Been a while

Hi everyone

Just felt like I should check in - it's been a while! For those of you that don't know, my husband was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in December 2008 at 34 years old (I was 27 at the time). We decided to, despite everything, try and get pregnant before he started chemo and were successful right away! SO, he did chemo and I made my way through my first pregnancy. In September of 09 he finished chemo and a month later our amazing baby boy was born. Shortly after this, he had his first scan and we discovered it had spread to his lung. He had surgery which successfully removed the 3 small spots in his lung, and no cancer was found in the nearby lymph nodes. He had some tumor testing done which showed (whether you believe in these kinds of tests or not) that his tumor was resistant to many chemotherapies, with the exception of a few random therapies that were not traditional options, and therefore not covered by insurance. It was a tough decision but he chose not to follow up this surgery with any chemo and his oncologist did agree that his case didn't seem to follow any normal statistics so there was no easy decision. We've since met with an herbalist and naturopath and he's changed his diet in many ways. We juice, and he takes a ton of supplements. Whether it's working or not, we'll never know, but he feels good at that's what matters.

On December 17 he had his THIRD pet scan since lung surgery and it came back clear! 9 months since his surgery and he's doing WONDERFUL. My avatar is old, my little boy is not the baby that he once was - he's a feisty 15 month old and ALL OVER THE PLACE!! One day, he will learn that he wouldnt be here if his daddy wasn't diagnosed with cancer - something that I'll never forget. I hate that we've been through this, and that my husband has endured SO much pain and that we live in fear that it will return. I hate it. BUT - I love my son so incredibly much and will never forget his connection with this evil cancer. It's pretty amazing. And to see how much my husband loves his little boy, just melts my heart. They have a pretty unique bond that will only grow with time I am sure.

Oh, and I shared this before, but my husband is in the 2011 Colondar! He's Mr. October and the photo shoot experience was life changing for him. It was so great for him to meet other survivors and confront the way he was feeling about his experience. We are both very proud of his participation in it.

Anyway - Just wanted to check in, and say hello. I don't post actively but I do stop by all the time to see how everyone is doing. Figured it was time to post an update.

Thanks for all that you do to support others going through this!!! It really is life saving.