Kay Blackburn

I have never been so excited to update my blog as I am today.  Yesterday was “Scan Day”, my two month CT scan to see how much the tumors had progressed.  After last month’s disappointing PET Scan which showed no change in the tumors after the CAR-T cell therapy, it would be an understatement to say that I was dreading the news.  The plan was to do the CT scan, see how much progression there (tumor growth) was and then do a biopsy today to identify what exactly was happening with the cancer cells (i.e. specifically whether CD-19 proteins were still being expressed because that is what the CAR-T Cells were programmed to “kill”).

I was nervous and quiet all day.  Brandon and I have been conditioned to get disappointing news.  After 8 scans (CT & PET) over the last 12 months, we haven’t walked out of any of them very happy.  But I was encouraged by all the texts and Facebook comments of people praying and thinking about us yesterday and a sweet Snapchat from Trinity when she was on her way to school.

But yesterday, God finally blessed us with the best news we have heard all year.  The tumors are exactly the same size… no progression.  We were completely overwhelmed with relief and gratitude.  My aggressive cancer has been halted for the moment and for that I am grateful.

A month ago, I was so depressed and felt quite hopeless (momentarily) that nothing was working.  I posted in my last blog that I had decided to go radical with my diet, green my house and change out all the products I use to organic.  I want to say thank you to everyone who supported us with T-shirt sales, donations, and gift cards because this process was expensive, but worth it.  I also have to say that after we got back from California a month ago, Kaitlyn took it upon herself to pray over me every night.  She is amazing and I am so thankful for a daughter whose faith is so strong and unwavering.

God answered our prayers.

I broke down in the car after the appointment and cried, thanking God for finally giving us some good news, some encouragement that there is a light at the end of this dark tunnel.  I don’t think I have ever received good news quite like that before. I lowered my expectations, I still have cancer, but I get another month at home to live normal life.

And let me tell you…Normal is awesome in my book.

Some people were asking what natural products I had switched to and honestly I just went to the store and looked around.  There are a lot of options for natural lines of products at both Target, Sprouts, and of course Whole Foods. Here is smattering of household products that I am trying out:

But after reading the labels, there is actually one product that serves so many different purposes (Chris Wark – “Chris Beat Cancer”) also endorses this product and it’s Dr. Bronner’s all-in-one cleanser which can be used for hair, body, face soap, pet shampoo, multi-surface cleaner, mopping floors, spraying plants for bugs, etc.  And then it dawned on me, “why do I have to buy a different cleaning product for toilets, countertops, floors, etc?  This one product does it all… Simplify?

Yes, please.

I am going to be transparent here and just show you what I cleaned out (and this was just under my kitchen sink)… yikes!

I have gone completely organic (when I can) fruits, veggies, and the occasional grain like quinoa, farro, and oatmeal.   No dairy, No meat, except wild caught fish occasionally and when I use sweetener… Raw Organic Honey… My Favorite  – Nature Nates! * Thank you Nathan and Patty Sheets for creating such an amazing product!

I have also incorporated a few staples in my daily routine,  green smoothies, japanese purple sweet potatoes, and juicing!  I am making the girls drink juice too (and I tried to make it look more appealing as is shown here):

This isn’t all that I am doing, but just a glimpse of my new normal.  I will continue to keep doing what I have been doing and next month we will come back and do a 3 month PET Scan.  I feel empowered that this is somewhat in my control now and I will continue to trust that God wants to see me healed.

I am grateful for all of you who continue to travel this journey with us.  It is a hard one, the highs are high and the lows are low, but I am happy to be alive.

“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.  The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” Isaiah 12:2

Onward and Upward.

Kay