Last week, I had my 6 month follow up with Dr. Litton (my oncologist). Since I last saw him, he had a knee replacement and was getting ready for a hip replacement and then his other knee replaced. He said he was doing good but felt like he was falling apart. He is quite athletic so I am sure this is a huge adjustment for him. But he seemed to be taking it in stride.
So we talked about me. All seems well although I still have the mass behind my left ear. I am glad I can't see it because it is obviously visible. It hasn't grown in the last 6 months and the hard BB that was there originally is no longer there. So we decided to continue with out "watch and wait" approach. This is totally fine by me. I've learned how to live with cancer and have also learned that pushing to treat aggressively doesn't necessarily end in the best results. Slow and steady (yet prudent) is the way to go.
He was able to view my MRI results from the thigh MRI I had in March for Johns Hopkins. It did show a "mild increase in necrosis" and no lumps or masses (not a surprise since I've never grown cancer in my legs) which is a mixed bag. I'm waiting to hear from Johns Hopkins on what the Myositis specialist has to say. My non-medical opinion is that the increase in necrosis is why I've had a decline and an indication of the slow progression of my Myositis....which is expected. As always, I don't really let that define how I feel or what I do but it would explain why I'm struggling more and perhaps give me permission to cut myself some slack realizing this is out of my control. But I am ahead of myself and we need to wait to hear from Johns Hopkins.
So all is well on the cancer front. The muscles? Meh!
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