Can I get a 'hell yeah?'

First, I just want to say -- I LOVE sharing wonderful news with all of my family and friends. But, this does not mean I am naive of how short-lived this good news can be, nor the fact that a lot of my fellow warriors are still in the trenches themselves. Before I begin my own update, I just wanted to take a moment to send some love to four hodgkin's survivors who have supported me in some form over the last few years, who are still facing some battles (however, are totally finding their inner strength to keep moving forward). If you have a moment today, please visit these fellow warriors' blogs:

* Adrienne who is having difficulty with pain management, and looking for new treatment as she proceeds down the clinical trials track, please send her love and pain-free positive thoughts.

* Hillary, who recently had a biopsy done after her second transplant, which revealed her cancer has returned and is now starting another treatment protocol. Please send her words of encouragement as she prepared to undergo another treatment plan.

* Chris, who recently relapsed after his tandem SCT and is starting the SGN-35 Trial today. Here's to a smooth transition Chris, with minimal side effects.

* And Eric, who has kicked the Hodge to the curb, but doctors are suspicious of him now having a blood disorder (aplastic anemia) in which he is now receiving treatment (ATG) for -- and experiencing not-so-fun side effects. Please leave a comment for Eric and his family and they are now battling another disease..

Sending love to all of you...

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So... onto the Bekah update! I received a CT scan yesterday after just barely two cycles of Doxil. And the reports, came back wonderful! The Doxil is working! Which is cause for celebration. To break it down for you, I have three major tumors in my body (the other two are small outside spleen lesions, below 1cm in diameter) that were managed throughout the last year. These nodes shrunk... as the evidence is all in the numbers :) My lymph nodes are measured by centimeters. The numbers in Green are from my May scan, the numbers in PUPRLE are from yesterday's (August) scan.

Portacaval lymph node : 1.8 x1.7cm verse 1.2 x 0.8cm

Mediastinal Node: 3.9 x 1.5 cm verse 1.8 x 1.3cm

Right paratrachael node: 3.4x1.8cm verse 2.1x1.6cm

As you can tell there are significant decreases in these nodes. After speaking with my oncologist he believes that after another two infusions (cycles of Doxil), that the nodes might be so small -- there might only be scar tissue left. Therefore, my next scan will be a CT and PET scan. The PET scan measures metabolic activity (cancer hot spots), so if those nodes do not light up -- that means, there is only scar tissue left. But, let's not get too ahead of ourselves.

This scan is great news! It means my disease is still very responsive towards treatment. Therefore, we will do two more infusions, and scan again to see where we are at the end of September. I will be meeting with the lovely and famous Dr. O'Conner next week, which coincidentally will be on the same day Adrienne and Alison will be there! So, we will be having a party in Dr O's office and then a meal somewhere in NY, as I can't wait to see the girls again! And they will get to meet the moms this time :)

During our meeting, I hope to gauge our next steps after Doxil. It appears if this treatment continues to do what it's doing -- I will get some time off after theis next set of infusions. Possibly 1-3 months off of treatment. No drugs, no chemo, no side effects for 1-3 months! How AMAZING is that?! And to discuss when to scan, again. Because, as I've said before -- most likely my disease is not curable. It will come and go, for years on end. Now we have to balance when to treat and when not to treat. And, how much time we allow my disease to grow back again before we put a next set of treatments in place. In other good news... though, this means full steam ahead with three classes and a fall internship starting in late August.

However, for NOW. I get to celebrate. The treatment is working! The cancer is shrinking! and I am feeling great! Right after I got my scan news, I seized the day and bought cheap Jason Mraz tickets and dragged Amy and Mandy out with me to celebrate, right on the water, at an outside venue in Boston, with beers in hand...

It was a great night -- and yet again, I could not stop smiling :)

Again, I can't thank you all enough for your words of support and love these last two months, with the new adjustment of treatment. I hope you take my good news, and celebrate this in your life as well! As you all have contributed so much to my happiness too :)

Cheers!

Sending tons of Love,

Bekah =)