Happy

 Happy By Pharrell Williams I do not own the rights to this music.

I am so happy!  So, why am I happy? Is the cancer gone? Don't be silly. Yesterday was International Dance Day! Chemo was a dance party ... for me anyway! I danced while I waited for Rachel (almost an hour), I danced during steroids (another 15 minutes), then again during chemo (30+ minutes). I was having sooo much fun that I forgot to ice my feat and hands during chemo to help avoid neuropathy. I am not seeing any repercussions from my oversight ... yet. Fingers crossed that I don't. No matter; I'll deal.

I got all kinds of looks from patients and staff alike waiting for Rachel. Most smiled and gave me a thumbs up or did a dance step or two after they passed by. Others ignored me altogether. That's okay. I don't dance during chemo for everyone else. I do it for me. The mind, body, spirit thing. It makes me happy! I told Rachel to check and see if we can have a chemo time dedicated to those that want to dance during chemo ... once a week or even once a month. It puts everyone in a good mood, plus I get in some exercise. I told her it would too much fun if they put up a disco ball and played some great dance music where all in the room can hear and we are all dancing to the same thing. We can ROCK the place!! Doubt it will happen, but the answer will always be "No" if you don't ask, right?

Note: I know chemo dancing is not for everyone. There are some patients too sick to participant. But it does put a smile on their faces when I dance.

What do I dance to? I think the selections will surprise you (keep in mind, I am almost 65). Here are a few of my favorites:

• Say Something by Justine Timberlake and Chris Stapleton
• Love on Top by Beyonce
• Dance Monkey by Tones and I
• Cake by the Ocean by DNCE
• Heaven by Los Lonely Boys
• September by Earth, Wind, and Fire
• The Horse by Cliff Nobles and Co (we danced to this in the stands during football games)
• What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger by Kelly Clarkson
• Grazing in the Grass by Hugh Masekela
• Soulful Strut by Young-Holt Unlimited
• Fearless by Jasmine Murray
• Just a Fool by Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton
• A Million Dreams by Pink and her daughter Willow
• Good as Hell by Lizzo
• Can't Stop the Feeling by Justine Timberlake
• The Fighter by Keith Urban
• How Great Thy Art by Stik Yard
• Best Day of My Life by American Authors
• Fell It Still by Portugal. The Man
• Walkin' on the Sun by Smash Mouth
• Smooth by Santana featuring Rob Thomas
• Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars
• Better When I'm Dancing by Meagan Trainor
• Sugar by Maroon 5

Now for some cancer news. I had my follow-up MRI recently. That caused some drama. Actually, I caused the drama. I read the results before meeting with Dr. Cohen about the brain mets. The little guy (3 mm) didn't change; the one in the front right lobe decreased by 20%, but it's still there. When I was told "one and done", my expectation is there would be no more brain lesions. I was wrong. The radiation continues to work. That little tidbit would have been good to know before I freaked out! 

Anyway, when meeting with Dr. Cohen, she told me the expectation is that the lesions continue to shrink or stabilize. The little guy may never go away or be any smaller than he is now. He could be nothing more than scar tissue by now. The larger one should continue to get smaller until it quits decreasing and stays at whatever size forever. She is looking for new lesions or checking to see if the current lesions start getting larger. That would not be good and would require another zap session. We do another MRI in three months. Rinse and repeat the rest of my life.

Tumor markers are on the rise but not by much. That could have been because they did the test after my off week and before my chemo session; basically two weeks with no treatment, blood work wise. So we aren't too concerned ... yet. They are looking at tumor markers again this week. Fingers crossed they are heading back down.

Liver enzymes continue to be stellar. White and Red blood cell counts are holding steady. My iron is a little low so I have to take an iron supplement for a month. 

All in all, pretty good. I feel off the vegetarian wagon a few times. I start another detox on Monday and will finish it on Friday. I can feel the difference when I venture into my old habits. Not a good thing. Blood pressure goes up. Acid reflux goes up. Sometimes you have to experience it to remind yourself why you are doing this in the first place.

