Ready for Chemo!

Well, folks, we're locked and loaded and ready for chemo, which starts on Monday. A couple of hurdles needed to be cleared before then, and they were cleared with flying colors. 

First: my incision -- I met with Dr. Ramos yesterday so he could take a peek at his handiwork and determine if the incision had healed well enough for me to begin chemo. If it was infected, say, or nearly infected, chemo would have been delayed. Ramos took one look and said I was good to go. Then I got two hugs from him. Nice.

Next, and this didn't actually preclude chemo, but was an important thing to find out prior to going forward: my PET scan results.

I got my PET scan done on Tuesday, but didn't want to tell you guys about it until I had the results, for obvious reasons -- let's not all be on pins and needles for two days, right? I try to be considerate, especially to you folks. One thing about the PET scan procedure that is worth sharing: I got some Valium prior to the scan (which is highly unnecessary since I don't get nervous when getting CT scans or the like -- resting in a strange plastic tube while my body is being scanned doesn't weird me out in the least). Valium was pretty great, and I had the tech laughing like crazy during the scan. I wasn't totally out of it, but I think my thorough joy in being so relaxed and Valiumed up tickled her. I like to keep people laughing, what can I say? :)

So, the results: they couldn't have been better -- there is no cancer anywhere else in my body save this gut, and the tumors in my gut had not notably grown between diagnosis and now. Awesome times, and what a relief. I was feeling confident the whole time -- prior to the PET scan and up until the moment I learned of my results -- but it's nice to have that confidence validated and it's even nicer to know that I just need to fight this battle on one front.

If you want some proof of my optimism and confidence leading up to the PET scan, here is a picture I took of myself prior to heading in (and prior to the Valium, so this is a truly authentic expression)...

Chemo starts on Monday, and I couldn't be more charged and ready to go. This chemo is supposed to be fantastic -- it not only yields solid results, but it doesn't make you lose your hair nor does it kill your immune system. That means I can keep rockin' the bangs and, most importantly, I can keep hanging out with my loved ones (without having to wear a surgical mask).

Because I tend to get a little rashy from drugs/scrubs/plastic hospital beds/neosporin, I'm going to get a nice shot of Benadryl to start things off. That means that this WunderGlo is going to sleep like a baby during the entire process. By the time I wake up, cancer will have been dealt a serious body blow. Meanwhile, I'll be rested and ready to fight some more.