Scans, Scans and More Scans

It’s been about five weeks since my latest surgery, and honestly, I’ve lost track of how many surgeries it’s been—too many to count! Over the past few weeks, I’ve begun to heal, and my surgeons say everything inside my nose and sinus is looking good. Unfortunately, I did have a pretty strong sinus infection a couple of weeks ago that set me back a bit, but I seem to be past it. Now, I’m just dealing with persistent congestion, which is a common side effect of the surgery. It’s likely to stick around for a few more weeks, which isn’t great news—especially for a foodie like me! Luckily, my appetite is returning, and I’m slowly eating more. I’ve lost some weight, so one of my goals over the next few weeks is to get back to a minimum target weight.

Along with the sinus surgery to remove the tumor, I’ll also be starting radiation treatments in the same area. The surgery removed about 70% of the tumor, and the radiation should take care of the rest. It’s comforting to know that at least this particular tumor will soon be dealt with!

This past week was packed with appointments—my “scan week.” In my support group, they often talk about “scanxiety,” the anxiety over scan results. I try to remind myself that anxiety is about what could happen, not necessarily what will happen. Usually, I handle the scans well, but this time was different; I felt pretty nervous. I had a full-body PET scan, an MRI of my brain and sinuses to check my healing, and a CT scan of the same areas in preparation for next week’s radiation. I have to admit, I was anxious at each appointment, though I tried to lighten the mood with a joke. When the nurse injected the radioactive material for the PET scan, he said, “Well, you’re radioactive now.” I responded with, “Cool, am I glowing?” which got a good laugh from him.

The good news is that, despite the scanxiety, my results were fairly decent. Most of my tumors are stable, although there are a few new nodules in my lungs and some growth in the tumors on my spine. Jim and I will meet with the sarcoma specialist tomorrow to discuss our next steps. I’m hopeful that I can stay on my current chemotherapy regimen since most areas are stable. There’s talk about using radiation to target the spinal tumors instead of switching medications, which I prefer because radiation side effects are easier to manage than those of new chemo drugs.

These Stanford trips often require an overnight stay, and I’m so grateful for the support I have. My mother-in-law has been incredibly generous, driving me to many appointments. We try to make these trips a little more enjoyable by finding a new restaurant for dinner each time. Here’s a photo of us at a cozy taqueria we discovered in Palo Alto this week!