Last week Courtney texted me from school saying she felt a swollen lymph node on the left side of her neck (the same side as her original melanoma). I have been doing a lot better with my worrying over the last few months, but hearing this made the tears start flowing again. I called St. Jude and told them it was about the size of a pea and was not tender. The doctor said that it does not sound like an emergency and he will see her on Tuesday, which made me feel better. We left for St. Jude on Monday after school and drove the 5 hours with Courtney singing and talking the ENTIRE way! LOL When we got to Grizzly House, she continued talking, singing, and dancing until 1:00 am. Yes, she was exhausted for her appointments on Tuesday.
Her appointment went very well. The doctor said her lymph nodes look good, the swelling was most likely from a sore throat that she had, but to watch it. Thank the Lord!! He asked Courtney if she was excited that her treatment will be over in 3 months, and she burst into tears... as did I. I knew what she was thinking. This medicine gives her a sense of security, and she is scared that when she is finished with it, that the melanoma will come back since this is such an aggressive, fast moving cancer and very unpredictable. I still feel very positive that she is going to beat this, but once in a while I still have fear that it may come back in the next few years as the peginterferon does not extend the survival rate, it is just supposed to extend the disease free time by 9 months. Some people do not understand how terrible this disease is...it is SO deadly. I remember reading another lady's blog who has stage 4 melanoma in her lung, and her doctor told her that it would be better and more treatable if it was lung cancer, and not melanoma. I have watched so many people die over the last 6 months with melanoma, and I pray every day that my daughter will get through this and live a long, long life! <3
