4 Years Later

Last month was Justin's 4 year cancerversary.  Four years since we were called into the general surgeon's office to discuss his biopsy results.  Four years since we hid this huge secret from everyone until we knew more. Four years of praying for no reoccurrence.

I've said it many times.  I can remember exactly where I was 4 years ago on September 6th when my phone rang and I saw it was Justin calling. I knew it was going to be bad news.  I remember going to Corydon, IA the next day for clinic and sitting at the park across the street from the hospital, barely being able to catch my breath through the tears.  The next day he had his PET scan.  I couldn't get out of clinic so while I attempted to see patients at the VA, he was all alone during this very important test.

I'm not sure we've ever felt more alone before.  We have always depended on friends and family during difficult times.  It felt so good to finally let our family know the following weekend.

We are so grateful that his 3 years of treatment were tolerable and that his CT scans continue to show no evidence of disease.  He will continue scanning every 6 months for now.  Metastatic lesions can show up anywhere, but are most likely to occur in the liver, lungs or brain.  His scans look at the liver and lungs but not the brain.  It is not routine to image the brain.  This part really scares me but as of right now, this is protocol. Unless he is having problems such as headaches or dizziness, imaging of the brain will not be done.

Cancer sucks.  I've learned that through friends, family members and numerous patients.  A diagnosis of metastatic melanoma will forever haunt Justin's medical record.  Any small health concern will likely be investigated thoroughly.  We can only pray he will continue to remain cancer free.