I have to run, so I don't have time to post another recipe. I will post two next week after I get tumor markers back.

Keep dancing!!

Stay the Course

Stay the Course by Iration  I do not own the rights to this music.

This song has a reggae vibe and definitely worth a listen. The video features a sea turtle. Who doesn't like sea turtles?  Another cool find while looking for an appropriate blog title. Check it out.

Mike and I met with Dr. Kocs today. We had a whole list of questions. But, true to form, Dr, Kocs answered most of them before we could ask. Our opening dialogue is true Bishop/Kocs banter.

Me: How do you like the new system?

Kocs: I hate it! Can't you tell? I have less hair!

Me: Well, I have you beat. I have a nice round bald spot where they radiated one of the brain mets. For the rest of it, I was shedding like crazy, so Mike buzzed it off this weekend. I now have less hair than you for a change. I am blaming it on the radiation.

Kocs: Yes, let's blame it on the radiation!

We have fun.

Anyway, as you know we have mixed results from the PET. Some tumors can take longer than others to be impacted by the chemo. Some may have mutated and are a bit more resistant. I asked if we needed to biopsy some of these resistant suckers and see if any of the cancer characteristics have changed. That may be something we consider down the road if tumor markers, liver enzymes, and other tumors seem to be getting better but some tumors continue to progress for some unknown reason. Bottom line, we won't rule it out. 

I also asked why radiologists change the descriptions of the tumors they are reporting on. One of my pet peeves when reading PET results. How can I keep an accurate spreadsheet to compare results from one PET to another if they keep changing the description? That's code for "I can't project manage this cancer with bad or incomplete data"! I think I am going to blow up a picture of the lymph system and go back to all my PETS and mark the ones mentioned in the various scans. I bet I become a lymph system expert before we are done, as far as where the various nodes are located and their scientific names. Maybe that will help me decipher the PET results.

We talked about the possible mets on the bones. He isn't convinced we have mets on the bones. Could we radiate the possible mets on the L1?  We watch to see if there really is an issue on the L1; if we see a risk of fracture, high pain, or other issues caused by the cancer on the L1, then we can radiate it. The goal is to make sure I am comfortable, pain free, and prolong my life as long as possible. Dr. Kocs reiterated we still have lots of tools in our toolbox, including Piqray.

The final question is can I travel to help Matthew drive Sadie home, then go back to help nurse him to health when he has oral surgery on 6/14. Dr. Kocs says yes I can travel since we all have our vaccines, but the traveling could wear me out (I've made the 2-days each way round trip before; rough, but doable. I'll be fine). If we need to, I can send Mike back to nurse Matthew back to health on 6/14 if my cancer is misbehaving. I hope it isn't!

So ... what's the final verdict on treatment plan? We "Stay the Course"; continue with Abraxane. Abraxane has proven to be 48% effective in killing cancer cells. We have seen evidence of that ... just not across the board yet. Hoping that, between my diet and the Abraxane, we kick some of that cancer to the curb! We will be checking tumor markets every two weeks (did I tell you they are heading down  after going up two months in a row?). Let's give Abraxane a little more time to do its magic. If we notice that tumor markers are heading up, then we move up the PET, see what's going on, and possibly move on to Plan F.

Fingers crossed Abraxane does it stuff!

Friday is chemo aka "Get Your Groove On" day for the self proclaimed dancing Chemo Queen. Now that it's warmer, I can wear my Chemo Queen t-shirt (Thank you Ms Jay!), my black leggings, and my latest dancing shoes! Are these not too cute?!!

Meanwhile, in celebration of my lifestyle change, I've decided to post a recipe of one of the dishes I really, really like at the end of each blog. That by itself should keep you coming back for more 😍

First up, my new vegetable casserole. It is really, really good!

