You’d think that, after receiving good news, a person would shout it from the proverbial rooftops. Sometimes though, good news is so unexpected, confusing, and overwhelming, that a person needs to sit with it for a bit before sharing widely. That was the case with the good news I got on Friday.

Here’s the super short summary: I’m in the luckiest third and the chemo is working. A number of my sarcomas are shrinking, the others are stable, and there are no new sarcomas. This is really good news and I’m thrilled with it.

It’s news that is worthy of celebration. Jarrod and I spent the weekend feeling like a weight had been lifted from our shoulders and we could finally breathe. As awful as the side effects have been (and believe me, they’ve been horrible), we can put up with them more easily if we know that the chemo is working.

What does this mean for the future?

Well, we’re not looking too far ahead with too many specifics right now. In the immediacy, it means we continue with chemo with the drugs I’ve been getting. Because my platlets are dangerously low, I’m repeating my bloodwork this Thursday, then (assuming the numbers are better and that a bed is available) starting my third round of chemo on Friday. For the foreseeable future, chemo will start on Fridays. My cycles will still be three week cycles. So there should be chemo, then a week or so of feeling like crap, then a week of feeling better and better.

I’ll do two more rounds of chemo, both with transfusions at the end to help me recover, then have another scan. According to my oncologist, they’ll expect to see continued successful response to the therapy. Essentially, when the first scan shows a good response, the next scan usually does, too. Assuming that holds true for me and I’m still “tolerating” the side effects, I’ll have a final two rounds of this type of chemo after that. One of the drugs that I receive has a hard limit on how much a patient can receive due to how toxic it is. I can’t receive it more than six times in a row. It’s possible in the future I could receive it again, maybe, but it wouldn’t be safe for me to have a seventh cycle of chemo with the same drugs I’m receiving now.

That means that after six rounds, we’ll look at the scan and evaluate our options. Maybe the sarcomas will have shrunk enough that it’ll be safe to attempt radiation. Maybe we’ll have a miracle and they’ll have shrunk to oblivion! Maybe we’ll decide to let my body recover and just monitor what remains to see if they stay stable (this happens). We really won’t know what the options definitely are until we see what’s on the scan.

Admittedly, there’s a chance I might not make it six rounds. There’s a chance that the toxicity might prove too much for me and we’ll have to change course after the scan to try a different drug. We are lowering one of my drugs by 10%. The goal is that it’ll moderate the worst of my side effects without affecting the shrinking. I’ll try to write later this week about the side effects of the past week, but suffice to say they were really awful and I could not have borne them without my husband, mom, sister, brother-in-law, and friends. To be honest, I’m not sure I could face the possibility of them again but for knowing that the chemo is working.

“I can handle getting hit by a truck if I know it’s working,” was an actual sentence I uttered while discussing my willingness to go through misery with my oncologist. And that’s true, I think. Having the support of my friends and family also makes it a lot easier.

As I noted, we’re far from out of the woods and I’m going to continue needing prayers, hope, encouragement, and help. For right now though? I’m well-aware of how incredibly lucky I am. I’m grateful, happy, and smiling. I’m not afraid of those woods. Well, not too afraid, at least.

I’m tired, but I’ll be grinning when I go for my theraputic walk this afternoon. My chemo is working. I’m already beating the odds and that just strengthens my belief that miracles are possible. I’ve got more to offer this world, and I believe I’ll get the chance to make good on that offer.