When Life Gives You Lemons: Health Update

I know a lot of you have been wondering how I'm doing since announcing my melanoma diagnosis back in October and I wanted to share a little health update for those that are curious. 

If you need a refresher, my initial post is here, and my FAQ post is here. 

First off, it's been 6 months since my diagnosis.... SIX MONTHS. Holy cow. Where does the time go? It feels like just yesterday I was fighting for answers and trying to process the whole 'I have cancer, like real life cancer' thing. Blows my mind. However, I'm happy to report I'm doing well! So far so good with my treatment. Since starting the medications, my tumors have shrunk significantly and continue to get smaller with every check up. 

For my visual friends, here is a photo showing progress! 

The scan on the left is my initial scan when the melanoma was first discovered. The white hazy stuff circled is active melanoma. The pink arrow is pointing to one of my larger tumors. If you look at the scan on the right, my most recent scan, you'll see the haziness is gone, and the tumor size has shrunk significantly. 

Now for the not so fun news. On top of melanoma, I also have Crohn's disease. Lucky me, right? Unfortunately treating melanoma and treating Crohn's are essentially polar opposite approaches, so finding that balance has been a challenge. I had a major flare recently (hence the slight absence in blogging and social media) that resulted in a 2-week hospital stay. I'm happy to report that I'm out, doing much better, and on a new medicine plan that should give my Crohn's the chill pill it very much needs, without upsetting the progress I've made treating my melanoma. 

Not going to lie, this has been quite the battle that has really tested my strength, but I have to believe that everything happens for a reason and there is a greater purpose for my battle. Thank goodness for great friends and family to pick me up when I'm down. If I've learned anything thus far, it's that attitude is everything. Yes, I've had breakdown moments where I'm frustrated and mad that I've had to deal with so much all the of the sudden, but wallowing gets me nowhere. Everyday is a battle, and I'm going to keep fighting along. 

Thank you all for your continued support and kind words, it really does mean so much to me. Putting this story out there is scary enough in the first place, but my goal is to hopefully inspire others and make a positive impact in some way or another.