No more chemo!

I got a voicemail from my MO's office this morning.  "Hi.  This is David from Dr. Kratz's office.  This message is for Jennifer.  Dr. Kratz just finished speaking with another physician and there will be no more chemo, but she wants to be sure to see you right after your next PET/CT."

Horay!  I mean maybe it's not super exciting.  On the one hand this means further treatment didn't seem beneficial and I still may worry that I didn't do everything I could....  On the other hand, I can finally start trying to get back to normal and I don't have to worry about going though all those nasty side effects again or losing my hair.  I am very happy about that. :)

I had a check-up with my RO last Friday.  He seemed to think I was doing remarkably well.  He told me he's been working on writing a paper about me.  I'm one of 18 subjects for who he modeled radiation plans to spare a major salivary gland.  The gland in my right cheek got about 1/10 the dose of radiation given by your average cancer center.  With the special tomotherapy machine that they used, they were able to really pinpoint the radiation to hit certain places and avoid others.  That is why even though I have to drink more water than your average person (especially with meals), my mouth doesn't particularly feel dry all the time.  Other patients I've spoken with can't go more than 10-15 minutes without water.  I can go an hour or two before it really starts to bother me.  Let's hope my RO's paper can continue to improve the quality of life for future oral cancer patients.

I still have many doctor appointments and health issues.  I have to schedule a swallow test and a hearing test to compare to the baselines I had.  I have to have bloodwork done monthly for a while.  I have to schedule a check-up with my ENT.  I see my MO for a checkup in about 3 weeks.  I'll see my RO in about 3 months.  I'll have a PET/CT in May.   I'm not 100% normal yet by any means. My saliva isn't up to normal levels.  I still can't taste most things.  My speech is labored and somewhat difficult to understand.  I have to watch out for signs of hypothyroidism as I will almost definitely develop this at some point because of the chemo.  I am still fatigued a lot of the time.  The insides of my mouth are extremely sensitive and eating almost anything causes blisters on the insides of the cheeks and lips.  The bumps go away within 12 hours and they don't hurt, but it's still annoying.

Like I said, though.... now that I know I don't need more chemo now, at least I can start trying to get back to normal.  I think tomorrow I will call the medical supply company and finally return that suction machine. :)