PET Scan - ALL CLEAR!!!

Just returned from meeting with my Radiation Oncologist to review last Friday's PET Scan.... The result was "all clear"..."a perfectly normal PET scan". The doc moved the conversation to the removal of my "medi-port". This was installed by the Chemo team - who I see next week -- but the Radiation guy says that he will push them to remove this "sooner, rather than later". So, definitely a good visit and good result. He didn't even need to stick the camera down my nose today! Awesome. Gotta find a way to celebrate tonight!

Waiting for Thursday to Review PET Scan Results

Visited my dentist this past Thursday for the first time since my cancer. Great news!!! There was no new decay! I had been very worried about this as the dry mouth creates a bacteria-friendly environment where tooth decay can prevail over rigorous dental hygeine practices. Both my hygenist (the same person has been my hygenist for over 10 years) and my dentist said that my dry mouth was "mild to moderate, at worst" and that things looked very good. My thinking that my "teeth moved" during treatment was put down to weight loss by both -- so I didn't have some sort of tooth-to-bone ligament failure during my treatment, either. Both stressed the need for continued vigilance around brushing, flossing and keeping my mouth hydrated -- but they seem to believe that my mouth came through the worst of this without any major issues. Awesome. Friday morning I had my 2nd PET scan at Kettering Medical Center. I had a 7am appointment and was completely done before 9am -- including having the test results on a CD that I will take with me to UC Health Center this Thursday at 10am. I expect the radiologist at Kettering will write up a report that will be faxed to UC and the Oncologist at UC will use the radiologist report along with looking at the detailed results to report back to me...and adjust/amend treatment plans, as necessary. Other than small stress related to this big milestone, most other things are going well. I can hear out of both ears now...that's a huge bit of recovery. I can taste most things and can pretty much eat anything -- although there's lots of things I choose not to eat just because they don't taste particularly good anymore. (Oh, Pizza, how I miss you....) I've been cutting the grass with my self-propelled push mower and even running the weed whacker to edge and clean up the sidewalks -- although that leaves me sore and drained. This weekend, we had hot, sunny weather for the first time since my treatment and I noticed that the sun absolutely affects my skin (all of it, not just the treated skin) much faster than ever before. This is definitely a new thing for me and will take some adjusting. Will post again after this Thursday's meeting -- which is with my Radiation Oncologist. I also see my Hematology Oncologist next Wednesday (this is the "chemo guy""). Hopefully I will get an "all clear" from both of them and then I'll be partying. (with water!)

Recovery Proceeding Well -- Big Day Friday (PET Scan)

May 10. I've been back to full time work for a few weeks. I'm eating well now -- able to eat almost everything. In fact, taste is not driving any eating decisions anymore. I also am no longer experiencing any pain in swallowing or due to high acid foods. I can also tolerate moderately spicy foods -- but don't really have any appetite for very spicy foods. Breads, nuts, chips are all "challenging" -- I can eat them, but they mostly stick to my teeth and require frequent sips of water to get down. In other words, they're not really worth the effort. But, I am doing fine with sandwiches -- especially if there's something moist inside, like a juicy hamburger or corned beef and sauerkraut! One other fantastic improvement is that the hearing in my left ear has returned. In my follow-up on April 23 with the Surgical Oncologist, he presecribed a steroid nose spray and recommended that I take Claritin daily. Don't know if these two things helped or not, but I can hear now. Probably not at pre-treatment levels, but compared to how its been the past 3 months, this is fantastic! I will see my dentist this coming Thursday. I last saw him in early November -- when I knew about the lump but thought it was just a swollen gland. I visited the office in January to have the "fluoride trays" made, but I did not see my Dentist then. I am a little nervous about the visit as I feel that my teeth "moved" during treatment and it was a big possibility that I'd have a lot of tooth decay due to the dryness of my mouth. This remains a big issue and something I'll have to manage the rest of my life...unless I get them all pulled like my father did. So, a little bit nervous about Thursday's dentist visit. Friday, I have another PET scan. Like the first time, I will wait around after to carry a CD of the Scan from Kettering Medical Center to the UC Health Center where my Oncologists are. I meet with the Radiation Oncologist a week from Thursday to review the PET Scan results. I honestly do not know what to expect. I can only hope (and pray) that the scan is clear. If it is not, I've not had any discussions about what that might mean in terms of follow-on treatment...How urgent it would be, for example. All I know is the Radiation Oncologist told me at the start that they cannot use radiation again on the same area...ever. So, if it is not gone in the neck area, I'll have only Chemo and Surgery as treatment options. If it had spread to other areas then, I suppose, radiation, chemo, and surgery would be options -- but, as I say, I don't know if it would be urgent to go after it right away or if they'd want me to recover more strength (and body weight) prior to treating again. I'll post again after the dentist and after the follow-up a week from Thursday.