Update

Hi everyone. Thank you so much for your overly generous outpouring of kind thoughts, words, and prayers. I cannot tell you how amazingly blessed I feel knowing that I have so many wonderful, treasured individuals in my life and on my side. Also, I want to offer my most sincere prayers and thoughts for all those affected by the horrendous storms of the past two days. So much damage, so many lives lost; it is unspeakable the horror of what many of us have seen in our own cities. We have been exploring different ways to get involved and to help the areas and countless people who were impacted. I hope that everyone reading will also look for ways to assist those in need right now.

I wasn't able to meet with the oncologist yesterday because they completely lost power at their clinic. It was just the same because I had no power at home and our neighborhood was completely blocked off by four humongous pine trees that were literally uprooted and overturned (leaving enormous six foot deep holes in the ground). Luckily both our neighbors and we suffered minimal (if any) damage. I was, however able to meet with the doctor today and here is what he said (summary, not ver batim):

The PET scan from Monday did not show any areas in my liver that would necessarily indicate cancer (good). If you are thoroughly interested in the science behind PET scanning and how this test could demonstrate such a thing, I suggest you look it up (as it is interesting), but I will not go into the details here because I do not think I do a very good job of explaining it and will probably only lead you into deep confusion (and potentially resentment of my poor explanation skills). It involves radioactive sugar and glucose uptake, etc. Anyway. The radiologists discussed it (in some sort of "cast your vote" type of way, perhaps) to determine the overall consensus of how we should proceed. One wanted me to go for biopsy, another disagreed, etc. They decided that I should be recanned in 3 months to see if the lesion has gotten any larger. If it has, then they will biopsy it. I feel rather good about this option although the oncologist made it clear that the results from this week neither show that it is or that it isn't cancer. So all that is left to do is to wait (and pray, naturally). There is a lot more of the confusing discussion we had about how the lesion is a melanoma it likely would have shown up very brightly on the scan, but there is a chance that it could be a melanoma and not have shown up brightly. Also, apparently if the lesion is a different type of cancer then it might not show up at all on a PET. As you can imagine all of the "if"s and "might"s and "can't be certain"s have left me a bit questioning of what we often consider nearly-infallible technology.

To make matters a bit more complex (because they weren't enough already), the PET scan did show an area of concern in my left breast. You can imagine my thorough surprise (and by surprise I do mean: shock, dismay, terror, anger, etc.) at this news because this was quite possibly an issue furthest from our considerations. Yet God seems to have a great deal of (far too much, in my opinon) faith in my family's ability to handle the random, the unexpected, and the difficult. So they are now sending me to be poked and prodded a bit more by the breast radiology clinic at their earliest convenience (about 2 weeks from now). At that point they will scan and biopsy if they feel so inclined.

Summary:
1. The lesion in my liver may or may not be cancer. Follow-up in 3 months to determine.
2. New area of concern in left breast. Testing in 2 weeks to determine.

You can imagine the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions this has brought about. Not to mention the absurd number of cupcakes I have eaten in the past two weeks. I have turned stress eating into a sport as competitive and rigorous as any Olympic event (and as the only competitor I am clearly winning). I am unsure of what the future holds, both near and far. However, I know that I have today and as many tomorrows as I am blessed with, and I fully intend to make good use of them. Now that the power is back on, the sky is the limit! I remind myself, though, that I am so fortunate in light of yesterday's terrifying events. I don't know that there is any more I could ask for than the countless blessings I have been given. I'll keep you updated. Love.

C