Incisional Hernia, Time Back at Work, Status of the Cancer

Happy Friday!  I was hoping that by the time I produce this update that it would be short and sweet with nothing much to report, but that's not the case.  Luckily, everything is fine.  Get ready for a wall of text!

Incisional Hernia (not bad don't worry!) - Last Monday, I had a concern that I had an incisional hernia where my intestine was starting to pop out of my primary incision from my surgery last September as the result of a workout.  My bowel movements changed significantly and I had pressure in my stomach around my incision, so I thought that I had an intestinal blockage.  I couldn't see the intestine popping out (lol gross), but I was afraid it punctured the interior wall where I had the rupture and was held in by my skin.  These concerns continued for a couple days, and I made an appointment and saw one of the PAs at SCCA to examine and luckily she determined that it was either a minor incisional hernia or just a muscle ache.  In doing research online I saw that in some severe cases, incisional hernias require surgery to repair, so I was quite relieved to hear that everything was all good.

Back at Work - Last Monday I also returned back to work on a part-time basis, 4 hours per day, Monday through Friday.  Coming back and seeing everyone regularly has been great, and I believe was able to quickly get back in the rhythm without missing a beat.  Having been gone for 10 months I was overly ambitious upon my return, wanting to crank through a bunch of hard work, moving mountains, and taking on as much travel as much as I can, but I got some good reminders to take it easy and keep the stress and exhaustion down so as to not erase the last 10 months of hard work and progress (thanks, Dawn!).  I was initially planning on returning back to full-time status after 2 weeks of being part time, but after considering this powerful reminder, my manager, the leadership team, HR, and I have decided that I should continue to be part-time for the next few months (through June 30th, 2015), continuing to focus on my recovery, and then evaluate returning to full-time then.  Realistically, the additional stress of leading audits and working full-time probably isn't best for my recovery anyways, so I think this is the best move in the long run.  As I always mention, I'm so grateful that everyone here at Microsoft has been understanding and supportive for my recovery and what's best for me all throughout this journey.  

Current Status - Here's a quick summary of where we are with the cancer and treatment plans:

• As of the last CT scan, I still have 50ish small (<2 cm) tumors on my lungs which have remained stable since the previous CT scans and are shrinking.  The cancer on my lungs is inoperable, as the lungs don't regenerate/heal like other organs.  
• There is 1 spot on my liver that we are watching where I had surgery on, but nothing that my doctor was concerned about.  If this continues to grow, I may have radiation on it, but I'm not too worried about it.  I'm still on chemo and will continue indefinitely to keep the cancer from growing and spreading.  
• I'm taking Xeloda (3 pills 2x daily) for 2 weeks and have a 1 week break.  I also have a quick 2 hour infusion of Avastin on the day I start the Xeloda cycle.  I also have CT scans every 2 months to check the status of the cancer and will update treatment as necessary.  This new regime hasn't affected me too badly, and the side effects are very manageable.
• I'm also doing my best to stack the deck in my favor, so I'm trying to cut out all meat out of my weekday diet, and have been trying this daily morning water routine.

I think that about covers everything.  I love sharing this information and answering any questions anyone has, educating others on the process, so if you see me, feel free to ask away.  Have a great Valentine's day and thanks for reading!