Wednesday, August 30, 2006

"Your cancer is in remission!!"

The days after the 6th chemo were filled with so much anticipation.. half my mind was fighting the usual aches in the bones and numbness, but the other half was awaiting the final results. Will this war with my cancer be ultimately declared successful, or will more treatment be required? All the 5 blood tests todate appear to show consistently good results, esp the CA125 marker, which tracks the cancer cells for ovarian cancer.

However one last test was recommended by Dr Ang Peng Tiam, one called a "PET Scan". It will allow him to see cell activities.. cancer cells being more active than normal cells. If no red patches show up in the scan, then all's well. He calls this the test to confirm all the past blood tests.

15June.. the scan took a full 5 hours to complete at Mt E, which supposedly is the only hospital in Spore to have this technology.

16June.. Time to see Dr Ang for the PET Scan result. I had a strange feeling.. like I was about to receive my school exam results.. butterflies-in-the-tummy time. Hubby and I sat in front of Dr Ang, his left hand holding my right, as if in joint prayer. And then, the 5 words I had been nervously waiting for..

"Your cancer is in remission!!"

He carried on .. "You can now go back to normal life, Nellie. You can do anything you want and eat anything you want." My hubby chimed in, "Including durians, doc?". He replied in the affirmative.

160606.. this is a day I will remember for the rest of my life. As much as 19Jan took almost everything out from inside me, this day brought just about everything back into my body. I can now wake up in the morning with confidence, laugh in the day with joy and go to bed in the night with peace inside me. We thank Dr Ang profusely. And we asked him if he could do us the honour of autographing his book.. the very book which brought us to him in the first place. And he wrote... (see pic below).
We headed out to celebrate at my favourite steakhouse..Tony Roma's.
Yes, I have won this battle for my life!
Yes, I am now a cancer survivor, I am proud to say.
Where do I begin in thanking all those who have helped me along this tough, long road to recovery? My mum and sisters.. your wonderful food and your continuous support to fight this evil. My friends.. your visits, your thoughts and words of encouragement, and your Korean DVDs! And a huge thank-you to Dr Goh whose keen eye caught the disease early on 19Jan, and to the magical hands of Dr Ang and his talented team.
And of course, Dad.. I know you are watching over me..
>>gleefully ntangle

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