Hey friends! Hope you're enjoying the weekend so far.
I wanted to update about my knees. All throughout the 2 years of treatment I had pretty crappy joint pain. It was not new, I had dealt with some level of joint pain prior to any immunotherapy, but it definitely got worse after infusions, especially my knees.
Since I stopped treatment in November most of my joints have been doing fine, except my knees. They continue to hurt like the dickens so my PCP had them x-rayed, didn't show much besides some cartilage loss. So, I did 6 weeks of physical therapy in the hopes I can strengthen my legs to support my knees better. The left one is doing better but the right knee continued to hurt and not feel any improvement. Next step I figured would be to see an orthopedic surgeon to get a cortisone shot. She ordered an MRI and BAM… lateral meniscus tear and a cyst! An injury like that was literally the furthest thing from my mind. I never did anything that I can recall that would have caused a tear. I was thinking osteoarthritis this whole time.
So, surgery to repair it will happen in July. I have many miles left to put on these knees so I hope once she gets in there it is repairable. Also means I will be stuck at home for 4 weeks afterward recovering… but hey.. I will take knee injury surgery over the scary unknowns of cancer surgery any day!
My next set of scans is a month away… it's been very strange going almost 6 months without scans. I am trying not to get anxious about those just yet..
Since this month is melanoma awareness month and I have an awesome job with an awesome primary care company, I was able to send out a huge email blast to all the doctors and nurses in the company reminding them about melanoma and to bring up skin checks with their patients. I gave them handouts to give to their patients and a page of facts. It was amazing the response I got, how grateful they were to have that information. There are many facts about melanoma that a primary care provider does not know, and I had many of them respond with, "WOW I didn't know that! Thank you!". There is even a sign at the front desk about melanoma awareness month so patients can see it as they check in. My small mission to bring awareness and to make skin checks a regular conversation between all primary care providers and their patients has begun.
As always, sending all the positive vibes and hugs to those that need it right now.
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