Update

Val met with Dr. Brandes (medical oncologist) earlier this week. He is very pleased with her current condition.

The CT scan was clear, her blood work numbers are good, and her skin has healed remarkably well from the vicious radiation treatments back in May. Her fatigue remains significant, which is the long-term effect of the radiation treatments likely aggravated by the Letrazole (estrogen-blocking drug). In addition to having little stamina, Val has also experienced persistent joint pain and a sense of her emotions being flat and depressed. Dr. Cooke (radiation oncologist) called her overall state "Letrazole toxicity".

Dr. Brandes suggested Val go off Letrazole for two weeks and assess her state at that time; two weeks usually is long enough, he said, to reduce the side-effects and give the patient a sense of whether or not the drug is the cause of those effects. At the two-week mark, Val will consult with Dr. Brandes and determine how to proceed.

It seems, then, that the past year of surgery, chemo and radiation has done what it should: Removed the cancerous tumour and killed off obvious signs of cancer cells in Val's body. What her current condition means for the long term is, of course, not 100% clear. However, Dr. Brandes suggested she had a very good chance of not having a recurrence for a long while. Let's hope he's right.

So. We find ourselves in an odd emotional state. Obviously relieved and happy on the one hand, but peculiarly unsettled on the other. Over this past year, we have been pulled along by the urgency of medical appointments and treatments and results and doctor visits. This coming year, we will have to re-learn how to forge our own agenda and rhythm. Most peculiar, indeed.

To be noted is that Val's fatigue is a very real daily hindrance. Wanting to do things is simply not the same as being able to actually do them. We figure this will  be the reality through December.

We'll continue to keep you posted as this process continues to unfold. Thanks for being with us.

xo