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!!