My CA 27.29 cancer marker has gone down for the first time in over a year. Last month it was 272 and this month it was 254. It’s still higher than normal, but I’m excited and pleased that it has moved in the right direction.

I have a lump that I can feel in a lymph node under my arm that we know is cancer. Its size has gone from a walnut to a small marble in the past month. Also pretty exciting after feeling it grow for the past year. Some people have asked why I don’t have the lump taken out, and there are several reasons. One reason is that it’s an easy way for me to monitor the cancer’s growth on a daily basis. Another reason is related to an article I read that said taking out a cancerous lymph node is like taking the oil filter out of my car. The lymph node is collecting the cancer and keeping it localized. If I took it out, the cancer could more easily spread. I told my oncologist about that article and asked her if she agreed. She said yes. She doesn’t recommend removing it.

The challenge is to know what caused this downward turn. It could be related to having my root canal tooth extracted in December, and it took a few months for my immune system to get redirected. It could be related to my starting to take Femara, an aromatase inhibitor, 2 months ago.

It could be related to the affirmations and imagery that I have been doing for several months, changing how I think and feel. Instead of waiting to feel joy after receiving this message about the lowering of my cancer marker, I have been imagining this ahead of time, and feeling the joy ahead of the external validation.

I took a 2-day workshop with Dr. Joe Dispenza (from the movie, “What the Bleep”) that was all about how our thoughts, choices, and feelings based on past experiences can reinforce staying on the same path as our past. I am practicing creating a different future by choosing thoughts and feelings that are consistent with the future I want – NED (No Evidence of Disease).

I will continue to have monthly blood tests and will have a PET/CT scan in June. Having this external validation encourages me to keep doing what I’m doing.