Christmas Came Early

We arrived a few minutes early for E.'s 11:00 appointment with Dr. M.

We signed in and sat in the waiting room.

We waited.

The CNA came out and took his vitals.

And we waited.

We were taken to an examining room and the nurse went over his chart.

And we waited.

The Physician's Assistant came in and reviewed his medical history. She asked lots of questions. She repeatedly asked E. if he was feeling any pain in his chest or if he was having any trouble swallowing. E. and I exchanged a look. Why was she asking that? Should he be feeling pain? Should he be having trouble swallowing? She stated that Dr. M. had reviewed the scans and would have the results for us. She examined E.. Then she left. (I should note that on previous visits, the Physician's Assistant has always given us the test results herself.)

And we waited.

Finally, Dr. M. made his appearance. He came in and said, "Well, like my PA already told you ... there is NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE. As of right now, you are completely cancer free."

(E. did say the next time he sees that sweet PA, who we honestly love, he's gonna kick her ass!)

Dr. M. went on to say that the brain MRI shows "little blood clots in the area of the brain surgery that are resolving," which is "normal," that the area of that once positive lymph node shows "nothing," and the esophageal and abdominal area looks "pristine." He is recommending repeat scans in four months, as any recurrences are much more treatable the earlier they are caught.

Any chemotherapy at this point is debatable, but needs to be discussed with the oncologist at the appointment tomorrow. Of course, the news we just heard couldn't be better! We're both breathing a big sigh of relief and counting our sweet blessings yet again.