I wanted to give you guys an update straight from the man himself
It's a good one,
Pam's Condition -
The day before yesterday it was confirmed that Pam is now officially in *REMISSION* from her initial cancer diagnosis from February of this year.
She just went through a battery of tests, including a Cranial MRI and head to toe PET scan. No metastasis of the small cell cancer was found. This is the very first round of tests that showed absolutely no increased metabolic activity. So as of this moment, she is in remission. The only potential bad with this great news, is that the type of cancer she has is known to return in shot order. So she must now be screened once a month for a while, then it will be every three months, then to 6 months, then to annually. For a total of 5 years.
With this news however, comes some not so good news. It seems that the treatment has damaged her heart. We're seeing a cardiologist at this time to find out more. She is going through a battery of new tests all this week. It seems that this may have been the cause of the episodes of passing out. If it is what is suspected, she may need a pacemaker, or possibly worse. But we don't want to go there yet until we have all of the facts. Lets hope that whatever it is, it can be treated non invasively so that she has the best odds of returning to the life she once knew, a full recovery without the aid of more implants.
This last 2 weeks has been a milestone. With all of this, also came the moment of truth with her feeding tube. It had to be removed on Monday. The good news, is she's able to eat enough to sustain herself without the aid of that contraption now, with a few nutrition drink supplements. She's now free of being tethered to a machine !
I really wanted to post all of this a little sooner, but I really wanted as many facts as possible before I did. I wanted it to be read here first, as you are more important to me than Pam's Website. So instead of jumping the gun last night like I ALMOST did, I waited for some of her dermatological tests to come back. Sure enough, today we found out that the last 8 skin biopsies came back positive for Melanoma. That's 11 total now. But it pales in comparison to the type of cancer that she just conquered. They've all been caught early. So she will be observed, the same as her primary cancer will be.
It has indeed been a grueling year. But it seems that we may finally be seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. It is a horrible cancer that she has been stricken with, and with all of the ups and downs, and MANY close calls it appears that she is beating the odds. And I cannot help but think that the family I call Thedentedhelmet forums (as well as other forums, many others) are at LEAST partially responsible.
I have been struggling to find words that can describe what I'm feeling, to thank you all. I still cannot. But I want to say as best I can here and now, THANK YOU to all of you for all of your support and encouragement over these recent months. You have not only helped Pam in her struggle, but you've helped me too in so many ways. I'm not sure how I would have seen this through until now without you all. From those that I consider the closest of personal friends, to those that don't know me and offered their hand in spite of that fact, even those that I may have not been on the best terms with. I have seen humanity at it's best. I like to think that I've lived a lot of my life with a "Pay-it-Forward" sensibility, even before the movie ever existed. So if I cannot find a way to thank each and everyone one of you - at least take comfort in knowing that I will pay it forward, every chance I get. Thank you everyone. From the bottom of my heart.