Keeping a close eye

I finally got my long-awaited second opinion last night from Houston and it has made me a little giddy. No chemo, no radiation is recommended for the time being, just close surveilance and monitoring!

I had so resigned myself to the notion of inpatient chemotherapy that the doctor's recommendation feels like a wonderful reprieve after a long wait for a jury's deliberations to finally reach a conclusion.

The doctor said the opinion of himself and his peers is that chemotherapy at this point would have little benefit. Instead, CT scans should be repeated by the end of May and then again at three-month intervals. Should a cancer return be detected, chemotherapy and surgery would then be in order.

As good as I have been feeling, I can't imagine that this next scan will produce any cause for concern. It is extremely liberating to think that I can plan for the next few months without having to work around bouts of inpatient chemo and whatever ill effects it would cause in-between the hospital sessions.

With no active treatment on the immediate horizon, I welcome all good prayers and best wishes to keep cancer from returning. And when it comes down to it, that may be the very best treatment of all!