Celebrating a clean scan

It's been a while since I last provided an update, mainly because there hasn't been anything new to share. But I now have some more good news to share. Last week on December 10 I celebrated three months post- stem cell transplant. I had to get a pet scan the week prior so that they could see how I was doing since the transplant and the results came back all clear. No signs of the lymphoma anywhere! It was the best news I've had since being released from the hospital. I had a follow-up appointment with my Stanford doctor last week and he was very happy to see the clean scan and said I was doing great. He still advised me to avoid large crowds and to always wear my mask (which I've already been doing since March) as I'm still at high risk for an infection. And he said that even though we may have a vaccine which hopefully people will start getting a few months from now, I still should exercise caution and act as people around me have not been vaccinated as they don't have good data as to whether vaccinated people can still transmit COVID to others and because the survival rate for COVID patients who've had lymphoma is a lower than people without any underlying health conditions. He still isn't sure if I can take the vaccine yet once it's available, so it's something we'll have to wait and see on. But he said I'm now free to enjoy doing whatever I want (food-wise). I still have to limit my physical activities-- so no golfing, swimming, or gardening till another 3 more months but I can now drink wine and eat sushi again, which is what I did the next day. 😊


Reflecting on my journey and what I went through the last 6 months, it felt great to be able to enjoy a nice glass of wine and omakase sushi. When I was hospitalized, I knew it would only be for a finite amount of time and if I could just tough it out for those few weeks, I'd be able to reap the rewards. Three months later and a clean scan, I'm doing just that. Life is great and I couldn't be happier to be where I am-- cancer-free, alive and well, and enjoying the moment. 

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