We're back from our great escape and anniversary celebration aboard
Holland America's Oosterdam...what a beautiful ship that is. With
all that's going on with my life, I decided that it was time to step
out and make a statement. So, at 63+ years of age, with the threat
of a recurrence of cancer looming on the horizon, I thought I had
best get a better look at that horizon. Which I did at about 350
feet in the air, when I went parasailing in Puerto Vallerta! What
an experience! It is so peaceful and quiet floating above the
jungle and water....it was amazing.

This afternoon we got an email from my doctor asking me to call.
He, my oncologist and the radiologist all conferred last week while
I was floating in the sky. They all believe what they are seeing in
my spine is arthritis. But, just to be sure, I'm going in for tumor
marker blood work tomorrow, and later in the week will schedule my
umpteenth MRI. so thanks to you all for the good thoughts, wishes,
prayers, and emails. Keep 'em coming...I'm hoping in the next 10
days to really have a reason to howl.

Hugs to you all,
Marla

--- In
cancer_survivors_gathering_place@yahoogroups.com, "marlapence"
<marlapence@...> wrote:
>
> As some of the 'old timers' may recall, 14 years ago when I went
> through my battle with breast cancer, I created what I called my
> Wolf Pack...I felt that since the wolf was nearly extinct and
making
> a comeback, and my cancer was quite aggressive and I was not
> accepting what the odds where, it was a good name for the people
who
> were supporting me through that fight.
>
> I've been experiencing some difficulties the past few months, and
am
> going through a bunch of diagnostic tests. A nuclear bone scan,
> which I was convinced would come back negative and allay all my
> fears, came back yesterday. The radiologist is unable to
determine
> if what he sees in the lumbar area of my spine is metastatic
> disease, a compression fracture or arthritis. Naturally, my
doctor
> is out of town this week, and we leave on Saturday on a week-long
> cruise, so it will be March 19 before we can even discuss next
> steps. While it may be (and I sincerely hope it is) premature,
I'm
> rallying the Wolf Pack again, and asking for prayers, positive
> thoughts, whatever each of you do, to help me get through this
next
> step.
>
> I will say this again...I HATE this disease....not so much for
what
> you go through in the treatment, but what you live with as you
> survive it. When I was staged after diagnosis, I had a nuclear
bone
> scan. This one this week was the sixth since then...each on
because
> of indications that the disease was back. Since I don't even pay
a
> co-payment for them, and my HMO picks up the tab, nobody's making
> any money sending me for them and I have to believe they truly are
> necessary. I presume that I will be having another MRI when we
> return. Hopefully, they will have found the cause of the anemia
> that we've also been testing for.
>
> Thanks to you all for your support during this.
>
> Marla
>