I've been a bit quiet lately about my cancer journey … and there is a reason for that. I've hit a few bumps in the road—some of them rather significant—and it has taken a while to recover from them. Back at the beginning of April, I shared about the first chemo treatment this time round. The first immunotherapy session happened the following week, but I didn't blog about it because I couldn't.

The Bumpy Road

Not to put too fine a point on it, I've been on a huge roller-coaster ride, ending with a brief brush with death. I had some sort of infection that in combination with the immunotherapy caused me to go into septic shock. I won't be able to say much about what happened as I have large gaps in my memory. I didn't know who I was, where I was, what had happened. I have memories from that time I cannot trust because my brain manufactured a lot of really weird things—my writer brain went into overdrive. After ER and ICU, I went to a rehab facility briefly, but had a reaction to an antibiotic and wound up back in the ER again.

What I can say is that I am BLESSED to have such good friends who found me in time. Based on what I have gathered from them, it is truly a miracle that I am still here—God intervened and carried me through. The hospital reports support their assessment. My mom and sister flew out as quickly as they could. Once discharged from ER the second time, I went to a different rehab/skilled nursing facility, and recovery started.

On arrival at the new rehab facility, I had no strength or endurance, and it took nearly two months to recover enough to take the next step. The problem? I had to figure out what that step was. Returning to my current apartment wasn't a good idea. At that point, I hadn't seen my oncologist to determine what the next steps were for the cancer treatments. My expectations were that they would continue, and in that case, I wanted … needed … more immediate oversight. I'm usually aware of when I need help, but I didn't this time. I couldn't afford for it to happen again.

The upshot? I moved from the rehab facility into an assisted living facility in mid-June to give me a chance for better recovery and have guardrails in place for the next steps on my journey. They have nursing staff, aides, onsite physical therapy, and take me to and from appointments. Everyone has been fabulous and I am improving.

Plot Twist

I have seen the oncologist and she ran the usual blood tests and ordered a PET scan because the tumor is no longer palpable. The results were significant: no signs of leukemia or lymphoma, but my immune system is still struggling. At this point, the oncologist didn't want to proceed with further chemo, but wanted to do one more test where the biopsy sample would be used to create a DNA profile of the tumor, and from here on out a simple blood test will let us check for whether there are any traces of the tumor at the molecular level. She rang with the test results this morning to let me know I am COMPLETELY CLEAR.

I am calling it a miracle. My oncologist agrees. The tumor I had was particularly ugly under the microscope and expected to rapidly grow. What happened is something that cannot be explained currently by medical science. The original disease had transformed into a nasty, aggressive one, labeled Richter's Transformation (or Syndrome) and survival prognosis is poor. BUT mine reduced prior to any treatment, and is now GONE. Which is UNHEARD of. The current plan is to keep a close watch, and monitor the cells at the molecular level to give us a head start on treatment if the rogue cells show back up.

Looking Ahead

I'm going to stay put for a little bit to give my body a chance to fully recover from what it has been through. It will give me the opportunity to build up endurance and get other health factors (I'm looking at you, immune system) back on track. October is just around the corner, so we'll confirm where I stand then. I'm living in the heart of the medical district locally, so all my providers are close by.

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers. God has kept me on this Earth for a reason, and I'm going to do my best to fulfill it. I'm in the drafting stage of the second book in the Homeless Myths series, Quest for the Eternal Flame, and though there are times I feel as if I'm limping along, other times I know I'm working on something incredibly special. Secret of the Red Key (Homeless Myths, book 1) will soon go through another editing cycle as well. So I'm keeping occupied, and hopefully will stay out of trouble. 😉