goood news!

I AM IN REMISSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!WHOOOHOOOOO!!!.
Now this does not mean I am cancer free, but my tumor count is 20.5 and going down. My lungs are fine and I have an appointment with my regular M.D., Dr. Quach, on wednesday for a overall physical exam and to find out if I will still need coumadin, which they put me on when I developed a blood clot in my lung.  If everything is good Linda and I are going to head for Utah Wednesday afternoon. We will go half way on wednesday and the rest of the trip on Thursday. This is good because my brother Billy is having a procedure on the following Tuesday. He will be in the hospital overnight. I can go with him to the hospital. I will have to wear a mask but that is ok.  Heather, Ze and the kids are in Brazil for a month so Linda is going to spend time with her twin sister in Utah. She is going thru some really strong chemo so linda wants to be there with her and for her.    my last session of chemo is tomorrow. I will need to be very careful in what I do for the first 10 days. That is when I develop Nutropeena which means my white blood count is low which means my immune system is not working well. This is when i have had problems in the past. My Oncologist, Dr Liu said to keep monitoring my temp. if it goes over 100.5 head over to St. Marks Hospital. Hopefully I won't need to. She  gave me a release to go back to work at the end of the month. I need to come back to SD for a ct scan and blood tests and to see my doctor in December before I go to England to visit for Christmas...Oh ya, I didn' tell ya but I am going to England for Christmas to see my daughter and her family. I am so excited!!!
I went to a cancer support group this afternoon and after hearing the stories and watching them talk i realize just how lucky i am. some of these people have been fighting cancer for many years but their spirits are so high and they just appreciate every day one day at a time. I want to go to volunteer at the cancer wellness center with Lydia when I get back to Utah. I just feel the need to give back to others who are going thru this terrible fight. I realize I am not cancer free and that there is a very good chance it will show up again in the future but I am not going to sit around and wait for it. If and when it does come back I have learned, one day at a time. I am so proud of my sister-in-law, Yolanda for being so  strong and not letting cancer define her. I am also proud of my other sister-in-law, Lydia for also being so strong especially now she has started a very strong chemo drug. My thoughts and prayers are with both of them and I plan to visit each one of them when I return to Utah. So you both have been forewarned!