Sorry it’s taken a while to update everyone. I do have some medical updates and the next steps of my treatment plan in place. First (the best news)- I got results from my MRI and it looks clear!! They cannot see any part of the original tumor and the lymph nodes look normal. So all of that horrible poison did its job!!

Moving forward- the date for surgery will be on July 26th. I have very mixed feelings about it, but confident that this is the best thing for me. About 6 weeks after surgery will be radiation, which will last 6 weeks. And then I’ll have phase two of surgery in 6-12 months, depending on how I’m healing from everything. It’s a longer, more complicated plan than I was hoping for. But it’s what needs to be done. All 3 of the doctors working with me (surgeon, plastic surgeon, and radiation oncologist) agree that this is the best plan to prevent recurrence, and I have a lot of years ahead of me to keep this away.

Physically, I’m feeling better each day without chemo. The mouth sores are gone and I’m able to eat most things. I have more energy than I’ve had in a while. My only complaints now would be that my fingertips (and a small part of my toes) are still numb and my fingernails are falling off. I’m also pretty sore every morning and my legs feel very tight. It feels like I worked out hard the night before, even though I haven’t. I’m guessing it’s just my body getting used to doing regular, everyday things. So if you’re looking for specific things to pray about, those would be good ones. All in all, nothing even close to how I was feeling the last few months, and that’s a wonderful thing!

I hope you’re all enjoying the warmth of the sun and the sound of the birds as much as I am. If you haven’t yet, take a moment tomorrow to soak it in… it’s a beautiful world out there!