Terminology delimma

I have a bit of a conundrum. I don't know how to categorize my current condition - and that bothers me. As you may have noticed in my blog the other day, I said the cancer is not back. But does that mean I'm cancer free? I don't know.

Okay, so what can I say?

The spots on my CT scan didn't grow, and in some instances, shrunk. But those cysts/growths/whatever don't necessarily seem to be related to the cancer. Or they're burnt out residual disease. Does that mean I'm cancer free?

Can I say, I kicked cancer's butt? Probably. It was definitely there and it's either dormant or gone now, so I think I've battled the Big C and won.

I can confidently say I'm in remission. Whatever is there is stable. So whew, I can proudly claim to be in remission.

I'm definitely a cancer survivor. I'm still here and, God willing, plan to be around for a long, long time.

When I passed along the news about Tuesday's appointment, many people said, so you're cancer free now. Yay, you've beaten it. But I was, and still am, reluctant to answer with a resounding, "yes." Hence, my conundrum.

I can say I'm relieved, thrilled and optimistic. And in the end, I guess that's all that really matters.

Tina