Results are in... Decliared N.E.D!!

It has been approximately 4 months since my last blog post and 3 months since I heard some great news!

Sweet Victory!

I have some FANTASTIC news to share with each one of you!  On May 6th, 2014 At my Oncology follow-up appointment, I was declared NED (No Evidence of Disease)!  The results came back and showed no evidence of Cancer anywhere!  BOOHYA!

Im considered NED!!  I've waited so long to hear those words!!!  What a relief.  I will be considered "Cancer-Free" once I have had clear scans for 5 years!!

What to do with the Seroma

Of course, I asked him about getting the Seroma out of my leg.  Dr. O'Donnell explained to me that when a large tumor is removed from the body, after they sew up the incision, there is a large hole where the tumor once was.  The Seroma is a pocket of fluid that forms in that hole.  He told me that approximately 5 years ago, whenever a patient would get a Seroma in their leg - they would stick a needle in it and test the fluid to make sure there are no cancer cells in the fluid.  He told me that 100% of the time there were no cancer cells.  He said that it is very rare in medicine to get an absolute 100% no cancer cells, therefore he is certain there are not cancer cells in the Seroma.  He told me that mine isn't infected.  He told me that with time, mine will just absorb into my body.

Can we have babies now?

My husband and I have been waiting until after this cancer situation is resolved to be able to start a family.  Since My scans came back clear, we wanted to know if now we could start trying.  Dr. O'Donnell told me that he really doesn't want me to get pregnant because when I'm pregnant he wouldn't order any scans on my body.  He told me that he follows the stage of the Cancer as a rule.  For example, if I had state 2 Sarcoma, I would need to wait 2 1/2 years.  If I had state 3 we would need to wait 3 1/2 years.  He asked me to wait at least 12-18 months from when I finished up Radiation.  He told me that he would let us know when we could start trying.

Nate told me that we should use the next 12-18 months to travel and for me to build up my strength.  I finished up physical therapy in April and I was still really weak in my leg.  I'm looking forward to the traveling part of the next 12-18 months!!

Follow-up Scans

Dr. O'Donnell told me that 50% of the time, if the Cancer is going to come back - it will come back within the first 12-18 months.  He suggested that I have follow-up scans every 3-months for the foreseeable future.

Every 3 months I will have a MRI on my right leg.  Did you know that MRI's don't give off radiation?  They are even safe to get when you are pregnant!!  He will also monitor the spot in my lung too.  He told me that since the CT Scans give off so much radiation, he will alternate a CT Scan with an x-ray of my lungs every three months.  My next MRI and CT Scans will be in August.

Dr. O'Donnell is very thorough... If there is any residual tumor that the Radiation didn't kill, he wants to catch it early.  He had me think about it, and explained, if there are stage-1 tumor cells left behind, by the time he catches it growing, it could already be stage 2 or 3.

All and all, this was a day I will NEVER forget!  To hear the words "No evidence of Disease", was an unforgettable moment!!

Thank you for reading!