Okay, my tongue-in-cheek side just couldn’t resist attaching this sick cheesy image that came up when I googled “cancer free”. But to give it credit, it does tell you quickly what you came to find out. Like if you’re too busy to read my whole post–at least you got the good news. Now you can get on with your day and check back later to read the gory details below. ; )

Well, since I’ve taken a break from all the health update details, I’ll make up for it here. Today was my one-year anniversary checkup at the National Institutes of Health. And I’m pleased to inform you I am still completely lymphoma-free.

Noelle and I had two visits up at NIH this week. Tuesday was the ENT Clinic visit, where Dr. Bianchi poked around in the nose and gave it a good look to pass along his observations to the Oncology Clinic seven floors above. He actually thought it looked better than last time and noticed nothing alarming. He didn’t seem too concerned with the fact that I am still having nosebleeds several times a week. Keep in mind these are mostly caused by my cleaning out of the sinuses, perhaps often too vigorously.

Today, Thursday, was the Onc Clinic visit following bloodwork and the CT scan of the sinuses. The docs were happy with the scans and even noticed less of the sinusitis symptoms. They were also not too alarmed by the bleeding. They’ve always felt that the scans tell the real story. And the pathology report on that scar band next month is sure to provide an even better assessment.

Since this marks one year, we are moving my return visits from 3 months to 4 months. Aside from the surgery next month, the next NIH visit will be on May 22nd. It’s probably a good idea we didn’t move to Chicago just yet–with all my medical base being here in DC.

A while ago, I may have mentioned the possibility of surgery to correct some post-radiation scarring. Well, the ENT thinks it’s time. As part of the healing process following treatment, some “scar bands” formed way up in my nasal passage, possibly right where the gamma rays were strongest. These bands fused to the wall and formed a permanent obstruction to the airflow. My primary ENT outside of NIH, Dr. Wall, removed one of the scar bands that was easily accessible during a routine visit. However, he and Dr. B recommended removing the second, more hard to reach one, but only once a year had passed. Now that it’s passed, both docs say it’s time–and hope that I should notice an improvement in my breathing once it’s done. It’s an outpatient thing, and will require anesthesia and an hour of my time. Also, no matter who does it, the discarded tissue will be sent to NIH Pathology for testing. They’re also going to put a temporary bridge/plug up there so nothing reforms and remove it sometime soon after.

Incidentally, Noey is wondering how much my sense of smell will be affected; it’s been a little on and off since radiation. Who knows, it may actually improve it. *time lapse* I was just googling sinus surgery–and another possible side effect is voice change. Maybe it will improve my nasally voice from my slightly deviated septum and chronic sinus probs! …Okay, must stop–I learned quickly after the initial diagnosis in ‘06 that googling health issues is addictive–and hardly ever accurate.

Anyway, although I feel most comfortable with Dr. W, I may just keep everything in-house at NIH. Not sure if I’ve mentioned, but NIH is unique in that, being completely funded by government/tax dollars, any approved treatment or procedure is completely covered. Yes, that’s right. I did not pay a dime for any of my treatment, aside from the original PET and CT scans before being admitted/referred to NIH. Not bad huh? Thanks everyone! So if I were to go with Dr. W, I’d pay whatever my employer’s insurance program required. So…I’ll prob just stick with NIH. The Onc Team, who has the final say in my care (over the ENT Clinic), was totally cool with throwing more $/care at me–especially given that it was a direct result of the radiation. So, looks like I’ll be goin under the knife in a month!

I wonder what the grand total so far of my care in dollars has been…the fact that I don’t even know is still hard to believe.

Thanks for the continued thoughts and prayers, all!

Love, C (& N)

PS – onto other exciting news, our honeymoon destination has been decided – the island of Santorini (Greece).