Radiation ✅ and what’s next…

 1 week ago this morning I finished 25 rounds of radiation. It was not bad at all. And for that I am grateful. I didn’t have any major side effects…yay! I’m so glad to not be driving to the hospital every morning anymore though, that’s for sure! I tell you, the radiation team and staff at the IMC radiation oncology office are fabulous. The kindest people. Everyday they would turn up my music and get me a warm blanket❤️on the last day Brandon and Gracie came with me to see me “bang the gong” to signify I was done with that round. Fighting cancer is such a long road. I’m glad they let us bang the gong or ring the bell after a treatment plan is done! It’s not just for those that have been deemed cancer free anymore. We celebrate the small accomplishments too. I got to bring my mask home and it is currently sitting on my mantle! But I think I’ll move it. It’s just a stark reminder of my reality and sometimes I just want to forget about it all.

I will have a scan of my spinal cord in a couple of months to see how the radiation did. Since my cancer is so slow growing, it is also slow to see results. If they were to scan now, they probably wouldn’t see much improvement. My prayer is that in a couple of months the scan shows significant shrinkage. It’s just in such a scary place that it needs to have shrunk. It has to.

In the mean time I have met with Dr Low, my medical oncologist and he wants to wait until the end of October to begin treatment again…give my body time to recover from radiation. When November comes I will be starting some kind of chemo again. He is still deciding if it will be IV chemo again or another type of oral chemo. The oral chemo I have been on doesn’t seem to be working very well as spots keep popping up (like in my spinal cord) my last brain scan showed very small tumors in my brain now, which completely freaked me out. But my radiation doctor calmed me down and assured me they were small and that they could easily be spot treated. We will be keeping a close eye on those. And praying Dr Low is led to know the best course of action to take next.

I feel like the last few months have had lots of ups and downs. Sometimes I get so sad and frustrated. I just wish for stability of this cancer…I know it’s possible with my type, but we haven’t found the right concoction yet maybe? We keep praying for that remembering that ups and downs are part of this cancer…and part of life. Which sometimes is hard to swallow.

I’m so so grateful that I’ve been able to continue #living, doing what I want and need to. On the day radiation ended we celebrated Gracie’s “crown birthday” (she turned 24 on the 24th in 2024) which called for a party in her honor! Followed by a quick trip to Disneyland…which was the best. We are packing it in during the month of October, trying to take advantage of good days and making memories while we can. 

Brandon (or “Spiritual Brandon” as the kids call him!) always has a church talk or devotional or scripture in his back pocket that he often gives to me when I need it most. Last week he suggested I listen to a BYU devotional where Elder Patrick Kearon and his wife recently spoke. I loved what his wife said the most. She said how God only gives us bread…and not stones. Even though sometimes what we are given feels like the sharpest stone of all. The surprises that come our way will ‘eventually’ be for our good’ because it’s bread. If we turn to Him with faith and patience and trust in his timing, he will help us see that ‘bread’ and how it has changed us and been for our good. It was a short good listen for anhone needing a pick me up. I’m looking for bread, sometimes I catch very small glimpses.  https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/jennifer-kearon/surprise/

Hugs to all of you for your continued prayers. We pray for many of you often and love to know how we can pray for you too.