The NEWS everyone has been waiting for....

....she is really really close to remission (and still may be) but the doctor could NOT confirm total remission at this time because there is ONE warm spot (NOT HOT) on her spleen.  He went on to say that normally they would wait at least another month if not two to do a PET Scan, but the trial drug she has been taking required that she have the scan within 30 - 45 days of the last chemo.  So what we read into that is the chemo is still working in her body and in another  two or three months when another PET scan is done, it may show NOTHING.    What the scan did show was NO active disease.

When we were shown the original scan at the time of diagnosis, her spleen was HUGE and ALL WHITE (the worst color you want it to be...showing that it was filled with the lymphoma cancer)  This latest scan showed a normal color spleen with just one slightly warm spot...now he also said they rate these spots and anything under "2" they don't consider suspicious...hers was rated at 2.6...so you can see that is just slightly higher.  So we are going with the hope that in two or three months when she has another PET scan it will show nothing!

And to add to the positive thoughts about this whole affair...Dina is feeling REALLY good...NO pain, her appetite is back! She has no other symptoms of this disease.  The doctor said if she still had active disease, she would NOT be feeling good, no energy etc...so he took that as a positive sign.

I guess what that means for us is we wait at least two months and possibly three for a PET scan to determine if it is totally gone or not.  The doctor said at that time it will be VERY clear whether she has it or not because lymphoma is a very fast growing cancer.

I saw the urologist today and he did a bladder scan and I have good news/bad news...good news there was no evidence of infection or redness or anything foreign in the bladder...bad news?  Why the continued infection?  He has a plan and I am on it now...a few more different kind of drugs "holisitic" he called it...I will do this for 2 months and hope nothing occurs within that time and certainly hope that after two months NOTHING occurs....which should mean I have managed to get the bacteria out of me...

When I had a few quiet moments to myself, I did take time to thank the Lord for Dina's news.  I feel it is really good and I thank Him for that.  Now we just need to pray a little longer to be sure that it is totally gone at the next PET scan!