4 year follow up

I have my 4 year follow up today. 

This is how it goes with the timeline (at least for me): 

Treatment:

• Diagnosis (Sep 2012)
• Start Chemo (Oct 2012)
• End Chemo (March 2013)
• Rest before Radiation (April 2013)
• Radiation (April 2013)
• Rest (through July 2013)
• Back to work (July 2013)

Post Treatment:

• 1st + 2nd year from diagnosis: CT scan every 6 months, Dr. Visit every 3 months (Sep 2012 - Sep 2014), and 2 PET Scans for diagnosis and remission status.
• 3rd year from diagnosis: CT scan every 6 months, Dr. Visit every 6 months (Sep 2014 - Sep 2015)
• 4th year from diagnosis: CT scan 1 time a year (I had an extra CT Scan due to lung nodule), Dr. Visit every 6 months (Sep 2015 - Sep 2016) 
• HERE ON OUT 5th YEAR:  1 CT scan, Dr. Visit every 6 months (Sep 2016 - Sep 2017)
• 6th year:  I'm cured.  No more CT scans.

What that means:  I only have 1 more CT scan left to do, and only have to see my oncologist 2 more times.  Then no more checkups with an oncologist.  I do however, require an annual check up with my general practitioner doctor for routine blood draws.... though I haven't seen him in like 3 years, given that I've been to the doctor more than more people will ever see in their lives in the last 4  years.

My scan results today:

• "Nothing remarkable" ....which sounds kinda sad, but is actually good.  

I apparently am just fine with my health and not having cancer.  Yay.

After the next year, I should be fine.  Though the chance of having cancer goes up in about 20 years from there (when I'm 58), due to the chemo + radiation I received, but given medical research: that can go down quite a bit, but only if research is happening.

I also saw my old retired primary nurse today.  She's back in while the new head nurse is out for the next month. It was good to see her again.

Here's my (usual) exchange with my doctor today:
Dr: Looking good.  Has it been really 4 years?  That long?
Me: Yeah.
Dr: Well, you only have 1 more CT scan, ever. However, it will be with another doctor.  I'm retiring at the end of the year.
Me: What are you going to do with retirement?
Dr: Travel, while I'm not too feeble.

Though I have 2 art degrees, I work in medical research support (prior to my diagnosis actually).  People I know from "back then" who say, "why don't you try teaching or blah blah?"  Because I'm pretty good with what I'm doing.  I kinda hit a wall with the self-centered art thing, and I like what I do.  I still do that "art thing" on the side, but: I like what I do and what it ultimately means.

I recently took a trip to California, and Tahoe. It was a good "mancation" with old friends of mine from grad school. I needed a vacation, and to almost have a heart attack going up 1300' feet in 1/4 mile.

Those Seattle legs provided a lot of glare

I also saw one of my old grad advisers while in California, Mike Henderson. He used to keep some of my art up in his studio, they were gone when I visited.  His reason:

"I used to have your art up in my studio, old print proofs I pulled out of the trash of your studio one day. Then I heard you had cancer a couple of years ago, and I thought to myself that I didn't want to disrespect you with putting up something that you didn't want to be seen, so I took the prints down, and tore then up, and decided if you got better, you could just give me something to replace it that you liked." 

Well, I suppose I should give him some stuff.

Cat photo (because that's why you actually come here, it's the internet, it's okay). My friends' fat skeptical cat:

Spots on lungs + 3 1/2 years down, 1 1/2 to go

Spot on my lung followup:

So, as follow up to my last post regarding my pulmonary nodule at the top of my lung on the right side, which is where I had my radiation therapy so I had to do the standard follow up, to ensure that it's not cancer caused by the radiation therapy (it was clearly not from a lymph node, so it was not Hodgkin's Lymphoma):

• Waited 3 months (Dec 2015 - March 2016), to see if the nodule grew or went away.  Grow = bad, stay the same/go away = good
• No CT contrast to slurp down, since it's a plain CT scan of only my chest, though I still have a IV contrast while in the machine

They have stylin' chairs in the waiting room now

The nodule was originally 6mm, and it's stayed the same size, but has gotten more transparent, which basically means it's dissipating and may disappear all together on my next scan. It was probably caused by some sort of respiratory infection like pneumonia.

I'll have to have another scan in 6 months (Sep 2016), since the nodule is still there, though should disappear or be much smaller, but that's my next regular scan anyway. If my scan in September is good, that means I won't have to have another for 12 months until Oct 2017, and that will be my last scan all together at the 5 year mark since diagnosis and means that I'm cured.

My oncologist was reviewing the scans before the radiologist finished the report, but we knew what we were looking for.  Then just as my appointment was about to finish, he's scrolling through the slices of my body, and says "hold on... what is that?"  On the scan there was a very-very bright spot in between my lung and heart on my right side, about the size of two to three inches. He then asks me if I still have my port installed, I don't, it's been out for about 3 years now. Then he start muttering and going through all of the possible things he's looking at trying to figure out what it it is.  

The reason why he asked me if I still had my port in, was because only metal would show that brightly on a CT scan.  He then checked the scans going front to back, and found that it was actually much bigger and longer, like a long piece of alien-organic shaped metal winding from my diaphragm to my shoulder.  So then after a couple of minutes, he says "I think it's the contrast that they injected you with, and they just started the scan a few seconds too early so it's concentrated and in your system instead of more spread out."  

Doctor: "I'll just wait for the radiologists report to come in and if it's something of concern I'll give you a call, otherwise I'll see you in September."

Me: "I... uh... alright?"

I eventually got the report and per the radiologist: "nothing remarkable. Follow up in 6 months."  I've found radiologist to be the most dry and non-plused of all doctors encountered, they're like the HAM radio enthusiasts of the medical world (the most hilarious are always pathologists).

I had also sprained my knee and told my doctor, and added "it's probably not within your specialties."  He said "hey... you never know." 

3 years since finishing chemotherapy 

It's been 3 years since I finished chemotherapy.  So I treated myself and went on a 2 day hike of the Olympic peninsula. I went to Hurricane Ridge, and Rialto Beach at La Push (no, don't even think about it).  I snowshoed on what is probably one of the last days to snowshoe of the season.  I only have 1 1/2 more years until I no more regular scans and checks, Wendy and I might go someplace internationally at that point to celebrate.

That guy (still with hair)

Eh, the view is alright I suppose