When cancer strikes, the patient is subject to chemotherapy. The chemicals cause hair to fall out. The lack of hair may cause the patient to buy wigs. That's where Sandy is now.
What you don't want to do when wearing a wig made of synthetic hair is get near a hot stove or oven. If you do, it might singe the wig. Sandy has gone through two or three wigs in just this way.
To help her remember to be more careful, Sandy did this:
We saw Sandy's doctor yesterday evening. She said that Sandy is officially in remission, but . . . her CAT scan showed some "borderline" areas to keep an eye on. For now, everything looks good. The doctor said that because of these borderline areas she is not a candidate for the year-long clinical trial. We will see the doctor once each quarter.
Meanwhile, the doctor ordered another test for CA-125 to ensure the number stays well below 35.
Sandy is happy. Her hair is beginning to grow back and she's in tears watching the premiere of Grey's Anatomy.
It's a good day.
Sandy's health is getting better. The neuropathy in her feet isn't nearly as bothersome to her as it was near the end of chemotherapy. Her life has returned to what it was before her diagnosis in January.
She has another appointment with her oncology doctor on the 23rd. It's then that we'll learn the results of the CAT scan Sandy underwent on August 27th. If she "passes," the doctor will declare her to be in full remission.
On Saturday I rented a core aerator and punched holes in our yard wherever we don't have new sod. After I got done, Sandy said, "Why don't we go to Yoder's Kitchen for lunch?"
Yoder's Kitchen is over an hour and a half away, in Arthur, IL. Nevertheless, we cleaned up and took off on I-57 south. When we got there at 2 o'clock we figured the place would be empty. Who eats lunch at 2 o'clock? We found out.
The region was having its annual Corn Broom Festival. Yoder's Kitchen was filled with people. We waited over half an hour just to get a table. When we finally did sit down, it was right behind the noisy ice cream machine. But the food was good and we were soon on our way.
On the 19th, Saturday, Sandy and I took our bikes up to Frankfort, IL. We rode 25 miles on the paved bike path called the Old Plank Road Trail. I was very impressed that Sandy just kept right on going, didn't take many breaks.
She was sore the next day.
Her eyebrows and the hairs on her head are beginning to grow back. This makes the prospect of entering a clinical trial unpleasant. She could be put on the one "arm" of the trial that would give her the kind of taxol that she received during her six cycles of chemotherapy. If so, there goes the hair again. If not, she'll have a full head of hair within a few months.
We'll see her doctor tomorrow, ask a few questions, then make a decision about that clinical trial.
