News

Thanks for the questions and prayers about the MRI.

The neurologist called and said the scans looked good-there are no tumors or significant changes. He said the top of my right lung has some scarring and shrinkage of the normal tissue but he was sure it was from radiation. He thinks radiation is causing my symptoms (numbness, pain, etc). If so, there's no real treatment and it can go away on its own-but could take years. The good thing is it is not serious. I will go to his office for a follow-up in 1 month.

Also, my brother has a small mass of some sort in his lower abdomen/groin area and will have surgery to remove it and biopsy it tomorrow morning-we are hoping it's nothing serious but they won't know until they take it out.

Thanks for the prayers.

Today, I am grateful for no tumors, friends, family, wonderful holidays, God, prayers.

Rachel

TV, Friends, Doctors and MRIs

The day started off early and frigid at 5 degrees Fahrenheit. It landed me here on a local TV morning show's set. It was a lot of fun minus being somewhat sleepy!

Next, is lunch/brunch with a friend...then off to doctors and MRIs for the afternoon/evening!

I appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

Today, I am grateful for friends, family, good times, prayers, doctors, medicine and God!

Rachel

Hi

Saying 'hi' before going into the exams/end of the semester cave....I should emerge on the 18th, if not popping by to say 'hi' again sooner :).

My MRI is going to be on the 22nd and I continue to have random symptoms in my hand, arm and back...we shall see.

Additionally, we had to deal with my car getting broken into this morning (with literally nothing in it for anyone to steal...makes no sense but anyways...) but thankfully someone was able to come to us and fix it pretty quickly and it really is all about perspective. This was just one of those things that happens and there was no point in getting upset. My husband and I just worked as a team to clean the car, vacuum it out, and call around to find someone to fix it and then juggle our work schedules to make it work-all of that combined made all the difference!

Today, I am grateful for a new window, friends, husband, family, God and ways to make money to pay for these sorts of things!

Rach

Happy 10 years of Surviving!

I woke up this morning and freaked out a little-Wow, it's December 5th. Diagnosis Day (click here for more details). The day everything changed 10 YEARS ago. It's crazy it has been that long now.

...and here I was going to the doctor again....specifically to a neurologist again...in fleece pants again (different ones). The similarities were a little creepy.

But the results, for now, of today's doctor visit: (in a 'Price is Right voice')....and I won...a new...MRI.

Today, I am grateful for great doctors, family, friends, God and weekends :).

Rach

Good Doctor's Appt.

It's so great to only go to the oncologist every 3 months or so...it used to be 3-4x a week-or daily-at some points in the journey. And the questions I have now are not so serious...usually.

I found out we won't do another MRI right now unless/until I have symptoms, which is good for various reasons. My pain is stable and pretty much the same it has been for the past few years...

I may have to get a measles vaccine because my transplant probably knocked my original one out of my system and there is apparently an outbreak in the US. I'll find out more on that soon-when the blood results come back.

My CBC, CRP and thyroid tests were good and normal (Yay for that!).

Today, I am grateful for a great break so far, seeing a movie with my mom, dinner with my parents, lunch with a great friend, bumping into old friends, my wonderful hubby, friends, family and God.

Rach

More results

I found out the MRI was pretty good. The 'spot' seemed about the same and the area around it looked a little better, less inflamed. Now, the latest thought is that the 'spot' is a clip or staple from my last surgery that has gotten inflamed.

So, good news all around in that department.

As I have been getting off one of my (MANY) meds and will continue to do so over the next few weeks, I have been very tired.

Lastly, I was picked by the class, asked (and accepted) to be a commencement speaker at a graduation-I am quite excited and also quite honored!

Back to the massive to-do list.

Today, I am grateful for: good news, amazing friends and family, a really great break, life and God.

Rachel

Just checking in...

I am still enjoying my 'spring break' from blogging and school, but thought I would check in for a bit. I would like to give a sincere thanks to everyone's emails, comments, prayers, calls and everything else!

I had my make-up MRI last Friday after this one was messed up. I still have not heard results which causes a lot of thoughts-as to what the outcome will be.

Today I met with a support group at The Wellness Community to talk about the walk coming up (the one I am an honorary ambassador for). It felt so right being there to help people and share my experiences and offer hope. Hope is so important.

Today, I am grateful for: life, each day that comes my way even when they are hard, for my fiance, friends, family and God.

Love,

Rachel

MRI results

HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY MATTY! I LOVE YOU!!

(even though I don't think you read this ;))

Well...the thoracic spine looked good but we are not sure how the right scapula area looks because the (idiotic-sorry) tech didn't do the scan right! She semi-blew me off yesterday when I told her she was doing it different than the other times. She told me-'You're thin so all your scans will fit on the spinal board'. Well apparently, lady, you were wrong!

The hospital has offered to do the second one for 'free'. Great. Not sure how that's going to work into the next couple weeks with midterms-the day of the MRIs make me feel pretty gross afterwards from the medicine they inject in me. My stomach and body are still achy 24+ hours later! (Plus it's pretty painful for me to lay in the positions that are needed for my scans.) GRR!

So, yeah...I'm a bit frustrated.

The other good news is that my doctor (who is amazing, have I said that enough? ;)) and I agreed to wean me off of the nerve meds-the tiredness and clouded feeling that they have been giving me is definitely not worth the benefits at this point. So that will happen over the next couple of months-Yay! So, if the pains get worse again, I will up the doses of some of my other current medicine.

So good news and unknown news...

Today, I'm grateful for: some good news, a wonderful meeting about the wedding, my brother is 21-HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTY! I LOVE YOU!!, family, friends and God.

Love,
Rach

MRI day

I guess I should have mentioned it sooner (but I half forgot)-today I have scans to check on my back. Please keep me in your prayers and send good wishes! I'm also going to copy a post from the beginning of the blog about MRIs b/c a lot of you may have never seen it:



I thought that I would give you a run-down of tips for having an MRI, if you ever have one...


First of all, MRI stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging and is a non-invasive method used to show images of the inside of an object. It is primarily used in medical testing to demonstrate alterations in living tissues.


Interesting fact: MRI also has uses outside of the medical field, such as detecting rock permeability to hydrocarbons and as a non-destructive testing method to characterize the quality of products such as produce and timber.



TOP 10 TIPS FOR HAVING AN MRI:

1. Bring a CD or prepare to pick a radio station
2. Wear comfy clothes with NO metal (like fleece pants) (otherwise, you end up with a hospital gown!)
3. If you are a female, wear a sports bra without metal
4. Bring something to read while you wait (or someone to talk to!)
5. You can bring someone in the MRI room to sit, if you both are comfortable with this
6. If you are someone with a port, PICC line, etc., get it accessed beforehand so you don't have to get an IV in your arm!
7. Sometimes I stay up "too late" the night before so I'll sleep through it...
8. Leave your jewelry at home
9. If you get pain from weird positions, staying still too long, or nauseous easily, etc. take some meds before!
10. Make sure to go to the restroom right before the test...




Today, I am grateful for: modern medicine that has helped keep me alive, prayers, family, friends and God.



Rach

FABULOUS NEWS! (updated)

Time to party!

The spot/'lucky penny' in my back is the same-still very small, not changing...Next check: 6 months unless symptoms occur

Now, on to homework= designing an entire condo (and all the 'fix-ins') in Shanghai plus all the other fun stuff for other classes.

Check out a poem (from a few years ago) and a drawing I did this summer about my experience with dealing with the new spot in my back: American Pain Foundation submission

Today I am thankful for: beautiful weather, healthy (as I can be) body, music and car windows down

I was also inspired today by a lady at Pilates. I do not know her name and much about her but she boldly told the teacher how she had 2 tumors removed 2-3 weeks ago! One in her lower back and one under her armpit. She was doing so well and it made me want to say something. I never know what to say without sounding strange but I felt her pain and determination and said a prayer for her!

Adventure for tomorrow: Classes all day, presenting my 'story' to Bio class and a haircut!

Ciao bella!

Rach

MRIs 101

Hi. These are the pics from last night! (Yes, that is me and The Fiance on on the red carpet). It was a fun night for a great cause and my artwork even got it's own display case! The plaque by the painting read: This is a picture of a 'Cancer Angel'. Being bald (she is wearing a bandana), she can relate to people who have cancer. Her intent is to bring Love, Hope and Joy to people's lives that are dealing with cancer.

Now, onto today's daytime activity...MRI central (and no, I have not gotten the results yet). I really wanted to include a picture of me going into the MRI machine, but then realized my digital camera would be destroyed by the uber-powerful magnet in the MRI machine. I thought that I would give you a run-down of tips for having an MRI, if you ever have one...

First of all, MRI stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging and is a non-invasive method used to show images of the inside of an object. It is primarily used in medical testing to demonstrate alterations in living tissues.

Interesting fact: MRI also has uses outside of the medical field, such as detecting rock permeability to hydrocarbons and as a non-destructive testing method to characterize the quality of products such as produce and timber.

This is what the machine looks like:

TOP 10 TIPS FOR HAVING AN MRI:
1. Bring a CD or prepare to pick a radio station

2. Wear comfy clothes with NO metal (= no hospital gown!)

3. If you are a female, wear a sports bra without metal

4. Bring something to read while you wait (or someone to talk to!)

5. You can bring someone in the MRI room to sit, if you both are comfortable with this

6. If you are someone with a port, PICC line, etc. get it accessed beforehand so you don't have to get an IV in your arm!

7. Sometimes I stay up "too late" the night before so I'll sleep through it...

8. Leave your jewelry at home

9. If you get pain from weird positions, staying still too long, or nauseous easily, etc. take some meds before!

10. Make sure to go to the restroom right before the test...

-------------
So, my MRI went ok. It was about 3 hours long from port access to MRI and back to get the port unaccessed. They also do not scan scapula areas very often, so they had to figure out a contraption of sorts to get the right pictures. I was strapped in and had wires and padding all over my chest and arms. The tech repeatedly asked me and my mom why I was getting another MRI of my thoracic spine--I kept telling her, "Well, that's where my tumors occurred." I wanted to include, "What don't you understand? Why do you keep asking?"

Today, I am grateful for: family and friends

Tomorrow's adventure: Healing Through the Arts for Children Kick-off at the hospital I was treated at! Looking forward to it...

Night.

Rachel