Hey there, friends! Time to check in and let you know how I'm doing and what's going on. As always, I appreciate your support and thoughts and interest in my, and Jess's, well-being. I wrapped up that last round of radiation treatments (15 more treatments) on the abdominal lymph nodes and then went back into the normal round of chemo treatments every 2 weeks. In fact, I just had treatment on Tuesday and I'm working through the off and on feeling rather "ugh" for a few days...but it's not bad, and it's nowhere near where I was a year ago this time. In fact, sometimes it's hard to comprehend where I am today, how I feel, and how I was last summer, and especially last winter. But that's a good thing, right? Massive improvement. Now let's hope the same can be said for these abdominal lymph nodes.
I have a new PET scan on Monday that will determine the abdominal state of the union. If things look really good, I'll be able to stop chemotherapy and just do immunotherapy. I have no idea what to expect. I have no other signs or symptoms of anything bad happening there (I am eating well, maintaining weight, no pain in that area, no stomach issues), but who the hell knows what is going on inside. Well.....we will, after the PET scan.
I'll be transferring my care again, from NJ back to WV. Hopefully I'll be able to go back to Shenandoah Oncology, in Virginia. That's where I started treatments, but that will be determined by the VA when I get back down there.
Let's see....what else is going on? I turned in another Junior Monster Scouts Ready to Read (#5) and the 10th Junior Monster Scouts book. I am also in the midst of a national screenwriting contest. I came in 2nd in my group, for the first round and I'll get the results of the second round in mid-June. I'm working on a middle-grade novel and laying the foundation for a fantasy series that has been in my brainspace for a while. Jess landed two nice remote jobs (well, one will be in person as well once we get back to WV) that she is really enjoying. She's also working feverishly on a new writing project that I cannot disclose the details of, lol.
We've been enjoying nice walks with the dogs along the creek and spending time with friends when we can. We've had some nice lunch and dinner dates and those moments are very special to us. A few weeks ago we went down to our little hobbit home in the woods of WV and did some yard work, painting, and moved half of our stuff down there. For Mother's Day, we had an awesome visit to Longwood Gardens. We recently traveled to Rochester to see family and enjoy an awesome comedy show (Mike Birbiglia), the Lilac Festival, and the Museum of Play. Last weekend we moved Jess's oldest and his girlfriend into their new apartment. At the end of June we'll be moving everything else (and us, lol) down to WV. We can't wait - the place is magical. There's been a lot of moving and traveling and visiting - hectic to be sure, but nice to be active and experiencing new places and sharing time with family and friends.
I'll post after scan results come in and let you all know what's going on. Thanks again for following me on this journey.
Best,
Joe
