Today, I am in the finest of spirits.  The day began with an appointment with the Cardiologist, per my Oncologist request that I see a heart Doctor due to the recent issues that have been taking place.  To start, I do not have answers as to what is going on with my heart.  However, the Doctor feels fairly certain that my recent heart issues and symptoms are deriving from the Avastin in which I am administered via my chemo treatments.  It is not uncommon to have such side effects with the heart when on this particular type of medicine, sometimes even causing heart attacks.  Having said that, the Doctor’s main concern is my age, as she normally only sees this type of reaction with older patients.  Apparently this is a rarity in such a young patient, go figure.  Leave it to me to take the scenic route on my way to recovery.  As Robert Frost once said, “ I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

Through this journey I am truly absorbing so much about my view on life, my body as well as myself.  Without taking the scenic route, I would not learn eminent life lessons.  After the Doctor’s today, I walked to the dog park with Keg and my Nan.  It was such an undemanding and trouble-free day.  As I sat on the park bench, I observed my surroundings and was in awe of the simplicity and magnificence of the life around me, the blue sky above me and the green grass beneath me.  It’s difficult to feel ill or dismayed when you are in the center of such exceedingly pleasing spectacles that make up this place we call home.

Through this, it has given me the upmost positivity for my current status quo.  The Cardiologist will be performing a stress test and CT scan for my heart next week.  He has also informed me that they found a small cyst on my heart, but to my advantage, the Doctor does not feel that it is a cause for concern or relative to the recent symptoms I have been having.

On a wonderful note, I received a surprise call from my Oncologist today that my once quintupled tumor markers, have declined by more than half.  The markers originally went from 6 to 37 and are now at 15.  The marvelous thing about this news is that it means the chemo, despite it’s hiccups, is working.

I am ready to tackle the rest of the week and the various appointments that I have.  Moving into next week, I will have my chemo and will be on my 7^th treatment.  I feel that a little bit of good news can go a long way.  As another poet, Rosalia de Castro, once said,  “I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads.  Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.”

 
Love,

Britt x