Thursday, May 21, 2015

12 Month Scans

It has been a while since my last update. Here's what happened since then...

In mid April, April 17th to be exact, I had my one year scans. Good news! I'm still showing no evidence of disease. It was a longer appointment than usual because I had a few questions to ask. I'll discuss a few of these below.

I asked about my hair or lack thereof which I am a little bothered by. My hair is normal on the sides, but never got any thicker on top. It's really noticeable when I go outside with the sun out. Baldness runs in the family so my oncologist thinks that losing my hair to chemo accelerated the balding process. My hair isn't going to get any thicker than what it is now. When it's really short it doesn't look bad, but when I let it grow in I look aged. I'll just have to keep it really short from now on; problem solved.

I also asked about where I stand now with having one year of clear scans. In my case he put me at a 70% chance to beat it when I was first diagnosed. After completing treatment I had about a 20% chance of it coming back. With every day being cancer-free the odds keep improving so he believes I have about a 15% chance of it recurring now. I don't like asking questions like this, but I needed to know.

My scans won't be every three months now. I'm now having them every four months which works out really well with my schedule. I'll have them in August before school, and then December in my winter break. I'll be on four month scheduled scans for the next two years and then its up to me if I want to switch to six months.

I finished up my first year back to school. I received a 4.0 GPA again this semester. My schedule wasn't as difficult as last semester, and the classes weren't as interesting either, but it was how it had to be. For my major I'm supposed to move out to University Park in the spring of my sophomore year, but this school year was more about getting back in the swing of things, and getting my strength back. I'll still be able to graduate on time so it's not a big deal. I think the next two years of school will be more challenging and I'm ready for it.

When the weather finally got nice enough to go outside; about a month ago I figured I'd give shooting hoops a try again. It was actually not too bad. I still had pain, but not enough pain that I had to quit immediately like every attempt I have made before. One adjustment I made prior to this was the amount of rest I allowed for myself. In the month before this I stopped stretching exercises, and strength rehab entirely. My homework was light in the way of writing this semester which also helped as well. My arm feels better now than it did since my last update so I think rest is what I needed most. I still have pain, but with proper rest I am able to work through it. This was a plateau that I have been stuck on for over a year now, and it is a big confidence booster knowing that when my arm is feeling its best I can actually do activities like shoot hoops in the driveway.

Looking ahead, I have an appointment with my surgeon in June. Please pray for all of the Ewing's sarcoma warriors out there. There are a few from my circle who are going through a rough time right now and they need your support.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Arm Checkup

On Monday I had an x-ray and an appointment with my surgeon. The bone graft is continuing to grow and build the bridge to the cadaver bone. The top portion grew a lot from the last appointment x-ray taken in November. It was the first time that the growth was blatantly obvious to me. On some angles the top is almost there, but on other angles it has some to grow. The bottom part is lagging behind, but has shown some improvement since last time. The hardware is all intact. With the rate that I grow new bone it's progressing at a normal rate.

I still have the same restrictions. With the restrictions I have, my surgeon was very impressed with how much I've built my strength in my arm, and really my upper body in general. I was a lot stronger this time than the last going through the various exercises to assess my arm strength. I'm at a level of strength that I don't need rehab when I eventually get the restrictions lifted which is pretty great. The pain I've been having more in the middle of my humerus is just like the shoulder pain--due to the hardware rubbing on the soft tissue. The location where I have the pain is close to a ton of nerves, and the main vein that runs through my arm. It doesn't take much rubbing to create discomfort there.

I have a choice to have my next appointment in June or August, and the one after that will come six months later. I think I'm going to schedule the June appointment in the hope that the healing is finished and I can do fun stuff this summer without worrying that I'm going to wreck my arm if I fall. My surgeon isn't fully set on it being ready this summer, but there's a chance it will. The bottom part of the graft does have quite a bit to go so I'll need some luck. Unfortunately, I might be waiting until late 2015/ early 2016 to get the restrictions lifted.

It's crazy that in a couple weeks it'll be the one year anniversary since my last chemo treatment. You have no idea how much faster this year went for me than the year before. This year has flown by! The most I did last year was travel to Philly to get my treatment. The rest of the time I was bored, but way too tired and sick to do anything. It's great to be busy with "normal" things now.

