The week inevitably came with a wide range of emotions leading up to my surgery anniversary, July 6, 2018…exactly 1 year since the day we officially said goodbye to Glanda. I’ve spent some time reflecting and parsing through the defining moments that got us… Continue Reading “Glanda’s 1 Year Goneda”
Category: ReflectionsTags: adenoid cystic carcinoma, atm, atm mutation, cancer, cancer blog, cancer free, cancer treatment, faith, family, fear, genetic testing, genetics, God, Healing, health, marriage, mental health, normal, parotid gland, parotidectomy, pathology, perspective, pleomorphic adenoma, reflection, salivary gland tumor, strata, strata trial, surgery, surgery recovery, tumor, uab, uab hospital, william carroll
Posted on September 6, 2017
by Valerie Powell
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Things have been so up and down, that I don’t even know where to start. Just last week we went from getting perfectly clear results from my PET scan on Tuesday morning to getting Strata test results back on Thursday, finding out there’s a… Continue Reading “Teenage Mutated Ninja Valerie”
Category: ReflectionsTags: adenoid cystic carcinoma, atm, atm mutation, birmingham, cancer, cancer blog, clinical research, clinical trials, dna, eddy yang, fear, genetic testing, genetics, pathology, radiation oncology, radiation therapy, sharon spencer, strata, strata trial, uab hospital
Posted on August 24, 2017
by Valerie Powell
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**WARNING: Images included in this post may be hard to look at due to…reality** This journey has brought about emotions in me that seem to overwhelm me just enough that I cry. I actually hate crying, and I’m more than capable of going 6+… Continue Reading “Ready, Set, Simulate”
Category: How did we get here?, Treatment UpdatesTags: adenoid cystic carcinoma, birmingham, cancer, cancer blog, ct scan, dentist, fear, parotid gland, radiation oncology, radiation therapy, salivary gland tumor, sharon spencer, simulation, skin toxicity, stabilization mask, tumor, uab, uab hospital
Posted on August 21, 2017
by Valerie Powell
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Hands down, hardest week since the path results came back. Nothing is wrong. Everything has just bubbled up and overflowed again this week as I shoved myself through 4 different appointments…all for this dumb cancer stuff. Radiation Oncology consult with Dr. Spencer Dental appointment… Continue Reading “Friday Frustrations”
Category: How did we get here?, ReflectionsTags: birmingham, cancer, cancer blog, ct scan, fear, lung ct, radiation oncology, salivary gland tumor, scans, uab, uab hospital
Posted on August 2, 2017
by Valerie Powell
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WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES For some crazy reason, I thought surgery wouldn’t be a big deal and the first week of recovery would be a little tough and then the next week would be more like a staycation at home while they made sure everything… Continue Reading “How It Healed”
Category: Where are we now?Tags: adenoid cystic carcinoma, birmingham, cancer, cancer blog, ent, jp drain, parotid gland, parotidectomy, pathology, salivary gland tumor, surgery, surgery recovery, tumor, uab, uab hospital, william carroll
On July 6th, 2017 Dr. Carroll at UAB removed my dear Glanda,