September 14, 2006: The News is Very Very Good!

Everybody do a jig or a polka or the hora or whatever dance your people do (the WASP people don’t actually have a traditional dance, we just sort of nod approvingly…)

Because it’s called a Complete Response, and that’s what we’ve got here, kids!  According to Stacey’s surgeon, The Fabulous Dr. Cronin (and she is fabulous, and apparently quite the snappy dresser) about 10% of chemo patients actually get worse after chemo (oy vey), 20% show a slight improvement, 50% show a marked improvement, and 20% show a Complete Response.  And what exactly is a Complete Response?  I will tell you.  A Complete Response is when they do an MRI of an area that formerly showed cancerous tumors and this time…

THEY DON’T SEE ANYTHING AT ALL!

As TFDC said (after she said “this is so great, you really made my day!”) this is fantastic news for Stacey, not only because they couldn’t find anything right now, but because this is a really good predictor of future outcome.  However, she said, this puts her (TFDC) in quite a spot, because she does want to do a lumpectomy… but she’s not quite sure where to lumpectomize!

There’s a whole process to deciding that, and there is a whole schedule for the surgery, and a lot of other information, but there is also a baby screeching at me from her high chair, so for right now, I will leave you with this: Stacey is seriously kicking her some Cancer butt and the surgery is scheduled for Friday.

Everbody commence to whoopin’ and a’ hollerin’!