There are many funny things about glioblastomas, well maybe funny
is not the correct word. Peculiar,
abnormal, unpredictable, deadly, heinous, I guess I could go on, but you get
the picture. One thing in
particular about glio cells is their way of lying dormant before showing their
ugly heads again.
I was recently at a convention where I saw a lot of friends whom I usually see about once a year. Everyone was surprised to see how “normal” I look. For that matter, I feel pretty normal as well. Except for the side effects of the anti-seizure meds I actually feel great.
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| Annual Wonderfest Party |
This doesn’t mean I am cured or in remission. It really means that the cancer cells
are stable. In fact they never
actually say that someone with glioblastomas is in remission. Reason for this being that: A) there is
not enough long term survivors to compile the necessary data to make such a
claim; B) most of the people who
have been able to survive ten to twelve years have done so with multiple
surgeries to remove new tumor growth.
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| What Are The Odds |
So far I have been fortunate, I am an exception to the norm,
beating the odds by making it through the first year with all MRIs showing the
tumor area as stable. I continue
to get MRIs every two months, and stay positive that they continue to be stable. I plan on being here for many years to
come.
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| A Small but Invaluable Portion of My Support "Team" |
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| Silent Auction Fund Raiser |
I believe that the reason that I am doing so well is due to a
combination of factors. I have
received so much support from friends and family (spiritually, financially and
morally). I went through the standard
modern medicine treatment even though I am skeptical of western medical
practices. I have tried many
natural, holistic and alternative supplements, treatments and diet, many of which I
would not have been able to do without the financial support of so many
people. The funds that were raised
are still helping pay the medical bills and alternative care that the insurance
companies don’t cover. Thank you all!
Moving on, my first oncologist told me, “Hope for the best and
prepare for the worse”. As ridiculous
as that sounds it is really all I can do.
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| I Can Almost Smell the Lavender From Here |
As part of preparing for the worse, we decided to take an
adventure from my “bucket list”.
Rhonda was able to use part of her student loan to pay for a trip to
Italy and Spain (helping her pay this off is one more reason for me to stick
around). We leave next week and
will be posting some stories and pictures of our adventures on another blog
that can be read here…
