Welcome back to the next Thriving Not Just Surviving blog
post. Its been over 2 months since the last post. Life has been pretty crazy
and I just haven’t had the time I thought I would have to dedicate to this. For
the most part, it has been slow in terms of cancer updates but I will provide
the most important updates below.
In my post in October I had mentioned that I was completely
off the steroids. Unfortunately, after being off the steroids for about three weeks,
the autoimmune symptoms returned in October. These were the same symptoms that
had put me in the hospital at the end of August. I started taking the steroids
immediately after the symptoms returned so there was no need to seek medical
care. I have spent the last 8 weeks tapering down the dosage. I had my last
dose last week and I have now been off for 1 week. I am hoping and praying that
the autoimmune symptoms do not return again.
The autoimmune symptoms are not concerning by themselves because
the steroids are very effective at regulating them. However, there is concern
in the bigger picture of my future cancer treatment plan. If the symptoms keep
returning and I continue taking steroids, it may impact my eligibility for
future immune therapy treatment.
The only other piece of news is that I have made the decision
to temporarily reduce my hours at work. My body has worn down significantly
over the past 2 months. I think its due to a variety of factors including the
steroids and still recovering from the hospitalization earlier in the fall as
well as the fact that I still have active cancer in my body. After discussing
it with my nurse, I felt that reducing my hours was the best way to improve my
health and ensure that my body is ready for any future cancer treatment.
I had planned to develop a Facebook page for lung cancer
awareness. That is still my plan, but it has been put on hold for now. I hope
to have more energy to dedicate this sometime in the beginning of 2018. I do
plan to start blogging more regularly again.
The next CT scan is scheduled for January 4th.
This will be the most significant scan to-date because it will the first time
its been a full three months since the previous scan as well as not receiving
any treatment since August. The reduced hours at work will hopefully allow for
me to fully prepare for this and ensure I am as healthy as possible.
