Sometimes Life Isn't What You Think It Ought To Be

One more chemo cycle to go.  I will officially be done a year of treatment on Nov. 21st.  Well the 21st is the last day I take a pill....so technically I guess the 22nd?? Stay tuned for party details.  :)

My 9 mos MRI revealed that everything is still stable. I have another MRI in January. The 21st I think.  I also saw my neurosurgeon, and he had a look at my scans and has cleared me to drive.  I will be seizure free for a year this month.  So I've had my family physician write a note to the ministry of transportation.  Whoohoo for that!!

For all of you who want to know what now....I don't really know.  Medically, since my tumor has responded well to chemo, it's very unlikely they will opt to put me on maintenance chemo.  It's preferable to give my body a rest.  Plus, maintenance chemo has a whole list of nasty side effects.  I will continue to have MRIs every 3 mos.  If I'm clear for a year, then MRIs every 6 mos for a year, and then every year.  Life-wise, I'm still figuring that out, and what it means to have cancer, to be off chemo, move on....am I in remission, can I even say that?? I don't think it's really sunk in that I only have one more cycle to go....I will say this, I am 100% a survivor.   

Finally, my friend Larry passed away on October 27, 2011 after a year long battle with brain cancer.

Even though I did not know him or his family very long, or very well, I felt like we had known each other forever.  Saying goodbye to him was really emotional...he was my buddy...my fellow warrior.  Larry taught me about courage.  True courage.  The kind you can have only if you're faced with a life-threatening illness.  Even when his situation took a turn for the worse, he kept fighting.  He never lost his sense of humor, and his courageous spirit never failed him.  At his funeral, I learned what type of person he was before he got sick, and he was definitely a cool guy....everyone loved him, and had a story about him to share.

So to Larry: wherever you are, I hope you're enjoying a OV, and continuing the party up there. You're funeral was beautiful, I think you would of liked it.  And I know you're so proud of Louise, Luke and Jake.  There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about you...and thank you.  Rest in peace my friend.

Some people come into our lives and quickly go.
Some people move our souls to dance.
They awaken us to new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom.
Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon.
They stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints in our hearts,
And we are never, ever the same.