[2021-08-04] CA125: the good news continues

I've had a busy day, so I'm late in writing today's post.

I spent a few hours this morning completing the paperwork for my pension application. I decided that getting that task completed and the documents in the mail was more important than taking my morning walk.

Once that was out of the way, I headed to The Ottawa Hospital for my monthly blood work. The lab was uncharacteristically busy because of the holiday on Monday. So instead of biding my time in the small waiting area, I paced the corridor, racking up 4,000 steps in the process.

A few hours after giving my blood samples, I received good news: my CA125 remains at 7. That makes eight months that my cancer marker has been in the normal range and four consecutive months that it's been at 7. I breathed a happy sigh of relief when I saw the number. Low and steady wins the race—isn't that what they say?

I also got good news on my neutrophils, which rose to 2.1 from 1.7 last month. This is the first time since April that my neutrophil count has been in the normal range. Similarly, my white blood cells rose to 3.3 from 2.6 last month. Though this is still slightly below the normal range, it is the strongest my white blood cell count has been since April. This suggests that my cancer-fighting drug is doing its job without causing unacceptable side effects.

I spent the afternoon picking up a few groceries and making a salad (using fresh baby tomatoes from the garden) and scones. Today, Chris and I celebrated our one-year anniversary. We're heading out of town for a few days on what my daughter affectionately calls our honeymoon.

This evening, I spent a couple of hours walking with my sister after having dropped my son off at a historical medieval martial arts class he takes. Despite having missed my morning walk, I ended the day with almost 19,000 steps on my Fitbit.

So it's been a busy day, but also a productive and positive one.

Some people talk about living with cancer; others, surviving cancer; still others, thriving after cancer. I haven't chosen a label. I just know that it feels wonderful to get good news and to be able to do all the things that are important to me.