What are words for?

Maybe it was a bit much to put up the images from the MRIs but I have to tell you, I didn't believe that words could describe the difference. From April to August - it was not as long as I thought - I endured chemo and the lurking anxiety of facing cancer. I read a lot of things, surfed the web, talked to people and doctors, friends, my family and I tried to remain more than hopeful. I was shooting for something akin to "defiant". Maybe a synonym: aggressive, audacious, ballsy, bold, challenging, contumacious, daring, disregardful, gutsy*, insolent, insubmissive, insubordinate, macho, mutinous, obstinate, provocative, rebellious, recalcitrant, reckless, refractory, resistant, resistive, sassy*, truculent. (From Thesaurus.com)
Ballsy is good for the day I shaved my head. Aggressive is what the chemo-therapy was described as. Sassy - didn't someone say that about me once? No, it was plucky. What about unabashed, unafraid, or cheeky*?

What I'm looking for is defiant in a positive light. It's stubborn for the greater good.

Tomorrow I'll have the pleasure of spending the day with some of my oldest girlfriends & my sister. Just for some girlfriend time, some giggles, more than likely some tears, but all part of healing. They'll be good medicine.

For the first time since April I feel like I need less help staying "up" - my spirits are lifted. I can see that it worked and I feel good about the way treatment has gone so far. I'm grateful to have done chemo first and witness the change in the mass firsthand. It was good for me mentally to have evidence of it working. If you're going to lose your hair and feel crappy it better be for good reason. And it was. Now I am waiting to hear from Sloan Kettering - they should receive the latest MRI results on Monday morning. You know I'll be updating.