As mentioned in my last post, I've cleared the 6-month post-treatment hurdle, which means I'm pretty much out of the woods as far as the HepC virus is concerned. We knew going in (from my biopsy) that there was some liver damage (I have what they term "compensated cirrhosis"). Basically, I have some scarring and nodules or isolated pockets of cells, but my liver seems to be functioning more or less normally, despite that fact.
In any event, the docs want to keep an eye on my liver so they can respond to any threatening changes quickly, although we don't expect the cirrhosis to get any worse now that the virus is cleared and the inflammation has gone down. This means an abdominal ultrasound every 6 months. My last ultrasound (back in January) looked pretty good, and showed very little change from the prior test, taken before I started treatment.
That brings me to the current turn of events. I had an ultrasound last week that showed some new abnormalities that my treatment team wanted to investigate further, just to rule out anything serious. Note here that I'm feeling great and my labs are more normal than they've ever been. So yesterday, I had a follow-up MRI (I'm just waiting for the machine that goes ping!), and it turns out that there are a few (maybe half a dozen) small cirrhotic nodules, and while they don't believe they're cancerous, they want to keep an eye on them and do another MRI in four months. I get that they're doing everything they know how to keep me alive and healthy, but for Christ's sake... when does it end?!
Yeah, I'm a little anxious and frustrated about this. Am I going to let it get me down? Of course not .
Anyway, enough of that. On to more positive things, I promised pictures from our trip to Montana, and here are some of my favorites. I shot nearly 150, so this is just a small sampling.
Taken from the patio of the East Glacier Lodge
Just outside of the park on the East side (Blackfeet Reservation)
On St. Mary's Lake; yes, the colors are THAT vivid!
Cascade fall near the top of the Road to the Sun
(which was still closed near the summit, due to weather damage)
And lastly, a friendly and surprisingly tame doe who
hangs out near the Road to the Sun and greets tourists.
At one point, she was about two feet away from me,
despite my efforts to keep at a 'recommended' distance.
In any event, the docs want to keep an eye on my liver so they can respond to any threatening changes quickly, although we don't expect the cirrhosis to get any worse now that the virus is cleared and the inflammation has gone down. This means an abdominal ultrasound every 6 months. My last ultrasound (back in January) looked pretty good, and showed very little change from the prior test, taken before I started treatment.
That brings me to the current turn of events. I had an ultrasound last week that showed some new abnormalities that my treatment team wanted to investigate further, just to rule out anything serious. Note here that I'm feeling great and my labs are more normal than they've ever been. So yesterday, I had a follow-up MRI (I'm just waiting for the machine that goes ping!), and it turns out that there are a few (maybe half a dozen) small cirrhotic nodules, and while they don't believe they're cancerous, they want to keep an eye on them and do another MRI in four months. I get that they're doing everything they know how to keep me alive and healthy, but for Christ's sake... when does it end?!
Yeah, I'm a little anxious and frustrated about this. Am I going to let it get me down? Of course not .
Anyway, enough of that. On to more positive things, I promised pictures from our trip to Montana, and here are some of my favorites. I shot nearly 150, so this is just a small sampling.
(which was still closed near the summit, due to weather damage)
hangs out near the Road to the Sun and greets tourists.
At one point, she was about two feet away from me,
despite my efforts to keep at a 'recommended' distance.