The PET scan results are in...

I had my scan this morning to see how I had responded to the ICE chemo.

The chemo worked. Compared to the pre-treatment scan from a month ago, almost nothing lit up in the one from this morning. The tumors where virtually gone. Melted away. This sort of response to treatment is a very good indicator that I will respond just as well to the transplant.

I left the hospital with tears streaming down my cheeks and a huge grin across my face. I'm so happy. This is such good news. What a beautiful day.

The next step is to start scheduling appointments for the evaluations, paperwork, consults and the consent conference. Then, the catheter will be placed, and they'll start pumping me full of Neupogen to make my white blood cell count skyrocket. The beginning of the transplant process.

So let's do this. Destroy me, and I promise I will come back stronger. Everyone, my friends, my family, my clientele from work, even complete strangers, have shown me so much love that I have nothing but hope in my heart. They make me ready to fight again. They remind me just how many people are rooting for me. Thinking of them will get me through the pain and sickness and darkness and give me the strength I need to get through this.

Sometimes I feel like I'm the luckiest girl in the world. I feel like I'm understanding things that I never could have grasped if this whole experience hadn't happened.



The road's about to get very rough. But I think I'm as ready as I'll ever be.

I'll just take it one day at a time.