During my Junior year of high school I was diagnosed with Adrenocortical Carcinoma, cancer of the adrenal gland. After over a year and a half in the Intensive Care Unit, recieving chemotherapy both orally and intravenously, and going through multiple surgeries I was finally decleared N.E.D. (No Evidence of Disease) and graduated with my class Senior year. :)
This year I've been at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, majoring in psychology. On Nomember 22nd I went into Children's Hospital Boston for my routine three-month MRI and CT scans. These ensure that my Adrenocortical Carcinoma hasn't returned. Before college I had my scans done in August and we had seen "spots" on my lungs, but weren't quite sure of what they were. Obviously I was hoping they were just pieces of scar tissue from one of my previous eleven surgeries. Apparently not!
Three tumors were found where those spots had been - two on my right lung, one on my left; and two new tumors had shown up in my abdomin. My cancer had originally grown in my right adrenal gland, hence the name Adrenocortical Carcinoma. One of the new tumors was right there on the location of where my right adrenal should be (it was removed my Junior year). This tumor was approx. the size of a cantelope. The other tumor was found wrapped around and inside my right kidney, so my right kidney was removed. This most recent surgery was on Friday, December 2nd, and was 12 hours long.
Three tumors were found where those spots had been - two on my right lung, one on my left; and two new tumors had shown up in my abdomin. My cancer had originally grown in my right adrenal gland, hence the name Adrenocortical Carcinoma. One of the new tumors was right there on the location of where my right adrenal should be (it was removed my Junior year). This tumor was approx. the size of a cantelope. The other tumor was found wrapped around and inside my right kidney, so my right kidney was removed. This most recent surgery was on Friday, December 2nd, and was 12 hours long.
Tonight I am headed out of the ICU and onto one of my favorite floors, 10 South! Hopefully I'll only be in the hospital another week or so before I get to go home and start some online Christmas shopping.
Great Blog!
ReplyDeleteHello Miss Leah!!! I am so happy to hear that you got out of ICU and are skipping up the floors to the tenth!!! Nothing better than a perfect square number for healing if you ask me! I hope you continue to make strides in your recovery so that you can make it home VERY soon for as much of that addictive online shopping as possible!!! Take care chica....you know where to find me if you are up in the middle of the night and wanna chat!
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