My latest visit with my oncologist

My appointment today with my oncologist was a very positive one. My sister is still in town, so she was with me. I was supposed to see my oncologist yesterday, but something went awry and yesterday turned out to be just bloodwork. So today I saw the doc.

Overall I've been feeling better lately than in many months. I'm more mobile, using a cane instead of a walker when I go out—and not even needing a cane inside my house!

AND I had an outing on Sunday! My sister took me to a sports trading card "rip night" (which was really on Sunday afternoon). I had fun buying some cards and enjoying the atmosphere of being around other sports trading cards collectors. And from there we went to the Little Debbie Park. The ubiquitous snack cakes are baked near here, and we wanted to explore a little. So we went by the park, though we only walked to the Little Debbie Statue since it was very windy. And we drove back to my house a meandering way through pretty farmland in a neighboring county.

It felt good to be out and about. But I paid the price of being around a lot of people when I came down with a stomach bug that hit Sunday night. At least I think that's what it was. I was nauseated during the night and then threw up in the morning. But it wasn't an awful virus where I threw up over and over. Just a day of feeling nauseated and rotten. But a different nauseated and rotten than the cancer med side effects.

That's one thing I discussed with my oncologist today. She had me stop Ibrance a couple of weeks ago when I felt so bad and was having trouble with being short of breath. Since the one cancer med, Letrozole, has been helping and has slowed and even healed some of the cancer in my bones, my doc wants to stick with that for a while because my quality of life is so much better on the one med. She says everyone responds to meds differently. She's encouraged that I've been feeling so much better, and she is now spacing out my appointments with her so that I'll see her every couple of months as opposed to every three weeks or so.

It was nice today to hear her talk so positively and encouragingly. She feels comfortable with using the one-med approach right now.

I do, too.

I'm hoping that this one med continues to work well for me. That is what I ask for in your prayers and with your good vibes. That this med continues to keep the cancer in check and even heal it.

All of this is not to say that I feel good every day when I'm not on the second cancer med. I don't. But overall I feel so much better than I did back in the fall.

It's a nice synchronicity that my feeling better is aligning with spring. The blooming flowers and warmer temps seem to mirror my health journey. There were quite a few daffodils blooming in my yard last week, but I got my sister to cut most of them and bring them inside before the hard freeze we had early in the week. So when I went out for a photo of spring flowers this afternoon for this post, there were no daffodils blooming.

But there were these tiny grape hyacinths. They're usually the first to bloom, though this year they're a little later. I planted them many, many years ago when I knew little to nothing about what flowers to plant. But these have persisted for almost three decades, blooming every year in early spring.

They remind me that my life doesn't have to be big and bold. I don't have do to lots of things, be super active, always on the go.

That I can enjoy a quiet life, one that appreciates the small gifts we all have. Sunrises and sunsets. Flowers blooming, trees budding, breezes blowing. Friends and family. Meaningful conversations.

I may at some point feel well enough to travel some. But I'm not in a hurry to go somewhere. I'm content to have good days at home when I don't feel rotten.

I'm content gradually to build some strength. To be able do a little more some days. And to take it easy on days when I don't feel great.

I'm grateful that this cancer journey is taking a positive path at this moment. I know it can veer off at any time.

But right now I feel grateful for the improvement in my overall health and mobility.

I'll see my palliative care doctor in a couple of weeks. I'll have some bloodwork in about a month. And I'll have another the infusion for my bones in a little over a month. That's a whole lot fewer appointments than I've been having regularly since September.

I'm grateful for fewer medical appointments. And for blooming flowers. These tiny grape hyacinths.

And lots of support from many folks.

For spring and rebirth.

And hope.

Little Debbie with her snack cakes