Well, I think I pretty much covered the bad news on my last post, so it's probably time for some good news.This past year has been such a volatile journey with all of its ups and downs that it kind of reminds me of a story from my distant past.
When I was a pre-teen, I would occasionally visit an uncle and aunt on their farm in the Midwest. Uncle Bill quickly became a favorite uncle when he let me drive his old Ford tractor around the farmyard. His wife, Aunt Adeline, was a reserved farm wife who seemed to always be cooking, but also always engaged in conversation with company in the huge old farmhouse kitchen where family, friends and farmhands congregated. The structure of her conversations, however, was more "story telling" than just relaying information, so listening to her was very entertaining. One account I remember well was when she described Uncle Bill's "accident:"
The bad news was that a severe summer storm damaged the roof of the barn but the good news was that we had spare metal panels to replace the damaged ones, so Bill climbed up on the roof to make the repair. The bad news was that he lost his footing and started sliding off the roof. The good news is that there was a large haystack under him. The bad news is that there were several pitchforks in the haystack. The good news is that he missed all of the pitchforks. The bad news is that he missed the haystack.
Luckily, he healed from his injuries and it became just one more historical event in the life of a farmer, but it often reminds me of the interplay of chance and good news/bad news.
My good news is that the worst of the pain seems to be over and I'm seeing some progress toward where I want to be rather than where I was. In just the past few days I've noticed an upsurge in energy, feeling stronger and able to get much more done in a day without having to take an afternoon nap. I have not needed pain meds for about a week, my chronic, non-productive cough is almost gone and the tumors that I have been able to feel (on my scalp, in my neck and in my leg) have either disappeared or been reduced in size by at least 50%. The severe pain in my jaw and the limited range of motion of my TMJ have almost completely resolved. Several areas on my skin, which I assume were basal cell or early squamous cell carcinomas, got very inflamed, scabbed over, and are now just flat white scars.
All of this in the first six weeks and after just the first 2 of 4 combination infusions (the standard Stage 4 drug Yervoy plus either the investigational drug or a placebo). When this phase is complete, then, I will receive a series of infusions every two weeks of just the investigational drug. This adds to the good news in that I am, at least to some degree or another, a "responder," and the drug(s) are working as intended.
I still have a ways to go, however. With all of my renewed energy, I worked out for a couple of hours the other day, but paid the price later with some significant abdominal pain from my liver reacting to too much activity. This is likely just a bothersome side effect of the drugs (along with a rash and total-body itching) and being somewhat hypermetabolic, so I'll back off a bit and take things easier while my body is still at war with the cancer. There is still risk of more significant side effects as I receive more infusions.
All in all, though, more good news than bad news!
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