The last roses of Summer

The last roses of summer… in November. I have always admired my Grandma’s rose garden. They are so beautiful and smell so good and seem to bloom forever. I have tried several times to grow roses, but I have killed more than I have kept alive. I had two fun filled days of scans this week and my cute Grandparents escorted me to Huntsman (since I get lost everywhere I go. Those of you who know me know how true this is and can stop laughing now). I had an octriatide scan Wed. and Thurs. and then a regular CT scan on Thurs. too. When I came out of my grueling 2 hour scan, my grandparents were waiting with these roses from their garden. They are so sweet to me. It sure brightened my day. They will never really know how much I love and appreciate them.

I tried to have a little fun in while I was up for my scans. I took Nathan with me and was able to visit with my Grandparents and see my cousin’s new house and go to the Citris Grill with her for lunch. It was so fun to visit with her! Later that night we went to dinner with my family. It was a lot of fun except for the fact that I had been put on a liquid diet for my scan the next day. It’s hard to find things on the menu that are “clear liquid”. That was only half the fun though. I also was given lots of laxatives. Nice. It was quite the evening. We did get a little shopping in on Thursday and that was therapy for sure. I was exhausted after all the scans so we stayed another night too. I love staying with my parents and am so grateful that I have a comfortable place that I am always welcome that feels like “home”.

My doctor called me last night and told me the results of the scan. I guess the octriatide scan was “hot”, meaning the receptors they were looking for were present and this “Sandestatin” drug they want to give me may be effective at inhibiting tumor growth. She also said that the scan looked exactly as it had in August, minus the mass on the pancreas which is now gone. She said it looks like there is no recurrence of the pancreas tumor, which is good. I was a little disappointed that the cancer hadn’t just shrunk because of my juicing or faith, but my mom reminded me that it hasn’t been that long since my surgery. I guess I should take it as good news. My doctor has given me the number of another patient with my same diagnosis. It may be interesting to talk to her and see what she has to say. Otherwise, I feel great and wouldn’t really know my health was bad if they weren’t telling me so. I am so grateful for my family and friends and all of the love and support they have given me. I keep hearing my Grandma’s words in my head, “The sun will shine again”, and looking at her roses, I think she may just be right.