Bernadette

Well after being told not to expect the cancer to have shrunk this morning Dr Taylor told me that he had the most wonderful news that the cancer has reacted very well to the chemo and is now 8cm x 3cm. He was incredibly pleased with the results. Not only has the cancer shrunk but all of the inflamation that was around must have gone. Apparently when they did the initial scans part of the mass showing would have been the cancer (about 14 x 6cm) and the rest was likely to have been inflamed tissue. He said usually they would have done other tests to have confirmed this but because I was pregnant they couldn’t. All of the daily steroids have done their job and taken away all of the inflammation and the chemo has done a brilliant job of killing off the cancer. He said that this often happens when the mass is so large to start with as that type of mass reacts the best with the chemo. He said the it will slow down now and will still probably take the 8 months to go altogether but this makes it very promising that they will totally get rid of it. He said sometimes this type of initial reaction does mean that the cancer becomes static at around 5 - 6 months and stops reacting to chemo but by that stage it will be small enough to look at other options.

So today I am so happy that not only does my body seem to be coping so well with the chemo but the chemo is working so well. I feel like I am on top of the world. I get to go home today to my two wonderful boys and I cannot wait. Three weeks ago we received the most devastating news and only 21 days later life is looking so much brighter. Well now that I am going home the blogs will probably ease off a little. I will still keep you posted but hopefully life will just be continuing as usual as possible! 

I had a lovely day out yesterday and met up with friends for lunch at Southbank and then with my parents and family for dinner. We took Tiernan to Chinese again and he loved it. I am exhaused today though! It looks like the chemo is not taking it out on me too much - all my blood counts are going really well which the doctor is very pleased about.

The plan now is an MRI this afternoon and go home tomorrow morning. The MRI is only to check the cancer has not grown. The doctor has told me not to expect it to have shrunk yet. After going home I will be back in here each fortnight on a Thursday (changed from Fridays because of Dr Taylor’s requirements). Each time I will just be staying overnight and coming home during the day on Friday. Once I have Arielle then I will just come in as a day patient.

I am now 45kg - yeah - I have put on 2 kg since being in here. Apparently the steroids would be helping my appetite so that is good. Yesterday I did up a blogg page about Hodgkins Lymphoma - if you go to the link on the left called About the Disease there is information all about Hodgkins in case you wanted to read about it.

I am just resting now and waiting for Wednesday to come around so I can go home. I am feeling good - just a little tired and weak in the muscles.

Yesterday I did a lot of thinking and I would like everyone who reads this blogg today to do something for me. I want you to read the following

To realise the value of one year: Ask a student who has failed a final exam. To realise the value of one month: Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby. To realise the value of one week: Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper. To realise the value of one hour: Ask the lovers who are waiting to meet. To realise the value of one minute: Ask the person who has missed the train, bus or plane. To realise the value of one second: Ask a person who has survived an accident. To realise the value of one millisecond: Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics. Time waits for no one. Treasure every moment you have. You will treasure it even more when you can share it with someone special.

The past few weeks have really made us realise what is important in life. Sometimes we stress over little things or we argue over little things but in the scheme of life is it worth it - is it worth it getting upset and upsetting others? Sometimes I think we need to sit back and appreciate those people that we care for and care for us and be thankful that we have them in our lives. I am so grateful for the wonderful family that I have. Cameron is being the most wonderful pillar of support and love for me. Tiernan is providing so much joy. Mum, dad, Nat, Ben, Tim and Bob and Sue are doing so much for us and providing so much support. All of my friends and family are there for me. I know it is too easy to take all of these people for granted.

So today I would like everyone to appreciate the people around them. If there is someone you have been upset with try to resolve the issue - open your heart and see the good in them. Treasure the special people in your life. Treasure each moment you have been given to live a long, healthy life. Be grateful for all that you have and realise how lucky we are and how precious this life is. Don’t wait to be faced with losing all of it to learn to appreciate it! Live it now, enjoy it now!