Quick update

Neil had a CT scan a few weeks ago and it came back negative for cancer. There were zero questionable areas on the scan, which is great because a lot of people get the dreaded "well, we think we see a shadow," but none of that.

Last week, Neil met with Dr. Steinmetz, who thinks he has some residual, but not serious, effects from radiation (lung issues and swallowing problems) and he scheduled a thyroid test (routine). He had that last week and today he was told his thyroid function is normal. The concern with thyroid problems in lymphoma patients is that thyroid cancer sometimes manifests and also that radiation can cause it or diminish thyroid function. But all is well.

Upcoming Scan

Neil had a clean scan back in June and they decided to switch him over to CT scans because they take less time overall. He goes this Friday for the scan and we will hopefully get the results early next week.

3 Month Scan-CLEAN!!!

Neil had his 3 month post-treatment PET scan on Friday and I went with him today for the results. His blood work and BP are fine and best of all, the scan still did not show any cancer activity. The doctor is impressed with his progress and will not see him again until January! He will see Steinmetz (radiation) for a followup in September. Other than that, we don't have to think about it!

The latest

Nothing much to report other than Neil is feeling really good, lots of energy and positive mood. Going camping this weekend to get away from things for a little while, but other than that just going about our normal lives!

Bald! And vacation planning!

Neil lost a big patch of hair on the back of his head, so he shaved it all off--it looks really good! He went to the oncologist today and long story short, he has appointments (alternating Dr. Mehta and Dr. Steinmetz) every three months. He gets a PET scan in three months, but Mehta seemed to think that he might not need them very often since he has done so well.

In other news, we are (hopefully) planning a vacation! We both really need a break and have not had an actual vacation since our honeymoon. So we are using some of our refund (after paying off medical bills) to travel to Canada from May 21-31 for our anniversary. Throughout his treatment, we always said we would go back when he was better (we had gone a few years ago), so that's what we're doing. This is our rough plan:


May 21

Travel to mid-to-upper Michigan, stay night

May 22

Travel to Sault St Marie, enter Canada.

May 22-25 Lake Superior Provincial Park.

http://www.lakesuperiorpark.ca/

May 25-26 Travel two hours to Pukaskwa National Park

http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/on/pukaskwa/index.aspx

May 26 Travel 3.5 hours to Sleeping Giant Provincial Park (this is the coolest one!

27-28 Sleeping Giant/Thunder Bay

http://www.ontarioparks.com/english/slee.html

29-31 Home. (17 hours, over three days, make stops along the way).

We're going to camp and recharge! Thanks everyone for your support even now...hopefully this trip will put some life back into us!

One week post-treatment

As of today, Neil is one week post-treatment. He is feeling better every day. He saw Dr. Mehta yesterday and he gave him the good news that he can get his port taken out any time. He will set up a scan/three-month-out checkup and then after that we're looking at a six-month-out checkup and scan. We celebrated this weekend by going to Butterbee's. We used to go there almost every weekend to meet Nate and Stacia. Nate even managed to find their favorite server who doesn't work at the Mt. Orab location anymore but just so happened to be there that night! Josh and Dawn also were able to join us and Nate and Stacia bought a celebratory Dojo Gelato cake from our good friend down at Findlay Market.

FINISHED!!!!

Neil is officially finished with cancer treatment. His last radiation treatment was today and he is expected to remain cancer-free. This is a photo of him walking out of his last treatment. The nurses gave him his mask as a souvenir!

We are so grateful that his treatments worked. It has been a tough journey and Neil has been so strong! We never would have made it without the help of our friends and family. I would especially like to thank our parents, who took turns taking Neil to treatments and helping us out more than we can ever thank them for! Thank you to Karen, who has been a good friend and supporter of the family throughout this process. Thanks Gretchen and Steve for the visits and meals. Thank you Nate and Stacia for your friendship, support, hospitality and words of encouragement. Thanks also to Pam, who used her own experience to give Neil hope, as well as to Rhonda, who was on her own cancer journey but always gave helpful advice and checked in on us. Thank you Outi and Henry, our friends in Finland. Henry was diagnosed and treated on the same schedule as Neil, and their friendship has been so important. We hope to meet them someday! Thanks also to Lauren and Adrian, who took charge and helped us move with their huge trailer--that was so helpful during a very stressful time.

Neil has a followup visit on April 1st and then we expect a visit three months out. He will continue to be checked out at least every six months for five years. After one year, he can have his port taken out. After two years, they will declare him cancer-free.

We finally found a reasonably priced (read: not $300 an hour) dietician who is very excited to help Neil with a diet and exercise plan that can help him rebuild his strength, repair damage and keep him healthy for life.

Here's a closer look at that crazy mask!