous meeting this morning with a local "oldies but goldies" radio station and setting up a bunch of radio ads/interviews/ticket giveaways, etc. for the theatre I'm publicist for. Of course it ran later than I planned so I'm now half an hour late for getting to the office of the other theatre I'm involved with, Theatre Under The Stars, which is our summer outdoor theatre. The season is over now for that one, so us poor administrators are busy tying up loose ends for the season before we start working on the next one. I'm doing the Happy Happy Dance for that theatre (aka TUTS) because we had a hugely successful season. It's really worrisome when you put on full length Broadway musicals in a theatre where weather is very much a huge element as to the success or failure of the season. We are nutz... we do TWO of these musicals (this year, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Singin' In The Rain) in rep with each other. The size of the theatre, in the middle of the most gorgeous rainforest park in Vancouver, seats 1200 people, literally under the stars. The expenses to do this? $1 million!! So is it any wonder a few of us lose sleep when we see a cloud in the sky during the 7 week run?? . Well, the figures are in... we brought in $1.6 million this year, so two new musicals will go on next summer... hence why the work is never done and I must dash off to the office in the park. But I stopped in at home first to pick up my little darlin' mini-schnauzer, Bridget. Yes, Bridget comes with me to the office I spend so much time there if they said I couldn't bring her, well... the theatre would lose out on one of their most dedicated workers (I say "worker" because I do this for love... not for money.... I won't let them pay me because it will upset my very nice income of a Retirement Pension and a Government Disability Pension). So the theatre(s) lucky out big time ... and they know it

So why the ongoing babble?? Because those of you who know me know that is just me... I babble and can jump from one thought to another and somehow they all are connected in some weird, offbeat way. My passion for the theatre + my involvement with the Vancouver theatre community + my good friends Ms and Mr. ZA-LOAD-UH = shrinking tumours and an overall positive attitude = fairly decent health.

Hahaha... does that make sense, or should I be cutting back on the happy pills??

Cheryl

CherylHutch said:

Thank you everyone!!
Here it is, the next day, and I'm still doing the Happy Shrinking Dance.... and taking my 1650mg of ZAAAA-LOOOOAD-AHHHH with great glee and enjoyment! Now, maybe if I dance long enough not only will it shrink those little monsters, but will work on shrinking ME too???

Mags and Hats... I sooooo want to catch up with the two of you, and will do so in email or PMs real soon!! I'm planning on working from home tomorrow, so maybe that will be our lucky day . I tell you... the Happy Shrinking Treatments have not seemed to slow me down... or maybe I'm just too stubborn to accept that I should slow down and rest a bit???

Anywho.... am soooo glad to see both of you posting again, and ya, I'm just as guilty for not having been posting for eons, but hey, we are here posting away so that gives us some sort of Brownie points, no??

Hahahaha... I actually am enjoying the ribbing/teasing about pronounciations of the oral form of chemo formally known as "The Pill" But never fear, my little pretties... I have an idea brewing for a new topic which I'll get to this evening.

Right now... I'm on the run!! Had a fabulous meeting this morning with a local "oldies but goldies" radio station and setting up a bunch of radio ads/interviews/ticket giveaways, etc. for the theatre I'm publicist for. Of course it ran later than I planned so I'm now half an hour late for getting to the office of the other theatre I'm involved with, Theatre Under The Stars, which is our summer outdoor theatre. The season is over now for that one, so us poor administrators are busy tying up loose ends for the season before we start working on the next one. I'm doing the Happy Happy Dance for that theatre (aka TUTS) because we had a hugely successful season. It's really worrisome when you put on full length Broadway musicals in a theatre where weather is very much a huge element as to the success or failure of the season. We are nutz... we do TWO of these musicals (this year, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Singin' In The Rain) in rep with each other. The size of the theatre, in the middle of the most gorgeous rainforest park in Vancouver, seats 1200 people, literally under the stars. The expenses to do this? $1 million!! So is it any wonder a few of us lose sleep when we see a cloud in the sky during the 7 week run?? . Well, the figures are in... we brought in $1.6 million this year, so two new musicals will go on next summer... hence why the work is never done and I must dash off to the office in the park. But I stopped in at home first to pick up my little darlin' mini-schnauzer, Bridget. Yes, Bridget comes with me to the office I spend so much time there if they said I couldn't bring her, well... the theatre would lose out on one of their most dedicated workers (I say "worker" because I do this for love... not for money.... I won't let them pay me because it will upset my very nice income of a Retirement Pension and a Government Disability Pension). So the theatre(s) lucky out big time ... and they know it

So why the ongoing babble?? Because those of you who know me know that is just me... I babble and can jump from one thought to another and somehow they all are connected in some weird, offbeat way. My passion for the theatre + my involvement with the Vancouver theatre community + my good friends Ms and Mr. ZA-LOAD-UH = shrinking tumours and an overall positive attitude = fairly decent health.

Hahaha... does that make sense, or should I be cutting back on the happy pills??

Cheryl