Tuesday, March 22, 2022

 

 

Feeling like I should post a small update regarding my health.

Cancer remains in remission! Thank you Jesus!

Last January I had an MRI of my spine and pelvis. The reason was because of increased pain in my back, hip, and leg as well as numbness continuing in my feet. I have had most of this pain for several years, but lately it is almost continual and very severe. The pain was always because of narrowing discs and arthritic spurs and twisted vertebra.But this pain felt different.

I have several Tarlov cysts (of varying sizes) at the base of my spine. These are painful cysts that are filled with spinal fluid and wrapped around/within the roots of the nerves at the spinal column. I have had two for a number of years, but they did not cause pain or weakness until now. This condition is considered to be a rare genetic disease.

 Here is an excerpt from an article from 'Genetic and Rare Diseases information' site:

Tarlov cysts are fluid-filled sacs that are usually found at the bottom of the spine (the sacrum). They grow in the roots of the nerves that grow out of the spinal cord. Most of the time, Tarlov cysts don't cause symptoms. When symptoms occur, they may include pain in the lower back, buttocks, or stomach. Other symptoms may include muscle weakness, numbness, loss of bladder or bowel control, or sexual dysfunction. Without treatment, Tarlov cysts may cause permanent nerve damage. The cause of Tarlov cysts is unknown. They may occur because of a buildup of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) that occurs after trauma, surgery, or a small abnormality in spine development. Diagnosis of a Tarlov cyst is made based on the symptoms and through imaging studies such as an MRI and/or CT myelogram.

I continue to receive infusions of a targeted drug to "maintain" the cancer, keeping it at bay so far.

This drug does bring my blood counts down low. It's been more than four years on this drug and finally, just in the past month or so I have my WBC and Hemoglobin within normal range! They are on the lowest side of normal, but still within that range. This is significant! Although I am still considered anemic I am not as anemic as I have been for four years!

In February Jeff caught COVID 19 and so did our daughter Samantha. Thankfully, they both had light cases of it. What was strange was that they tested positive on the exact same day and we live hundreds of miles apart! I did not catch it, but maybe that's because I already had it and didn't know? I feel pretty crappy most of the time, so I'm used to being sick. I know my WBC and Hemoglobin were still very low in February. Again, thankful for God's protection.

If you have taken the time to read through this post, I thank you!