It’s been a busy month in the Mahan house, as I’m sure it has been for most. We have been celebrating a lot of things: Jacob’s 9th birthday, Annie graduating pre-K and my finishing radiation. We completed our spring sport’s season and the kiddos are all wrapping up their school year.

This week I started back with chemotherapy. It’s a treatment I had last spring so I’m familiar with it. The good news is the only major side effects have been nausea & fatigue. Two things I’m familiar with managing. We have family support with the kids while I am recovering.

After discussion with my team yesterday they are cautiously optimistic that this regimen will be effective enough to get me back to full remission. I am getting 1 day of treatment every 3 weeks. My next PET scan is July 1, which will inform next treatment decisions. At that time I will either be referred back to transplant or they will add more to my chemo regimen. I will stay in chemo until the day I walk back in to stem cell transplant. There will be no waiting, no break. I am “in treatment” for the foreseeable future which honestly friends, feels a little daunting. Right now there’s no light at the end of the tunnel.

It’s the summer season which if you know me personally, you know it’s my absolute favorite. I am reconciling having to balance a summer that includes so many pit stops to Vanderbilt and not so many trips to the beach.

Instagram has a way of always making you feel like your life isn’t enough and that memories have to be big and bold to matter. This is particularly hard on me since one of my major goals since diagnosis has been to live a life with my children where they will remember me and remember me well. Our family has no grand vacation planned this summer but we do have lots of days at the pool ahead, sticky popsicle fingers, nights outside under the stars, time with friends & family and the belief that that will be enough for us in this season. I hope you all can be part of those memories with us.

Upcoming dates:

June 10: Next chemotherapy

July 1: PET scan & chemotherapy

Thank you for being a part of my healing journey,

Danielle