Post #80: Preliminary Results

Dear Anita fans!

Many apologies for the long delay in writing. My husband and I have been dealing with all sorts of issues: business, health, family, you name it! So thanks for hanging in there. Mama told me that many of you have called her to inquire not only about how she is doing but also as to what happened to the postings! Thank you for being such faithful readers. It is a wonderful compliment!

The latest news I have is from my sister. As I am typing this, it is 12:40 a.m. in the morning California time (9:45 a.m. my time). So I have not yet had the opportunity to speak with Mother. Anita received her cat scan results in time for her meeting with the doctor which was at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday Oct. 24. Apparently her main tumors are basically the same as in her last cat scan except that one has gone down from 3.9 to 3.7 cm while the other has remained the same size. My sister reports that Anita is very positive-minded all told. She will have follow-up check-ups every three months.

I confirmed with Mama yesterday, before she went to her appointment, that she was armed with her list of questions for the doctor. I have encouraged her to not let him get by with the usual general non-answers and to really try to pin him down as much as possible. We all know that doctors these days will never say anything absolute. It exposes them to too much liability. In addition, particularly with cancer which affects every patient differently, there is no magic formula for predicting exactly what will happen to that given individual. However, he can certainly tell her what his experience has been and what the outcomes have been for patients with her type of cancer and particularly for those patients who have beaten the odds into remisssion. At least that will give her a more realistic idea of what her prospects might be.

I am happy to hear that she is still thinking positively. As my sister wrote: "She has the right attitude, anyway: live all she can as well as she can while she can!" We should all follow that mantra!

Since her last chemo treatment, she has been getting progressively better. She is still tired, but gradually getting less so, and she only feels pain now infrequently. Every time I've talked with her she is busy doing something. Getting ready to go out, to go rearrange the patio, to play with the dog, to plan getting togther with friends - in short, she's living life to the full! She recently sent me photos of the new patio, beautifully decorated now. It is an elegant outdoor living room! They have placed several of John's wonderful sculptures around the perimeter and framed the patio, as well as the whole yard, with lovely plants which by next year will have grown full and bushy and will block any views of the neighbors' houses while still permitting Anita and John to look at the mountains in the distance. I hope all of you will be able to come visit Anita & John and view the house at some point in the future.

I plan on talking with Mother later today to get more details of her visit with the doctor. I will update you as soon as possible.

Melissa