On the Edge

This is what happens when you spend too much time in the house.  The shelf of On Edge coins above has made our recovery hours interesting almost daily.  The wind or a shirt sleeve will make them flat and we are challenged to upright them again and again On their Edge.  Greg is recovering from his knee replacement and me from my 5th cycle of chemo.  

Greg is doing awesome and everyday remarks that he can not believe that he has a new knee.  A new walk and a new life to look forward to.  He's being a bit impatient wanting to do everything right now this minute but at the same time he is being cautious as the incision is still pretty nasty looking. Thus, the "after" picture will have to wait until some of the swelling goes away and it looks pretty.  He is at his physical therapy hour now driving and walking up and down the stairs all on his own.  Pretty amazing really.

I'm On the Edge of doing something different.  My last chemo was June 10.  Because of over a month without any chemo I am feeling like a ball of fire again.  I like it!  The PET scan I had done last Wednesday indicated that the tumors were still there same size but as my Doctor put it "not as glowy" as the scan done before chemo.  So, does that mean that it's on the edge of getting smaller?  

Getting that news was not what I wanted to hear.  I wanted to hear it was smaller and going away.  So then why am I hurting my entire body with chemo and the cancer is not going away?  I needed a break so I'm taking it.  But while I'm at it I have a few irons in the fire to help me make a good decision concerning what's next.

Next week I am traveling to Boston's Dana Farber Harvard Cancer Research Hospital under the guidance of some windsurfing friends who are way smarter than me.  I hoping that the scientists at Dana Farber might have something for me new that my already smart doctor here in Melbourne does not know about.  A miracle really!  At least I can say I tried.  Spending a few days in Boston could result in at least a good Lobster!

Speaking of Edges, I've mentioned a cutting Edge vaccine before.  Now I am closer to that reality than ever before.  The only hitch is that I have to get my immune system back to normal before I can take the therapy.  It's called IST (Immune Support Therapy).  It is the generation of human antibodies against a specific peptide of your cancer.  This form of immune support has been described as DCT (Dendritic Cell Therapy).  I'm still researching and asking advice along the way but it all sounds sooo much better than chemo. 

When this blog was started it was meant to be from my chemo chair and should have been finished with 6 cycles.  Since, I'm not seeing much of my chair and I'm putting off that last treatment to find another path I'm considering posting only when there is an update.  I will continue to write my blog but not post it on facebook.  This journey is going on longer than expected and for sure has me on edge and some of you bored.  

Thank you friends and family for your great support and love.  I remain positive and certain that this is yet another one of those life lessons and I'm On the Edge of something good.