In Remission

Yesterday, Pat and I had a phenomenal meeting with Dr. Fisher where he confirmed that the CT scan showed no sign of cancer. He said that I am now heading into the most difficult time for a cancer patient – the time without a medical plan of action. He told me that while you’re fighting the cancer, you have a specified program and you just work through the program. But once a patient becomes “cancer-free” – then what?

My biggest fear is recurrence. As Dr. Fisher pointed out during our meeting, people have the best shot at beating cancer the first time you get it. If you are unfortunate enough to get a recurrence, it's a harder task to get rid of the cancer. As you all know, I am not one to just simply sit back and hope that the cancer doesn’t return. I have to have a plan.

Dr. Fisher explained that there is a recent study that shows that lifestyle is linked to non-recurrence of cancer. There are four lifestyle factors that they have proven impact fending off cancer: exercise, having a lean body, a low fat diet and taking a daily dose of aspirin. I now have my action plan:

• Acupuncture—which I will continue on a regular basis
• Herbal Program—I'm meeting on Thursday with my herbalist who will map out a go-forward herbal and dietary program
• Low-fat Diet
• Exercise
• Aspirin

As for where I’m headed medically—I will have blood work done every six months and will get a colonoscopy and CT scan on a yearly basis. Dr. Fisher believes that with a regular colonoscopy, they will be able to spot polyps early and remove them before they turn into cancer. Furthermore, they will be utilizing the CT scan to ensure that the colon cancer does not spread to other parts of my body.

I have also had genetic testing which showed no genetic propensity (at least that they could detect) toward other forms of cancer. Basically, this means that I have the same chance as everyone else of getting other cancers, such as breast or lung cancer, so I just have to do the regular testing.

Dr. Fisher said that I now have to get used to the new, cancer-free me! He said that he felt very positive about my likelihood of being cured. He was very pleased with how I weathered the past 8 months and felt that my future was very promising. When I make it to 5 years, my likelihood of cure goes up to 90-95% and when I make it to 10 years, there’s a 99% chance that the cancer will not return.

So – make sure to pencil in on your calendar to attend the blowout event that I’ll be hosting in 2018!