Yippee Stage III

Happiness is being free of Stage IV cancer and getting a Wendy's Frosty.

As soon as they escorted Neal and I to the exam room, we grabbed that chart hanging on the door and started to skim the 5 reports from the 6 scans I had done last week, while we waited for the doctor to visit our room. We were pleased to see that they were all negative for additional spread.

Then when he got in there he told us what we already knew, that we remain at a "really nice Stage III", and then we grilled him about melanoma treatment and the numbers for approximately 45 minutes with up to date articles in hand. He held up pretty well. The outcome: we will be doing the same treatment he recommended over a week ago but at least we feel better having answers to all our questions!

I get a port surgically placed at the end of this week and we start immunotherapy (which we will just call chemo, even though it isn't, because it is given like chemo and has many of the same side effects of chemo but works in a different way) on Monday of next week.

So I take Interferon A in high dose M-F for four weeks. That will suck. It's going to be yucky but at least I get to keep my hair this time (still a breast cancer survivor, you know!). Then when that is over (thank goodness!) I will give myself shots of a lower dose on M, W, and F for 11 months. The doc says we can lower the dose or stop if the side effects are really bad for me. He says that they think people will only have to take the shots for 1-2 months for the same effect but the research just isn't there yet. They'll probably know in 2 years if that works or not and by then I will already be done with this treatment and hopefully living life to the fullest.

My mom is coming into town tonight and will be staying for a while. We will probably reconsider if we still need that kind of assistance after 6 weeks.

Thanks for all the prayers and help we've received. We really feel and appreciate it. Just keep it coming as this treatment whoops my butt.