Patty's epic adventure

  10/17/23 Well, my 'high' just disappeared.  I figured I could cancel my December appointments at MD Anderson for my exam, ultrasound and mammogram since I got the good results from my last blood test.  They said no.  Apparently, they think the tumor they are watching (that didn't grow any last time) isn't related to my first one.  They want to keep an eye on it and I have an MRI in February down there, too.  The blood test is only good for the original tumor.  I thought I was done for awhile, but apparently not.  This cast a shadow on my spirit today and brought me back down to earth, but tomorrow is a new day.  I'm gonna go on with my life because I believe this new tumor isn't going to grow any more because it's benign, weak, and doesn't dare spread.  I am more determined than it is, so it doesn't have a chance.  I'll go to all the appointments and they will see it's just a weakling and does not deserve my attention, time, or tr...

  10/11/23 Big news day today.  I would've written sooner, but we were camping in Oklahoma the past week.  No TV, no internet.  It was divine.  We rode our bicycles, fished, had a campfire every evening, etc.  But, we're home now and back to reality.  One downside to our trip - we had a blowout on the RV heading up there.  Nowhere other than the shoulder to pull off.  Of course, it was on the driver's side.  Traffic whizzing by.  Hot. We were drenched in sweat and greasy by the time we finished.  Had to take the bikes off the back of the rig to get to the spare, change the tire, then put them back on.  We diverted to Sulfur Springs and had 4 new tires put on.  That ordeal added 3 hours to our trip so we were beat by the time we got there and then we had to find our spot and set up.   However, I'm still on a high.  I got a phone call from my oncologist while we were up there.  My ctDNA test came bac...