Tomato Vegetable Casserole Recipe | Giada De Laurentiis | Food Network

 https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/tomato-vegetable-casserole-recipe-1914994 Total: 55 min  Prep: 15 min Cook: 40 min Yield: 6 servings 

• 1 medium potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces 
• 1 medium yam, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces 
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/2- inch pieces 
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces 
• 5 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced into rings 
• 2 small or 1 large zucchini, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick pieces 
• Salt and pepper 
• 2 large ripe tomatoes, cut crosswise into 1/4- inch thick slices 
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan 
• 2 tablespoons dried Italian-style bread crumbs 
• Fresh basil sprigs, for garnish 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

1. Toss the potato, yam, bell pepper, carrots, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss until coated. Spread vegetables evenly over the bottom of the pan. 
2. Arrange the onion slices evenly over the vegetable mixture.
3. Arrange the zucchini over the onion.
4.  Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil
5. . Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 
6. Arrange the tomato slices over the zucchini. 
7. Stir the Parmesan and bread crumbs in a small bowl to blend. 
8. Sprinkle the Parmesan bread crumbs over the vegetables in the baking dish. 
9. Drizzle with the last tablespoon of olive oil. 
10. Bake uncovered until the vegetables are tender, and the topping is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil sprigs, if desired. 

Soooo good!

One Day You Will

One Day You Will by Lady Antebellum - I do not own the rights to this music.

This is a song of hope. Facing dark times, knowing better days are ahead. This is what I hang on to. This is what I fight for ... better days ahead.

PET results are in. Whee! Once again, we have mixed results. It isn't good, but it isn't all bad. Here is a summary:

• Liver
• One slight progression
• One slight decrease
• One unchanged
• Lymph Nodes - there is a lot of lymph node involvement
• Nearly all cervical nodes show significant decrease
• Mixed response in the thorax nodes
• Two show progression
• Two show significant decrease
• One new active one showing uptake
• Overall progression in the abdomen 
• What? These have never shown up before or at least were not mentioned
• Left and right common iliac
• Porta hepatis increased
• Gastrohepatic decreased
• Bones
• New; this is disappointing
• Uptake in right aspect of L1 vertebral body suggesting early metastasis
• Focus of uptake in the lateral right fourth rib barely conspicuous
• Can we zap these?
• Overall
• Mixed response of FDG and lymphadenopathy
• Somewhat mixed response of hepatic metastatic disease
• Couple new FDG avid osseous metastases (bones)

So ... not great, not all bad. Am I surprised? By the new bone mets, yes. Overall results? No. I expected mixed results. Still hoping for NED (no evidence of disease) someday. Hope is a must!

Mike and I meet with Dr. Kocs on Wednesday to go over the results and next steps. I honestly can't predict what next steps will be. Stay the course or try something new? I can make an argument for both. Meanwhile, I'll keep doing what I can to keep up my stamina, my strength, and remain hopeful. Despite the results, I feel fine. If there is a silver lining it is the fact I feel good.

I went off the vegetarian band wagon during PET preparation. I made a new batch of lentil soup, thinking I could eat that before my PET. I was wrong. ARA called me before I had to start the special high protein low carb diet pre-PET and basically told me I could not eat my lentil soup. My only options, to stay vegetarian, was to eat leafy greens with oil and vinegar for dressing. Uh .... NO! So I finally broke down and bought a rotisserie chicken. That is all I ate beginning at noon on Tuesday. Nothing but water on Wednesday until after the PET. I lost two pounds.

I am now back ON the vegetarian band wagon and I look forward to trying some dishes my sister posted on Facebook. This girl will be cooking this weekend. I am also on the hunt for a good smoothie recipe book, one that explains the health benefits of each smoothie. If its just to give you a natural sugar rush, I'll pass. 

I will post again once we talk to Dr. Kocs. Meanwhile, here are some pictures of the lymph nodes in the abdomen and the 4th rib and L1: