Off the Spectrum

Yesterday was a better day. I had a good appointment with my oncologist. As far as I'm aware, he was completely up to date on what my radiation oncologist had said to me the afternoon before... but he's a smart man. He asked some questions and let me "share my news" with him. All the while he was assessing how I was taking the news and if I was clear what the news meant in terms of treatment. I am so thankful that I have a team of people who lovingly care for me.

My medical team celebrates the good news and genuinely hurts when they share hard news. I am blessed to have them in my life. This particular doctor has seen me at my lowest and reminded me again yesterday how far off the spectrum I am (in a really good way).

So last night we celebrated two friends in our lives (and one of their birthdays) who have been beside us for many years. It was a wonderful distraction and reminder of the important things and people in life. And how important it is to live life fully each day.

And then today (in my uniquely odd way), I took a look through my CT images.  I went back to my images on Feb 2013 and looked at pictures of my very spotted liver and my innumerable lesions. And then I looked at August 2014's images (I'll have to wait until Wednesday to see last week's images). My liver looks remarkably different. It feels like it's been an incredibly long journey, but I've come a long way.

Today my encouragement came from looking at my CTs. It may sound like an odd way to be encouraged, but remember... it's me we're talking about and I'm off the spectrum in terms of normal.

My enlarged liver spotted with innumerable cancerous lesions. Feb 2013 (the big, massive triangular object is my liver; the whiter object towards top right is my heart).

My much less spotted, smaller & happier liver. August 2014.