WE DID IT!!!

A friend called me today and said, "I just have to ask.  What was it like waking up this morning?!"

It was surreal.  Not sure if it has really sunk in yet.  No cancer at all.  Of course, that was our hope, but realistically, that wasn't what was supposed to happen.  Does everyone truly understand that?  I was Stage VI, metastisized, in the bone (that is never good), incurable was on my chart, my oncologist said that I will ALWAYS have cancer in my body, etc, etc, etc.  And there is no detectable cancer in my body.  My oncologist at one point was looking at the report and said in a surprised voice, "It is even gone from the hip."  I am a miracle.

I am going to have to journal about that one - I AM A MIRACLE.

I have been getting texts asking, "What is next?"  Good question.

Before cancer entered my life, I was ignorant.  I would have heard a story like mine and would have thought that is it.  No more treatments.  No more doctors.  Breath and celebrate. Time to live a normal life and put cancer behind them.  But that is not the case for a lot of patients.  And definitely not for me.

"No detectable cancer" is a powerful phrase.  Scans can only detect cancer once it has grown to a certain point.  The assumption (by the Western doctors) is that there are sneaky, small cancer cells lurking and hiding.  They will wait patiently for a weakened part of my body and find residence there.  Then they will grow.  Personally, I don't think there are any left.  We attacked them with chemo, Wheat Grass Shots, supplements, Kangen water, a mostly green, organic diet, faith, emotional clean up, allowing my body to rest, journaling, positive thinking, visualization, Doozers, prayers, #fancer, and lots and lots of love.  It is all gone.

Going into my appointment yesterday, our plan was to hear I was cancer free, do some research, and more than likely, opt out of any more chemo.  But as we sat there and Dr. Volas-Redd informed us about those sneaky, small cells lurking, we collectively decided to finish this out.  Let's make 100% sure that they are gone for good.  I do not believe that chemo alone could have gotten us the results we did.  Honestly, I feel more strongly about all the other stuff than the chemo.  But this cocktail of Western and Eastern medicin has worked.  There is no way to know for sure exactly what did it.  I am inclined to feel it really was ALL of it.  So let's keeping doing ALL of it to show cancer that I am not messing around or backing down so it doesn't come knocking on this door again.

So, three more months of chemo every week.  The chemo will be reduced by 20%.  (Because there isn't anything for it to attack!!!)  After that three months, we will take out my ovaries and tubes.  And then the hard part is going to come.  What do we do after that as far as Western treatments are concerned?

As knowledgeable as I feel I am, I have so much to learn.  Until last week, I thought I was getting 3 chemo drugs.  Wrong.  Of the 3 drugs that I get (Perjeta, Taxol, Herceptin) only Taxol is a true chemo drug.  The other 2 are antibodies or inhibitors.  Originally, Dr. Volas-Redd said that we would do treatments every week for 6 months, retest, and then take a break to decide our next step.  (Because there was supposed to be cancer left in my body.) To me that meant from all treatments.  Wrong again.  She meant from the Taxol.  So in her eyes, I will go in every 3 weeks for the rest of my life to get the inhibitors.  Ugh.

Do I opt out of the inhibitors?  Do I agree to not as many treatments every year?  Of course I am eating this way for the rest of my (VERY LONG) life, but do we now tweak it because our intent has changed from killing cancer cells to making sure they don't come back?  So many questions..

So we have 3 months to figure out what our next step is going to be.  And, yes, you guessed it, I am going to need all my researchers to help with that.  But I won't go into that now.  Because I don't know if you know this or not, but I am....

I am going to go rest now and wake up and let the realization hit me again that WE did it!