Cruise and Update

OMG. I can't believe it has been so long since I have written on my Blog. We have been busy, as usual. I recently had a CT scan, blood tests and an appointment with my oncologist. At the bottom of this posting I will attach a copy of the update I sent out to people telling them about my results.

Our cruise to the Western Caribbean was fun. We went on the Norwegian Pearl cruise ship. It had free style dining, which we thought we would like but every time we went to dinner, we had to wait 30 - 60 minutes. The food was just so-so. The entertainment was awful. But the ship was really nice and we loved our suite.

The weather was a little cool about four days. We didn't like Roatan (Honduras) or Belize. The children of Roatan held up this sign as our ship was leaving.

We liked Cozumel. We were suppose to go to a private island but the weather was too bad so we went to Key West, which was nice. Our cruise ship took off from Miami so when we returned there after our cruise, we went on an excursion to the Everglades on an air boat and saw lots of alligators.

We went on the cruise with our friends, Jan and Dick and Lynne and Bill. Jan and Lynne are the gals I go to Reno with each year.Denny and I didn't have any formal pictures taken on this cruise and I kind of regret it. This is the only one we had taken of ourselves.Last night we went to Arlington to watch Justin coach his varsity Echo boy's basketball team. They won. Today we went to Kyle's basketball tournament in Aloha. They lost and will play two more games tomorrow. Kyle played great. Tori came home with us and Kyle went to one of the other player's house to spend the night. She just beat me bowling on our Wii.

Here is the update I sent out:

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Hi Everyone:

It has been a while since I sent out an update so I thought I would let you know what is going on. I met with my oncologist on Monday. She said my recent CT scan was good. It doesn't show any signs of cancer. This is amazing since I have a "triple-negative" cancer, which is considered a fast growing and aggressive cancer. I think that is why the first two oncologists I met with, when I was first diagnosed, didn't even suggest any treatments for me. Guess I showed them!

The problem now is with my blood. My white blood cells and platelets are continuing to drop. There isn't any reason for this since I am not on any drugs or having any treatments. I had a bone marrow biopsy three months ago, in hopes of finding out what is causing the drops. But nothing showed up...................that's good and bad. So I will continue to have my blood tested every month and will have another bone marrow biopsy (my favorite procedure) in three months. Denny said he will take meds before watching it, even if I don't take any! My oncologist is looking for Myelodysplasia, which is when your bone marrow makes abnormal cells. The symptoms are excessive bruising and weight loss. Duh................don't have those! I think I am an unusual case for my oncologist because I don't seem to "follow the rules." I have lots of energy and think I look okay so I am not exhibiting the signs of someone with Myelodysplasia or any other cancer of the blood. With my low counts, I need to be careful about being around sick people and getting a bacterial infection, since my body might have a tough time fighting it. But, I am around sick people occasionally and don't seem to get sick and when I had a cold recently, it only took me 3 days to get over it. I think my body is stronger than my blood counts are showing. As my granddaughter would say, "Grandma is one tough chick!" So I will continue to have my blood tested monthly, have a bone marrow biopsy in 3 months and will have another CT scan in 4-6 months.

Now on to some fun stuff...............We just got home from a Caribbean cruise with friends. 'Had a great time. Today is our 44th wedding anniversary and we are driving to Arlington tonight to watch Justin coach his basketball team. This weekend we will be watching Kyle play in his basketball tournament in Aloha. I am signed up to participate in the Shamrock Run next month with Julie and Lori. We are looking forward to having fun with the kids during spring break. Might also go skiing at Anthony Lakes near Baker next month. I am helping plan our 45th class reunion which will be in September. As you can see, I am not slowing down and am keeping busy. I just don't have time for cancer in my life right now so I'm planning on continuing to do fun things with my family and friends.

I want to thank all of you for your continued support, friendship and love. I know one of the reasons I am doing so well is because of all of you.

Happy Valentine's Day..........

Love to you all,

JO