Annual Screening Time

Today is Monday, May 6, 2024 and I can’t believe it’s been almost one year since I was diagnosed. It’s also my daughter’s birthday today so YAY!! It seems like it was just yesterday I was sitting with my doctor and she was explaining to me that I have a condition called dermatomyositis and of course at that point everything I was hearing seemed like a foreign language. I couldn’t even pronounce it properly. That was on May 10, 2023 and I was a completely different person back then – physically, mentally and emotionally. I can honestly say that I’ve been on quite a journey since then and a year later I’m so thankful for everything I had to go through because it has shaped me into the person I am today. I’m blessed to have come this far and I know that I can and I will handle anything else that may come my way. So back to today…I had an appointment at Amiri Hospital to see my doctor and we were both happy that I’ve been doing well, feeling good and had nothing bad to report regarding my health. الحمد لله. I collected all the requests she had ready for me to go schedule appointments for my upcoming screenings. When I was first diagnosed and admitted into the hospital a year ago, I had done all these screenings and thankfully everything came back negative. My doctor told me that for the first five years of diagnosis we will need to repeat these screenings annually to make sure no cancer is developing in my body. As I’ve previously mentioned, it has been estimated that as much as 20-30% of dermatomyositis patients develop cancer. My doctor said that the month of May every year will be the month we dedicate to my annual screenings. So come on May, bring it on! The first request she gave me was for my bloodwork which included the usual LFT, RFT, LIPID, CBC and CK test but this time she also added the request for the tumor markers test. The blood tests were the only things I was actually able to complete today and check off my list. Yipee! The other requests were for a mammogram, an abdomen CT scan, and (the always fun) colonoscopy/endoscopy! I went to each department to schedule the first available appointments and thankfully was able to get appointments within the next two weeks, which isn’t bad at all. My colonoscopy/endoscopy is scheduled for next Monday, May 13 and hopefully my mammogram and abdomen CT scan are scheduled for Monday, May 20. ان شاء الله خير يارب. After two and a half hours in Amiri, moving from one department to the other, I was super drained and ready to go back home and rest

As I mentioned earlier, I was really happy to report to my doctor that I’ve been feeling great lately. Thankfully I haven’t had any skin issues or muscle weakness or anything at all that I’ve had to deal with. In fact it’s been the opposite…I’ve been more energetic, on top of my exercise regiment and overall just feeling much better, physically and especially mentally. I think what’s also helped me feel good mentally and emotionally is a recent course I’ve committed to. It’s a coaching course in Dubai that I’ve had to fly back and forth for over the past couple of months and I’ve still got two more modules to attend before I complete it. I decided to take this course for my personal self growth and self development and although I’m only at the half way point I can see how much it’s enlightened me and how beneficial it has been for me. It’s been very exciting for me and has given me a little push to do something for myself that feels very rewarding and fulfilling. I’m so grateful to have been able to travel back and forth for this and I’m hoping my health continues to progress for me to be able to attend the last two modules and complete this course on time. Honestly, I can’t believe where I was year ago and where I am today. I know I’ve said this before but I’m going to say it again…No matter how much we plan or expect our lives to be a certain way, always know that anything can happen and change your trajectory and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. On the contrary, it can be the best thing for you, even if you don’t realize it at first.

اللهم لك الحمد، لك الحمد حمداً طيبا كثيراً مباركاً فيه، اللهم ألهمني شكرك والقيام بحق هذه النعمة علي.