Cancer Remission

Remission means that the signs and symptoms of your cancer are reduced. Remission can be partial or complete. In a complete remission, all signs and symptoms of cancer have disappeared.

If you remain in complete remission for 5 years or more, some doctors may say that you are cured. Still, some cancer cells can remain in your body for many years after treatment. These cells may cause the cancer to come back one day. For cancers that return, most do so within the first 5 years after treatment. But, there is a chance that cancer will come back later. For this reason, doctors cannot say for sure that you are cured. The most they can say is that there are no signs of cancer at this time.

However, in my particular case, my Oncologist has never mentioned that my cancer(s) are in remission even though the PET scans show NO METABOLIC activity which is typically an indication that malignant cancers are present.  Whereas, my wife who was also being treated for a type of Lymphoma is in remission as stated by her Oncologist who is also my Oncologist.

Imbruvica is keeping my Lymphoma from showing metabolic activity and Opdivo is keeping my Melanoma from showing metabolic activity...  but, in order for the latter to have actually worked, I needed to receive 6 good doses of radiation which supercharged the Opdivo.

As far as my Oncologist is concerned, I will be taking these two drugs for the rest of my life or until my body starts manifesting negative side effects...

A Spouse's CT Scan

Today, my wife goes into UT Medical for a CT Scan to see if her Lymphoma Cancer is still in remission as it has been for the last four years and there is a 50/50 chance that it will remain that way so one might say that the odds are in her favor...  although, some people do not believe in odds, nor do they believe in luck as the saying goes, luck favors the prepared.  But luck and the odds also favor the will of God and all those who believe in the teachings of Jesus...   and, if you are not sure what it is that Jesus said or taught about, all his words as they were remembered by Matthew are in RED in most Bibles.

My CT Scan is the week after next and while it is not going to determine if I am in remission, it will provide my Oncologist with a better understanding of the tumor in my lung and if it has grown large enough for me to have a biopsy.  Biopsies are not always those kinds of procedures that one looks forward to unless the results are positive and I suppose that there is a 50/50 chance there as well.

While cancer is not always a function of age, age is always a function that something is going to go wrong with one's body (as it is always just a matter of time) and it is that opportunity that older people always must look forward to.

• My physical endurance when working outside has been cut in half
• My ability to walk up the stairs of a cruise ship from bottom to top has been restricted
• My strength to lift objects above my head without shoulder joint pain is limited
• My hip joints hurt when I sleep too long on one side
• My eyes can no longer see the tiny print on a computer screen in dim light
• My back gets thrown out of whack if I bend over wrong

OLD AGE IS A BITCH MY FRIENDS...  and, it is bound to get worse before I die, since there is little possibility that it will ever get better.

No doubt, my wife's CT Scan will be clean and her cancer remains in remission and each time I look over at her, she has her earphones in and is dancing about as if she really does not give a damn...  we all need to follow her example.