After a few days of celebration, letting this news sink in, and being completely humbled by God’s goodness, I am sitting down to write this wonderful update.
Yes. I was anxious going into my scan. I shared how the times I ate or did things that weren’t “on the plan/protocol” came flashing through my mind as I laid on that moving table, with the flashing numbers overhead and wondered if I had been “good enough”. Well, the results are in and YES, I had been good enough, in fact, I was better than that.
My oncologist at Mayo, who I haven’t seen in over two years, was happy to see me and after our greeting and hugs we sat down at the computer and she said, ” Well, your scan looks fine.” Whew!! A huge wave of relief came over me as I let myself breathe and we looked at the images and found things looking rather nonintimidating… always a good thing on a PET scan.
After reading the report and looking at the numbers, things were actually better than fine. Not only did she not see any new activity, but the tumors continue to shrink. There were three we have been tracking, the large one in my abdomen, and two in my chest. On this report, there was only 2 that they noted and both of those were both “decreasing in size and uptake features with increasing calcifications” = very good news. The other really good sign that things are moving in the right direction is the Deauville Score which measures tumor uptake activity (how active the cancer is) on a scale of 1-5, and where I was a “5” just 2 years ago, the score is now between a 3-4. The big take away here is that I have been on no medication in almost 2.5 years and it’s my body’s immune system that is killing cancer cells. And while it’s not quick, I know that if I keep my immune system strong, it will continue to support my health long-term.
It’s been 3 years and 3 months since my original diagnosis and I have done 14 scans in that time. WOW, that’s a lot… I just had to count all of them. This is the first time that I really believe that I am healed. At times, it’s been the hardest challenge to quiet the negative thoughts in my head, but in church yesterday our awesome pastor spoke about doubting your doubts. That God is always speaking to you, but so is the enemy and ultimately the voice you BELIEVE will determine your future experience. The body is an interesting thing, because you can do all the physical things right, but if you don’t get your mindset right… you won’t experience the full benefit of your efforts.
Thank you all for watching this story unfold. I am grateful to all of you who have supported me on this journey and celebrate with me. Cancer definitely sucks, but it doesn’t have to be a death sentence. My hope is that my experience can inspire you to take charge of your health.
Onward and Upward,
Kay
He forgives me of all my sins and heals me of all my diseases.
Psalm 103:3
Kay Blackburn 
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