BAD NEWS

My latest routine blood work test came back positive, which means the cancer (Chronic Mylegenous Leukemia) is back. I was in remission for about a year. There was a 5-6% chance that the cancer would mutate and develop a resistance to the treatment (Gleevec).

They've doubled my dosages to aggressively go after the leukemia and in about a month I'll have another bone marrow biopsy to see if I've responded well or not. Experiencing nausea, headache and fatigue though nothing debilitating.

If the tests show no traces of leukemia cells I'll remain on the present treatment and things will be back to "normal". If there are still cancerous cells remaining, then I'll meet with Stanford doctors to discuss and prepare for a bone marrow transplant. I’m having my brother and sister tested for a donor match.

My oncologist is hopeful that I’ll respond well to my current treatment and there won’t be a need for a transplant at this time. We’ll face that when/if the time comes.

It was quite a shock but I've known there was that possibility so I've been preparing myself in some ways. We're doing okay, feeling strong, positive and hopeful as much as we can though Gillian senses something is not quite right.

Time to brawl.