It's Ba-ack...

To be read in a sing-songy (semi-creepy) tone, of course.

Some of you may recall a little post I made last summer about my body growing an abnormally large tumor. I'm so sorry to have to say that it's back. (The good news? This time, they caught it while it was little. To date, it's about the size of a chocolate Easter egg. ... Much better than the size of a watermelon, right?)

I had my first 90 follow-up CT at the end of January and met with my oncologist on Feb 11th to get the results. He told me at that meeting that I was a vibrant young woman (I told him that I loved him for that). He also told me that it looked like the cancer may be back (I told him that I still loved him, even though that is the opposite of what I wanted to hear). He advised that there was a growth on/near my left kidney that appeared to be in the resection bed (where they'd scraped the original tumor from). He wanted to do an MRI to get a better, clearer picture of the mass. I had the MRI last Friday, and met with my surgeon today to get the results of the MRI. The MRI shows conclusively that there's a tumor on my left kidney. (Look, I'll show you a picture. Don't judge the arrow pointing to the little gray/tumor area just to the right of my kidney. I do not have photo shop skillz. Obviously.)



So, that's the little egg shaped tumor that's attached to my kidney. It must come out. (And by "it", I mean the kidney.) Per my sweet doctor, he wants to take the kidney out, so this can't happen again. Before he takes the kidney out, however, he wants to do a biopsy to make sure that this tumor on my kidney is, in fact, a recurrence of liposarcoma. The last thing he wants to do is remove a vital organ if it's something other than regrowth of the same cancer I spent all summer fighting. The plan is to have a biopsy done next week. After he gets the results of the biopsy and can confirm if it's the same type of tumor/cancer, or if it's something new, decisions will be made about surgery and possible treatment plans.

The best news I've heard all day/week/month is that if it's the same kind of tumor/cancer, he should be able to just remove my kidney and call it a day. As in, no follow-up treatment. (Can you hear the angels singing? Because I sure can!) This, of course, isn't a for sure done deal until we have more information - and is subject to change up until after surgery, after my oncologist has been able to review everything and make a final decision. But for now, the thought of only having to recover from surgery is enough to make me weep for joy.

So, it's back. But it's definitely not worst-case-scenario. Yay!

I'm incredibly grateful for doctors who had a much more aggressive treatment plan than I thought made sense, because they caught something that had grown in the last 90 days. I'm grateful for office staff who know my face and remember my name. I'm grateful for doctors who care about my body and my spirits, that both of my doctors have delivered news and then asked "How are you?". I love them, and that makes it so much easier this time around.

I'm grateful for my family, and for my friends. I have always known that I had the most incredible people in my life. The last year has proven that to me on so many levels. Thanks, all, for being the kind of people you are. I love you, and I'm so glad I have you! (Even when I don't have the cancer, I love you. But somehow, when a girl hears some truly hard news, it makes the love all that much stronger.) You're all my favorite! (And I'm not just saying that because I may need someone to come over and vacuum in March. And April. And maybe May. I promise.)

Stay tuned for further updates and/or service opportunities. :-)