Enough with that though. Aside from some ridiculously chilly days, it has been a good Spring for the Ekvalls. Since I last wrote, there has really been nothing of circumstance to write about. That feels so good to say! I have fully recovered from the surgery I had five months ago. Tim went on a guys' snowmobiling trip with a group of friends. My mom, sisters and I had our ladies weekend in Minneapolis complete with Adam Levine at a Maroon 5 concert. We've had some visitors from Illinois, and we had a wonderful Easter with family.
One of the most notable things that happened was that I was asked to be this year's honorary chairperson for Ransom County's Relay for Life. I'll be this year's survivor representative, presenting my story at the annual event Friday, June 5 from 11am to 11pm. I'm honored for this opportunity to represent other survivors and also those who we've lost. It's a great family event, so if you can, please join us.
This week Tim and I made our every three month pilgramage to the land of Mayo for follow-up testing and appointments. I had blood testing and CT scans of my chest, abdomen and pelvis. We met with Dr. Banck who was enthusatic in telling us that the scans showed no evidence of disease in the liver or other organs. The liver has fully regenerated to full size. As for the L2 lesion, there was little noted on the report, but Dr. Banck deferred those questions to the radiation oncologist we were to see the following day. We talked about continued follow-up scheduling, and she stated that she would feel comfortable waiting 6 months to see me again. However, she fully understood my need to keep close tabs on any changes at least for the foreseeable future. We will be seeing her again in July or August.
One day after our appointment with Dr. Banck, we met with Dr. Olivier and Dr. Ahmed (resident). These doctors are radiation oncologists. With them, we discussed options for following and/or treating the spinal lesion at L2. When comparing CT imaging from August 2013 and April 2015, the lesion appears unchanged in size, but it is not noted as a tumor, but as sclerotic changes. It is unclear whether this lesion is active or has been effectively killed through the chemo regimen I had. As it has not changed in size and causes no pain, asymptomatic if you will, it is considered stable and reasonable to believe it is dead. We went over options for continued monitoring or undergoing localized radiation treatment to "zap" whatever disease may still linger. We chose to defer treatment again and continue monitoring. We will meet with Dr. Olivier with Dr. Banck this summer and discuss the options again.
Tim, my family and I feel that we are in a very good place right now. It has been nearly two years since we received the diagnosis of metastasis, and we are a far cry from where we thought we would be at this point. My doctors honestly marveled at how well I have done and how well my body has responded to fighting this disease. It once was that I thought about my illness all the time, but that is no longer the case. It's a good feeling.
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