Good News

By Sheryl Jedlinski

To all of you who have been cheering me on in my battle with recurrent endometrial cancer, I am thrilled to report that after only four chemotherapy treatments I am showing improvement in every area being watched. My few enlarged lymph nodes all continue to shrink and no new ones have appeared. Nor are there any new findings of metatastic disease.

As good as this news is, I am very aware that I have a long uphill road ahead of me before I can hope to find myself in a state of remission again. I expect to stay this course as long as good results continue and side effects have only minimal negative impact on me. I am confident that with your continued support I will make it across the finish line.

Of course there is always some new area of concern mixed in with the good news. This time my CT scan revealed that I have developed a fatty liver. I would have preferred a kinder, gentler adjective, like “chunky,” but no one wants to sugar coat this condition.

The addition of one more chronic disease to my health record has become my tipping point. I pledge to get serious about dieting and weight loss, though I wish the news had arrived prior to the opening of Dairy Queen season. Now I will have to give up my chocolate ice cream cones dipped in chocolate that I just added back into my eating plan. “Giving up” (in its many forms) is a phrase I detest.