Hello to everyone who follows this page. I&#39;ve really enjoyed seeing the photos and stories of everyone&#39;s travels this summer.  FB has been full of images of people getting out and seeing some of their(and my) favorite places and some places I&#39;ve never visited. Dan and I took a nice, long trip to Idaho at the end of June.  We went to Challis Hot Springs, Stanley, and Sun Valley/Ketchum. I assumed the National Parks would be bustling this summer and chose somewhere a little less crowded. While it was busy and difficult to get reservations, Idaho is one of the last uncrowded places to visit that has the same &#34;wild&#34; feel the bigger parks offer. We camped several nights next to the Salmon River. It was cool at night, warm during the day and there was little rain. That&#39;s not great for the environment, but it is for travelers. The only down side were the bugs that had us running for cover once the sun went down.  My last Caringbridge update was just after my bland embolization in January.  At my March follow-up I had good results with about 80% reduction of the inoperable tumor. There was slight progression in the T12 spine tumor and a new one on L5 that was causing some back pain.  My oncologist here in St. Louis ordered a one time radiation treatment to both which relieved the pain.  I&#39;ve now reached a new stage in my cancer journey/treatment. I followed up July 13/14 with the specialists at the University of Iowa and found that there was a lot of growth in the liver and some growth in the spine. Due to the new, rapid, growth I start chemo this coming week. It&#39;s the same chemo I took March 2020.  It&#39;s in pill form and it worked very well before. I&#39;ll probably stay on this chemo until I can no longer take it due to toxicity or until it stops working. There are other treatments that can be used at that point but I won&#39;t go into those at this time.  My employer has been very supportive allowing me to work limited hours/days as my health allowed. I&#39;ve decided to stop working at this point to dedicate time to my family and fighting this disease. I&#39;m proud of the 10 years I&#39;ve served as a nurse.  There is always a chance things will stabilize in the future and I could potentially return to nursing.  Until then, I have lots to do at home, my beautiful granddaughter to enjoy, and about 10 unfinished quilts to keep me busy!
Stay well and remember to listen to your body!

Andrea Balassi

Update: July 25, 2021 – by Andrea Balassi