This semester of school has been going well for me. My class schedule isn't the best, but I'm getting used to it. My earliest class begins at 3 in the afternoon, and some days I'm there until after 8. I just have to remember to not push myself too hard during the day. A few times I've been too tired by the time I arrived at school that I didn't have energy to absorb new information. Grades have been good though. I have a pretty busy week ahead of me with a few big tests so I need to pay extra attention to getting enough rest and staying fresh. There has been a lot of snow this season, but most of the time my classes have been cancelled in the case of bad weather. The campus does only an o.k job with clearing the snow, and I have slipped a few times, but I haven't actually fell. If you're a college student reading this, I wish you the best of luck with midterms.

Next, I'll have my one year scans in April. Also, please remember to keep everyone battling life threatening illnesses in your prayers.

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Nine Month Scans

On Friday I had my nine month checkup. The results were good; there is still no evidence of disease! My oncologist was happy with how much healthier I looked than my last appointment in October. It was a pretty short appointment as not much has changed since the last one other than the fact that I gained some needed weight and have more energy now.

The appointment was in Radnor, which I haven't been to since my three month scans. It was nice seeing the amazing nurses that were so important in helping me get through my treatment. They are so glad to see me on the "other side" now, and looking healthier every time I see them.

Stress was really bad for me this time. All week I was really stressing over the appointment; much more than the previous appointments. I'm into that zone now where relapses typically occur so I was pretty nervous. I could write a lot on my thoughts about the stress I experienced this week, but I want this to be a happy post. My scans were clear right? Maybe I'll write about it in the next update.

Looking ahead: I have an appointment to check the status of my arm in late February. Also, school resumes for me tomorrow.

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Happy New Year!

In my last update I stated that I was going to write next about my expectations and plans for 2015. This is really hard to write about because I usually just look ahead to my next scan. I set goals for myself, and hope each scan is clean so I can keep on the same path. Looking ahead a full year is impossible.

If I look at the most important factor of this year for me and that is without a doubt the scans, and ignore everything else then the answer becomes simple. If it doesn't come back then this will be a great year, if it does then....it won't be a good year. 

Lets assume that I go for my scans in January(January 9th is my next scan by the way) and they're clean, as well as being all good in April, July, and November. Then the next most important question this year becomes my arm. Is the bone going to continue healing, or am I going to need another surgery? What's the process going to be like once the limitations to using my arm are lifted? Am I going to be in worse pain than I am in now? At least with my arm I have expectations with how this will be a year from now. If I'm still at the same weight limitations by the end of 2015 then I will be surprised. I don't think the pain is going to go away, but I do think it could get better. It would be awesome to be able to beat up on my brothers in the driveway playing basketball again, but that's like a best case scenario considering how painful it was for me to try shooting hoops last time. It's of course a possibility, but I'm going to need some considerable luck.

If we add to the previous assumption that my arm will at least be healed then a lot more doors begin to open. I expect to become a lot stronger throughout the coming year. I did surpass my goal of 155 pounds, and I expect to gain some more needed weight in the coming year. If I can just put 10 more pounds on I will be happy. The restrictions I have with my arm being lifted would allow me to build upon my upper body strength that is pretty much nonexistent right now. Granted it was pretty much zero before, but I have no definition in my arms and upper body now. 155 with some muscle would be a lot better than I am now; 155 with no muscle. 165 with some muscle would be even better. Like I said in my last blog post I have reached a point where I feel like exercising. I'm definitely ready to begin some light cardio, and maybe some leg strengthening exercises. In the past week I have been exercising my shoulder with the same strength exercises I did a while ago before my second surgery. It wasn't too bad, but I have room to improve. I'll set fitness goals as I continue improving throughout the year. Right now I will start lower body strength, and cardio. When my arm finally heals I'll be able to hit my upper body too, and also be able to play sports and physical activities I used to enjoy as pain allows me to.

Aside from all the cancer stuff, this fall I will be moving out to Penn State main campus which will be really exciting. I'm really looking forward to that. It's really great to be back on track right now. Just five more semesters of school left and I'll be graduated.

I expect 2015 will bring a year of healing and growth. I believe it has the potential of becoming the best year out of the last three years of my life(2013, 2014, 2015). I hope the coming year is great for you. If you are someone battling a life threatening illness like cancer, then I hope 2015 brings you healing as well as hope. Know that you're not in this alone, and you're always in my prayers.