A Sigh/Cough of Relief

One of the best feelings I’ve experienced is walking out of a doctor’s office after hearing positive news. After getting some of the worst news possible over the past several months, good news is GREAT to hear.

My bloodwork and X-ray came back clean! My lungs look clear, and the x-rays don’t show any masses restricting my lung space. My doctor thinks that the coughing is probably residual from the radiation. Apparently this happens in some cases; the cells lining the surface of the trachea (windpipe) get damaged during the radiation, and for a while they don’t produce good enough surfactant to catch all the dust that gets inhaled. So I end up coughing it out. As with some other radiation side effects, that doesn’t occur till several weeks after radiation’s ended – which is why I didn’t start coughing till this month. She expects that it will clear up in a few weeks time.

I walked out of that office whispering prayers of gratitude and breathing a sigh of relief. I was just so glad it wasn’t a relapse! I wasn’t ready to go through all that again – not physically or emotionally. I’m glad I’m “okay”.

The all-clear still won’t come until I do a PET scan in April. So while I still have to proceed with caution and take care of myself, I can relax a bit. And go on vacation 🙂