First, a huge thanks for all the birthday love; facebook posts, phone calls, text messages, video recordings, and people who made a point to spend time with me and/or bring me a gift throughout the week. My only regret is that I didn't take pictures of every outing I had.
Summary: (for those that don't have a lot of time to read)
1) Good scan results, off chemo for 2 months, getting a new biopsy, consulting with my NOLA specialist,
2) Got to attend the Dashboard Concert in Detroit VIP style at St Andrews, including chit chatting with Chris Carrabba for about half an hour before the show. It was AMAZING!
3) Some very wonderful people in my life are putting together a spaghetti dinner in my honor. It will be on March 16 at Leon's in Taylor and you can go to the facebook event or straight to the Google sign up form for more information: https://tinyurl.com/FB-MegCarterDinner https://tinyurl.com/SignUp-MegCarterDinner
Medical Updates:
On January 20 I went in for my normal routine CT to check the status of my tumors. I went to the doctor this past Wednesday and, as always, I was extremely anxious and every thought in my head was that there is no way this drug combo is still working, I just know it is going to be bad news. So, we go in and my nurse practitioner comes in. First thing she says is ,"your scan results were good, let's just get that out of the way so you can breathe."
So, she tells me more details about the results. No new tumors, none of the existing tumors grew, one of the tumors shrunk from 1.5cm in length to 1.2cm. So basically stable with a little bit of shrinkage. Overall we are probably at around 85-90% shrinkage over the past 8 months, so that is pretty good.
Now we come to the crazy part. They said they didn't want me to get chemo this week as scheduled and instead come back in 2 months for another scan. That was simultaneously the most relieving but also terrifying sentence I have ever heard. My body needs a break they said, I am inclined to agree. But at the same time I am terrified at the potential for growth. These drugs are still working. What if I have new growth in 2 months and these drugs don't work anymore because we stopped? Once you start moving on to new drug combos I feel like it is a slippery slope until you run out of options.
That being said, I have seen several people in my online support group mention that their doctors took them off of this drug that I have been on after only 6 or 8 rounds regardless of it still being effective because it can cause kidney failure. I also have called my specialist in New Orleans to get a second opinion about being off chemo, whether he thinks it is a good idea, what we should do next, etc. I am also going to have a new biopsy in a few weeks to send tissue samples for testing to see if any specific drugs or treatments are a better fit than others.
In the meantime I am just going to try to put my fears aside and live my life, because I should be feeling really great soon (the further out I get from my last chemo) and I want to take advantage of this while i can.
Dashboard Confessional Concert:
But first, some back story.
For those who don't already know, I have been a huge fan of Dashboard Confessional/ Chris Carrabba for about 14 years now. Friday was my 16th time seeing Chris perform live, including twice as part of his other (also amazing) band Twin Forks, and 3 times traveling out of state for Dashboard concerts. Prior to this weekend I had also "met" Chris 5 other times, 3 times as part of a formal "VIP Meet & Greet" package that I purchased for Dashboard concerts and both times that I saw him perform in Twin Forks. I had a much longer back story typed out, because I could probably write a 100 page book on this music and why I love it so much, but I could hear Alan in the back of my head saying "get to the point" so I deleted it.
Anyway, as I wrote about before, a tour of more "intimate" venues (compared to the arena tours these past two years) was announced towards the end of 2016. I went online to buy tickets the first day, but was appalled at the ticket master fees and told myself I would purchase them at the box office. When I went to the box office (downtown detroit) I found that it was closed (even though it should have been open) and I was unable to get tickets. 2 days later I found out tickets sold out, and I was devastated.
Through a series of emails that started back in December I was eventually put in touch with the tour manager who is out on tour with the band. He was a great guy, got us set up in the VIP area of the venue with reserved seats, and some time to meet Chris. I wasn't really sure what to expect; when I had met Chris previously it was always one of those situations where you have a ton of other people waiting behind you so you pretty much have time for a smile, a handshake, a signature, and a photo. This was totally different. We got to go to the dressing room, sit on some comfy couches, and just talk for almost half an hour. At first I was so nervous. What do you even say to someone who has written and sung with such emotion these words that have had deep impact on your life? But Chris made it so easy. He is such a kind, genuine, and down to earth person. We just started talking and soon I forgot I was talking to this super famous person that I've admired for so long, and it was just like talking to an old friend. It was absolutely the coolest thing that I have ever done.
Here is a picture of us with Chris, as well as a video Alan happened to be recording when Chris gave us a shout out from the stage between songs (listen to the part between 10 and 20 seconds). It was so awesome! I cannot thank Chris and his tour manager Mike enough for such a great night!
Spaghetti Dinner:
Some really awesome people that I am extremely fortunate to know are getting together to put on a Spaghetti dinner fundraiser. The event is going to be March 16 and there are two dinner slots you can sign up for. Tickets are $20 in advance by paypal/check or $25 at the door. PLEASE NOTE: You have to also click through to the google form to reserve your specific dinner time slot as well as for pay in advance instructions (paypal or check). An RSVP via Facebook will not reserve your spot.
View the Facebook Event here: https://tinyurl.com/FB-MegCarterDinner
Sign up and reserve your spot here: https://tinyurl.com/SignUp-MegCarterDinner
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