April 25th, 2016

I got three new tattoos today. Three more dots to help line me up precisely for my next round of radiation. They were able to use three old tattoos from my previous radiation in October, so that saved some time in the initial preparations for radiation. Which is how, unexpectedly, I am back in Corning already. We flew in this morning expecting to stay for maybe a few days, until the radiology team at MSKCC could see me for the scan, and tattoo setup appointment. Perhaps, I thought, I'd just stay in NYC for a few weeks, through all of my radiation treatment. I brought a suitcase, backpack, and tote bag full of everything I'd need for an extended stay. But they somehow had an opening in their schedule just an hour after we saw my main radiation doctor! And, just as incredibly, there were two open seats on the flight back that afternoon! The corporate angel flight program has been absolutely wonderful for us, and we are so grateful to have that option for transportation. Other than hauling around a bunch of unnecessary luggage, today went as smoothly as could be reasonably imagined.

Meeting with the head radiology doctor is always encouraging. Her optimism, knowledge, and confidence are certainly reassuring. Interestingly, I was told that they rarely got "this far" until recently, meaning that getting the abdomen clear in cases like mine was, not long ago, very difficult and uncommon. Now, she said, they see many more cases where the abdomen gets cleared of all cancer, but some spots show up in the chest. Everyone seems pretty confident though that, with the surgery to remove the spots in my chest done, and with radiation coming up soon to zap where those nodes were in case anything got left behind, I have a pretty good chance of having my chest all clear. We'll keep working, praying, and hoping for the best, while embracing the reality of this tremendously lethal and tenacious disease. For now, we keep going one day at a time, remembering to make the most of it while we can.