I completed my SBRT radiation treatments on December 4^th. At the end of radiation, there’s a four-week pause to let the tissue process the treatment and then a new scan is taken. I took a big pause myself in December and I just focused on enjoying the spirit of the season. The holiday season was wonderful.

My medical new year began Saturday with my first post-treatment CT Scan of the chest and abdomen. The results of this scan would be used to confirm that there’s no new growth or spread of the cancer and to monitor the tissue at the site of the radiation treatment. I highly recommend scans on Saturdays following major holidays. There are far fewer people and there’s no waiting. Well, almost no waiting. They had to wait for me. I was a couple of minutes late and they were very much on time.

A funny thing happens during a big pause after chemotherapy and radiation. The change in routine is disconcerting. Not seeing the doctors who had been so present for the last five months, not receiving therapies that had been so successful felt strange and made me feel vulnerable. Sometimes doubt would creep in. Now, there’s absolutely no rational reason for doubt, anxiety, or fear. The previously successful system remains intact. I am still faithfully taking Tagrisso on schedule each morning supported by prayers for healing and intercession. The nutrition program is still in use. And there’s no reason to think that what was successful for five months would have stopped working in the last six weeks. Still, when I’d feel a pain in my abdomen near the liver, I’d wonder. Or when I’d feel pressure in my head or cough, I’d wonder. “Does this mean something?” It would always take focus and calm to clear those thoughts from my mind.

Today, I was back at Froedtert for labs and appointments with my medical oncology and radiation oncology teams and to receive the results of Saturday’s scan. Here’s where we’re at … The CT looks good. The liver still looks clear. The lymph nodes still look clear. The mass in the lung that was the origin of the cancer and the focus of the radiation treatment looks exactly like it should 30 days after treatment. There is a new “flat nodule” in the right lung, which is <7mm and looks non-cancerous. It is not a cause for concern right now. We will simply monitor it and watch for it to disappear on future scans. All of the news that we received today was good news, so we celebrate. Give thanks and praise.

My next set of scans will be in three months, April, Spring, and will include a Brain MRI. There is much to do and write and experience between now and then. Stay tuned.