it is well with my soul

God is so good!!!  I had a PET scan and two CT scans this morning, then met with my doctor in the afternoon to go over the results.  The results came back better than expected!!  The chemo has been doing exactly what it was supposed to, and I'm thrilled; it sure felt like it has been working!  The CT scans showed that my largest tumor has shrunk from the size of a ping pong ball to the size of a grape.  But the even better news is that my PET scan came back negative, with no signs of metabolic activity!  Basically, cancer loves sugar.  In a PET scan, I'm injected with radioactive glucose.  The cancer eats up all that glucose, allowing the doctors to see exactly where and how "hungry" the cancer is.  But today, I had absolutely no signs showing that the cancer is eating anything!  The tumor is still in there, but it's just dead tissue!  (At least, this is my understanding of everything.  Sometimes all the medical talk goes right over my head, but one thing I am certain of is that I couldn't have asked for better results).  Anyways, I still have to undergo treatment to destroy the rest of the tumor and any other tiny cancer cells that might still be in my body.  Because I reacted so well to the chemo, and because I don't like all of the risks associated with radiation, I decided to complete two more months of chemotherapy instead of switching to radiation therapy.  So God willing, in a just a few months, this whole cancer thing might be behind me!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your love and prayers!  And thank you Jesus for all You have done for me!!  I am so incredibly blessed by the amazing community God has given me all across the country!  He hears your prayers and He answers them!

xoxo
Lauren

"Blessed be the Lord, for He has heard the sound of my pleadings.  The Lord is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him.  The Lord is the strength of His people; He is the saving refuge of His anointed."

- Psalm 28:6-8